Behavioral Flexibility in Primates (eBook)

Clara B. Jones, Ph.D. has studied spiders, fish, monkeys, and humans, including work in the field, in zoological gardens, and in the laboratory. Most of her research, beginning in 1973, has been conducted on the howling monkeys of Central America. Her publications primarily relate to sexual selection, reproductive competition, social organization, interindividual conflicts of interest, dispersal, and evolution in heterogeneous regimes. She has also contributed to the literature on primate conservation and population biology.

Contents 5
Foreword 9
Preface 14
Acknowledgments 21
1 Introduction to Intraindividual Variation of Primate Behavior 25
Introduction 25
The Costs and Bene.ts of Behavioral Flexibility 29
Components of Phenotypic Flexibility, Including Behavioral Flexibility 31
The Ecological Basis of Behavioral Flexibility 33
2 The Costs and Benefits of Behavioral Flexibility to Inclusive Fitness: Dispersal as an Option in Heterogeneous Regimes 41
Introduction 41
Dispersal as Flexible Behavior 42
When to Disperse as an Assay for Demonstrating Behavioral Flexibility 47
Toward a New Perspective on Behavioral Flexibility 49
Why are There so Many Kinds of Behaviors? 52
Conclusions 53
3 Primate Signatures and Behavioral Flexibility in Heterogeneous Regimes 55
Introduction 55
Learning, Environmental Heterogeneity, and Behavioral Flexibility 56
Fitness as a Fixed Budget of Time and Energy Generating Signatures of Primate Behavior: The Temporal Component 57
Social Parasitism as a Signature of Primates in Heterogeneous Regimes 60
Negative Reinforcement as a Mechanism Of Exploitation in Heterogeneous Regimes 66
Individuality as a Primate Signature Constraining the Evolution and Expression of Behavioral Flexibility and True Sociality 67
Conclusions 69
4 Social Cognition and Behavioral Flexibility: Categorical Decision- Making as a Primate Signature 71
Introduction 71
Social Cognition as a Generator of Behavioral Flexibility 71
Competitive Behavior and Resource Dispersion Related to Social Cognition 76
Resolving Con.icts of Interest with Probabilistic Responses 79
Conclusions 82
5 Female Primates as Energy- Maximizers in Heterogeneous Regimes 85
Introduction 85
Discrimination Abilities, Allocation Strategies, and Behavioral Flexibility of Female Primates 86
Relative Reproductive Value as a Determinant of Behavioral Flexibility 88
Alloparental Behaviors as an Example of the Flexibility of Responses by Female Primates 94
Life History Tactics and the Evolution of Behavioral Flexibility 98
Conclusions 102
6 Male Primates: "Time- Minimizers" in Heterogeneous Regimes 103
Introduction 103
The Branch-Break Display of Male Mantled Howler Monkeys 106
Investigating Behavioral Flexibility in Male Mantled Howler Monkeys: Study Sites, Procedures, and De . nitions 107
How Does the Branch-Break Display Demonstrate Behavioral Flexibility? 108
Signaling Theory and Patterns of Branch-Breaking in Mantled Howler Monkeys 111
The In.uence of Females on Male Tactics and Strategies 115
Conclusions 116
7 Intersexual Interactions in Heterogeneous Regimes: Potential Effects of Antagonistic Coevolution in Primate Groups 117
Introduction 117
Does Each Sex Favor Different Outcomes of Male – Female Interactions? 120
A General Formulation for Antagonistic Coevolution between Males and Females 120
The Extent and Limits of Extreme Selfishness: Forced Copulations by Males as an Indicator of Sexual Con . ict 123
Multiple Mating by Females as a Counterstrategy to Male Infanticide 124
Female Dominance in Primates: Counterstrategies that Benefit Females 126
Same Sex Partner Preference and Antagonistic Coevolution 127
Conclusions 130
8 Sociosexual Organization and the Expression of Behavioral Flexibility 133
Introduction 133
Environmental and Phylogenetic Constraints on Behavioral Flexibility 135
Sociosexual Organization in Primates: An Attempt at Classi.cation 139
Conclusions 144
9 Behavioral Flexibility: Interpretations and Prospects 147
Introduction 147
The Predictive Theory and Environmental Heterogeneity 148
What Factors Constrain the Evolution of True Social Behavior in Primates? 152
To what Degree Does the In.uence of Individuality Constrain the Evolution of Sociality in Humans? 156
How Important is the Accuracy of a Flexible Behavioral Response? 157
Toward an Uncertain Future: Behavioral Flexibility and the Conservation of Primate Biodiversity 160
Conclusions 162
Glossary 163
References 169
Index 205

Signaling Theory and Patterns of Branch-Breaking in Mantled Howler Monkeys (p. 87)

The pattern of BBE repetition and frequency presented above can be interpreted in terms of theoretical models, bearing in mind that the overall "signal" magnitude may depend on combining and recombining a number of display elements (i.e., flexible behavior). The problem of understanding how the receiver combines information from a sequence of BBEs in order to make an assessment of the signaler is essentially a separate issue from understanding how the signaler decides what magnitude of signal to give. Both of these topics deserve investigation in primates.

Evolutionary models show that the form of a display (in terms of number of repetitions, or changes in intensity over time within a display sequence) is predicted to depend on the way the display is assessed and interpreted by the receiver ("assessment rules"; Payne and Pagel, 1997; Parker, 1974; West- Eberhard, 2003). The present results do not contain information on "intensity" in each BBE, but they do reveal how mean numbers of repetitions differ among individuals. The modal number of BBEs per sequence is 1 BBE/1 min, and BBEs per interval never exceeded 5 (Table 6.1, column 3). This low modal number of BBEs per sequence is not consistent with the predictions of the sequential assessment model (Brockmann, 2001) in which the "signal" is the average of the display elements so far, but it is consistent with an extreme case of a signal of endurance (Payne and Pagel, 1996a), in which the signal is the cumulative sum of the elements, accounting for any variation in intensity.

The findings are also consistent with the "best-so-far" model (Payne and Pagel, 1996b), in which the signal is the intensity of the most recent element only. As Payne and Pagel’s "best-so-far" model is summarized by Ord and Evans (2003, p. 1504), "When signals incur significant costs (e.g., from fatigue), assessment is more likely to be based on a cumulative measure of all displays performed." These authors continue, the model "is a cumulative function rule, together with a threshold that varies according to individual condition." The "best-sofar" model is unusual in that it is the only model that necessarily predicts that the majority of signal sequences will only contain one element, as is observed in the present data set.

Further observations of factors, such as any variation in element intensity, will be needed to resolve between the latter two models for the displays of mantled howler monkeys, and it will be necessary to systematically study the branch-break display in additional groups before confident statements can be made about its function(s).

Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to assume, tentatively, that the signal magnitude is at least in some way proportional to the number of BBE repetitions and that these quantities, taken together, can be employed as an effective measure of behavioral flexibility. It is important for future research to investigate whether survival and/or reproductive