Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Subgrouping Patterns in a Group of Wild Cebus apella nigritus

  • Published:
International Journal of Primatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Seasonal patterns of group fragmentation, including the size of subgroups and percentage of time spent in subgroups, may provide information on individual decision-making in response to resource distribution. Age-sex class composition of subgroup membership can offer insights into the social dynamics of the group as a whole. At most field sites, capuchins (Cebus spp.) form stable groups with no evidence of group fragmentation. Here I describe seasonal subgrouping patterns, including proportion of time spent in subgroups, subgroup size, age-sex membership, dyadic fidelity, stability of membership, and the effect of subgrouping on individual foraging efficiency, in a group of wild Cebus apella nigritus. From September 1996 to August 1997 the study group at the Estação Biológica de Caratinga, Brazil divided into 148 different subgroups, on 99 of 194 census days. In contrast to expectations for subgrouping patterns as a response to seasonal distribution of resources, the proportion of days spent in subgroups did not vary significantly by season. Subgroup composition was relatively fluid, with multimale multifemale subgroups the most common throughout the year. Unimale multifemale subgroups were restricted to the wet season; in contrast, all-male subgroups and unimale unifemale subgroups occurred in the dry season. For both males and females, low rank predicted membership in smaller subgroups. For males, but not females, subgrouping coincided with increased foraging efficiency, as measured by increased time spent ingesting food and decreased time spent traveling on days with subgrouping compared to days with the group in a cohesive unit.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altmann, J. (1974a). Observational study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behaviour, 49, 227–267.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Altmann, S. (1974b). Baboons, space, time, and energy. American Zoologist, 14, 221–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldwin, J. D., & Baldwin, J. I. (1981). The squirrel monkeys, genus Saimiri. In A. F. Coimbra-Filho & R. A. Mittermeier (Eds.), Ecology and behavior of neotropical primates I (pp. 277–330). Rio de Janeiro: Academia Brasileira de Ciências.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boinski, S. (2000). Social manipulation within and between troops mediates primate group movement. In S. Boinski & P. A. Garber (Eds.), On the move: How and why animals travel in groups (pp. 421–446). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boubli, J. P. (1999). Feeding ecology of black-headed uacaris (Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus) in Pico da Neblina National Park, Brazil. International Journal of Primatology, 20, 719–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, C. A. (1988). Patch use and patch depletion by the spider and howling monkeys of Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. Behaviour, 105, 99–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, C. A. (1990). Association patterns of spider monkeys: The influence of ecology and sex on social organization. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 26, 409–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, C. A., Wrangham, R. W., & Chapman, L. J. (1995). Ecological constraints on group size: An analysis of spider monkey and chimpanzee subgroups. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 36, 59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chepko-Sade, B. D., & Sade, D. S. (1979). Patterns of group splitting within matrilineal kinship groups: A study of social group structure in Macaca mulatta (Cercopithecidae: Primates). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 5, 67–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Defler, T. R. (1999). Fission-fusion in the black-headed uacari (Cacajao melanocephalus) in eastern Colombia. Neotropical Primates, 7, 5–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Bitetti, M. (1997). Evidence for an important social role of allogrooming in a platyrrhine primate. Animal Behavior, 54, 199–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Bitetti, M. S., & Janson, C. H. (2000). When will the stork arrive? Patterns of birth seasonality in Neotropical primates. American Journal of Primatology, 50, 109–130.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Di Bitetti, M. S., & Janson, C. H. (2001). Reproductive socioecology of tufted capuchins (Cebus apella nigritus) in northeastern Argentina. International Journal of Primatology, 22, 127–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dittus, W. P. J. (1988). Group fission among wild toque macaques as a consequence of female resource competition and environmental stress. Animal Behaviour, 36, 1626–1645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedigan, L. M., Rose, L. M., & Avila, R. M. (1996). See how they grow, tracking capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus) populations in regenerating Costa Rican dry forest. In M. A. Norconk, A. L. Rosenberger, & P. A. Garber (Eds.), Adaptative radiations of neotropical primates (pp. 289–307). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, S. F. (1988). The behaviour and ecology of buffy-headed marmoset, Callithrix flaviceps (O Thomas, 1903). PhD Thesis, University College London.

  • Fukuda, F. (1989). Habitual fission-fusion and social organization of the Hakone troop T of Japanese macaques in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. International Journal of Primatology, 10, 419–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guimarães, A. (1998). Ecology and social behavior of buffy headed marmosets, Callithrix flaviceps. Neotropical Primates, 6, 51–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Izar, P. (2003). Female social relationships of Cebus apella nigritus in a Southeastern Atlantic forest: An analysis through ecological models of primate social evolution. Behaviour, 141, 71–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izawa, K. (1976). Group sizes and compositions of monkeys in the Upper Amazon Basin. Primates, 17, 367–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izawa, K. (1980). Social behavior of the wild black-capped capuchin (Cebus apella). Primates, 21, 443–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izawa, K. (1990). Social changes within a group of wild black-capped capuchins (Cebus apella) in Colombia (II). Field studies of New World Monkeys, La Macarena Colombia. Japan and Colombia Cooperative Study of Primates, Vol 3, pp. 1–6.

