Abstract
Animals have been assumed to employ an optimal foraging strategy (e.g., rate-maximizing strategy). In patchy food environments, intake rate within patches is positively correlated with patch quality, and declines as patches are depleted through consumption. This causes patch-leaving and determines patch residence time. In group-foraging situations, patch residence times are also affected by patch sharing. Optimal patch models for groups predict that patch residence times decrease as the number of co-feeding animals increases because of accelerated patch depletion. However, group members often depart patches without patch depletion, and their patch residence time deviates from patch models. It has been pointed out that patch residence time is also influenced by maintaining social proximity with others among group-living animals. In this study, the effects of maintaining social cohesion and that of rate-maximizing strategy on patch residence time were examined in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). I hypothesized that foragers give up patches to remain in the proximity of their troop members. On the other hand, foragers may stay for a relatively long period when they do not have to abandon patches to follow the troop. In this study, intake rate and foraging effort (i.e., movement) did not change during patch residency. Macaques maintained their intake rate with only a little foraging effort. Therefore, the patches were assumed to be undepleted during patch residency. Further, patch residence time was affected by patch-leaving to maintain social proximity, but not by the intake rate. Macaques tended to stay in patches for short periods when they needed to give up patches for social proximity, and remained for long periods when they did not need to leave to keep social proximity. Patch-leaving and patch residence time that prioritize the maintenance of social cohesion may be a behavioral pattern in group-living primates.
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Acknowledgments
Dr. N. Agetsuma gave many helpful suggestions on all aspects of this study. Dr. K. Izawa and the staff of the Association for the Research on Monkeys in Miyagi Prefecture, and the staff of the Kinkazan Koganeyama Shrine offered their valuable help with fieldwork. I am grateful to Dr. C. Janson, a reviewer, and Dr. N. Nakagawa, an associate editor, for repeatedly reading the manuscript and providing many helpful comments. This study was supported by the Environment Research, Technology Development Fund (D-1007) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, and the Cooperative Research Fund of the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University to NK.
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Kazahari, N. Maintaining social cohesion is a more important determinant of patch residence time than maximizing food intake rate in a group-living primate, Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata). Primates 55, 179–184 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-014-0410-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-014-0410-x