  • Izawa, K. (1992). Social changes within a group of wild black-capped capuchins (Cebus apella) (III). Field studies of New World Monkeys, La Macarena, Colombia, Vol. 7, pp. 9–14.

  • Izawa, K. (1994a). Group division of wild black-capped capuchins. Field Studies of New World Monkeys, La Macarena, Colombia, Vol. 9, pp. 5–14.

  • Izawa, K. (1994b). Social changes within a group of wild black-capped capuchins (IV). Field studies of New World Monkeys, La Macarena Colombia, Vol. 9, pp. 15–21.

  • Izawa, K. (1997). Social changes within a group of wild black-capped capuchins V. Field studies of New World Monkeys, La Macarena Colombia, Vol. 11, pp. 1–10.

  • Jack, K., & Fedigan, L. (2004a). Male dispersal patterns in white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus Part 1: Patterns and causes of natal emigration. Animal Behaviour, 67, 761–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, K., & Fedigan, L. (2004b). Male dispersal patterns in white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus. Part 2: Patterns and causes of secondary dispersal. Animal Behaviour, 67, 771–782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janson, C. H. (1984). Female choice and mating system of brown capuchin monkey Cebus apella (Primates: Cebidae). Zeitshrift für Tierpschychologie, 65, 177–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janson, C. (1986). The mating system as a determinant of social evolution in capuchin monkeys (Cebus). In J. G. Else & P. C. Lee (Eds.), Primate ecology and conservation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolly, A. (1972). Troop continuity and troop spacing in Propithecus verreauxi and Lemur catta at Berenty (Madagascar). Folia Primatologica, 17, 335–362.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C. B. (1995). Howler subgroups as homeostatic mechanisms in disturbed habitats. Neotropical Primates, 3, 7–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinzey, W. G., & Cunningham, E. P. (1994). Variability in Platyrrhine social organization. American Journal of Primatology, 34, 185–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koyama, N. (1970). Changes in dominance rank and division of a wild Japanese monkey troop in Arashiyama. Primates, 11, 335–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kummer, H. (1968). Social organization of hamadryas baboons. A field study. Bibliotheca Primatologica, 6, 1–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J. W. (2001). Male behavior and endocrinology in wild tufted capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella nigritus. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

  • Lynch Alfaro, J. W. (2005). Male mating strategies and reproductive constraints in wild tufted capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella nigritus. American Journal of Primatology, 67, 313–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J. W., & Rímoli, J. (2000). Demography of a group of tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella nigritus) at the Estação Biológica de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Neotropical Primates, 8, 44–49.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J. W., Ziegler, T. E., & Strier, K. B. (2002). Individual and seasonal variation in fecal testosterone and cortisol in wild male tufted capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella nigritus. Hormones and Behavior, 41, 275–287.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malik, I., Seth, P. K., & Southwick, C. H. (1985). Group fission in free-ranging rhesus monkeys of Tughlaqabad, Northern India. International Journal of Primatology, 6, 411–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R. D. (1972). A preliminary field-study of the lesser mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus J. F. Miller 1777). Forschitte der Verhaltensforschung, 9, 43–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R. D. (1973) A review of the behaviour and ecology of the lesser mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus J. F. Miller 1777). In R. P. Michael & J. H. Crook (Eds.), Comparative ecology and behaviour of primates (pp. 1–6). New York: AcademicPress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matheson, M. D., Johnson, J. S., & Feuerstein, J. (1996). Male reunion displays in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). American Journal of Primatology, 40, 183–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsumoto-Oda, A., Hosaka, K., Huffman, M. A., & Kawanaka, K. (1998). Factors affecting party size in chimpanzees of the Mahale mountains. International Journal of Primatology, 19, 999–1011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendes, S. L. (1989). Estudo ecológico de Alouatta fusca (Primates: Cebidae) na Estação Biológica de Caratinga, MG. Revista Nordestina de Biologia, 6, 71–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, L. E. (1996). The behavioral ecology of wedge-capped capuchin monkeys (Cebus olivaceus). In M. A. Norconk, A. L. Rosenberger, & P. A. Garber (Eds.), Adaptive radiations of neotropical primates (pp. 271–288). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milton, K. (1984). Habitat, diet and activity pattern of free-ranging woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides E. Geoffroy 1808). International Journal of Primatology, 5, 491–514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morland, H. S. (1991) Preliminary report on the social organization of ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata) in a northeast Madagascar rain forest. Folia Primatologica, 56, 157–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida, T., & Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M. (1987). Chimpanzees and bonobos: Cooperative relationships among males. In B. Smuts, D. Cheney, R. Seyfarth, R. Wrangham, & T. Struhsaker (Eds.), Primate societies (pp. 165–180). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panger, M. A. (1997). Hand preference and object-use in free-ranging white faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in Costa Rica. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Berkeley.

  • Perry, S. (1995). Social Relationships in Wild White-Faced Capuchin Monkeys, Cebus capucinus. Ph.D. dissertation, UMI.

  • Perry, S. (1996a). Female-female social relationships in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus). American Journal of Primatology, 40, 167–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, S. (1996b). Intergroup encounters in wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus). International Journal of Primatology, 17, 309–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Philips, K. A., & Shauver Goodchild, L. M. (2005). Reunion displays in captive male brown capuchins (Cebus apella). Primates, 46, 121–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rigamonti, M. M. (1993). Home range and diet in red ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata rubra). on the Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar. In P. M. Kappeler & J. U. Ganzhorn (Eds.), Lemur social systems and their ecological basis (pp. 25–39). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rímoli, J. (2001). Ecologia de macacos-pregos (Cebus apella nigritus, Goldfuss, 1809, Primates, Cebidae) na Estação Biológica de Caratinga (MG): implicações para a conservação de fragmentos de Mata Atlântica. Ph.D. dissertation. Centro de Ciência Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará.

  • Rímoli, J., & Ferrari, S. (1997). Comportamento e ecologia de macacos-prego (Cebus apella nigritus, GOLDFUSS 1809) na Estação Biológica de Caratinga (MG). Programa e Resumos, VIII Congresso Brasileiro de Primatologia. João Pessoa, PB, Brasil, p. 231.

  • Robinson, J. G. (1988a). Demography and group structure in wedge-capped capuchin monkeys, Cebus olivaceus. Behaviour, 104, 202–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. G. (1988b). Group size in wedge-capped capuchin monkeys Cebus olivaceus and the reproductive success of males and females. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 23, 187–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. G., & Janson, C. H. (1987). Capuchins, squirrel monkeys, and atelines: Socioecological convergence with Old World Primates. In B. Smuts, D. Cheney, R. Seyfarth, R. Wrangham, & T. Struhsaker (Eds.), Primate societies (pp. 69–82). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soini, P. (1986). A synecological study of a primate community in the Pacaya-Samiria national Reserve, Peru. Primate Conservation, 7, 63–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strier, K. B. (1992). Faces in the forest: The endangered Muriqui monkeys of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strier, K. B., Mendes, S. L, Bragança, A. M., Coelho, C. C., Costa, C. G., Diaz, L. G., et al. (1999). Census of the primate community at the Estação Biológica de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Neotropical Primates, 7, 134–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strier, K. B., Mendes, F. D. C., Rímoli, J., & Rímoli, A. O. (1993). Demography and social structure of one group of muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides). International Journal Primatology, 14, 513–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strier, K. B., Mendes, S. L., & Santos, R. R. (2001). The timing of births in sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus). American Journal Primatology, 55, 87–100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strier, K. B., Ziegler, T. E., & Wittwer, D. J. (1999). Seasonal and social correlates of fecal testosterone and cortisol levels in wild male muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides). Hormones and Behaviour, 35, 125–134.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Symington, M. M. (1990). Fission-fusion social organization in Ateles and Pan. International Journal of Primatology, 11, 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tattersall, I. (1982). The primates of Madagascar. Press, New York: Columbia University.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Noordwijk, M. A., & van Schaik, C. P. (1987). Competition among female long-tailed macaques, Macaca fascicularis. Animal Behavior, 35, 577–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik, C. P., van Noordwijk, M. A., de Boer, R. J., & den Tonkelaar, I. (1983). The effect of group size on time budgets and social behaviour in wild long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 13, 173–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, F. J. (1991) Social organization, feeding ecology, and reproductive strategy of ruffed lemurs, Varecia variegata. In A. Ehara, T. Kimura, O. Takenaka, & M. Iwamonto (Eds.), Primatology today (pp. 81–84). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, F. J., & Wrangham, R. W. (1988) Feeding competition and patch size in the chimpanzee species Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes. Behaviour, 105, 148–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham, R. W. (1980). An ecological model of female-bonded primate groups. Behaviour, 75, 262–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham, R. W., & Smuts, V. V. (1980). Sex differences in the behavioural ecology of chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, 28, 13–31.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I thank Karen B. Strier (University of Wisconsin-Madison), José Rímoli (Universidade Católica Dom Bosco), David Morales Torres (Universidad Veracruzana), Sérgio Lucena Mendes (Museo de Biologia Mello Leitão), and Michael Edward Alfaro (Washington State University). Alice Guimarães, Andreia Silene Oliva, Laiena Texeira Dib, Rogério Ribeiro dos Santos, Jairo Gomes, Eduardo Veado, and the EBC staff made work at Caratinga a pleasure. This research was supported by grants from Fulbright/IIE, Wenner-Gren Foundation (Predoctoral Grant 6068), Tinker Foundation/Nave Fund, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, College Hall 208 and Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA

    Jessica W. Lynch Alfaro

Authors
  1. Jessica W. Lynch Alfaro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica W. Lynch Alfaro.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lynch Alfaro, J.W. Subgrouping Patterns in a Group of Wild Cebus apella nigritus . Int J Primatol 28, 271–289 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9121-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-007-9121-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation