DOI: 10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9scd
title: Foraging behaviour data for sympatric Ateles geoffroyi, Alouatta palliata, and Cebus imitator

description: Senses form the interface between animals and environments, and their form
 and function provide a window into the ecology of past and present
 species. However, research on the senses used during foraging (e.g. smell,
 vision, touch, taste) by wild terrestrial frugivores is sparse. Here, we
 combine 26,094 fruit foraging sequences recorded from three wild,
 sympatric primates (Cebus imitator, Ateles geoffroyi, Alouatta palliata)
 with data on within- and between-species variation in colour vision,
 olfaction, taste, and hand anatomy. We hypothesize that dietary and
 sensory specialization shape foraging behaviours. We find that frugivorous
 spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) sniff fruits most often, that omnivorous
 capuchins (Cebus imitator), the species with the highest measure of manual
 dexterity, uses manual touch most often, and that main olfactory bulb
 volume is a better predictor of sniffing behaviour than nasal turbinate
 surface area. We also identify an interaction between colour vision
 phenotype and use of other senses. Controlling for species, dichromats
 sniff and bite fruits more often than trichromats, and trichromats use
 manual touch to evaluate cryptic fruits more often than dichromats. Our
 findings help reveal how dietary specialization and sensory variation
 shape foraging behaviours, and inform methods for investigating
 relationships between behaviour and anatomy.
description: We conducted short (1–10 min) continuous focal animal samples
 following a published protocol (Melin et al. 2018) with strict out-of-site
 rules, such that we only recorded behaviour when we had an unobstructed
 view of the focal monkey’s hands and face.  Individuals were sampled
 opportunistically, based on visibility, but we rotated among sex and age
 classes in an effort to sample evenly across these variables. We recorded
 fruit investigation sequences, including each manual touch, sniff, and
 bite event, and whether the investigated fruit was eaten or rejected.
 Sniffing was coded as present (yes/no) if fruits were brought close to or
 in contact with the nose . “Bite” as a sensory assessment was only
 recorded when the fruit was rejected, as mastication is a requirement of
 fruit consumption and we cannot tease apart feeding and assessment for
 consumed fruits. We classified a fruit as eaten if at least two bites were
 taken. We also recorded fruit species. For each feeding bout for each
 individual, we calculated the number of foraging sequences that included
 sniffing, manual touch, bites followed by rejection, and acceptance (i.e.,
 eaten), as well as the total number of foraging sequences per feeding
 bout. Foraging bouts were restricted to plant species or morphotypes that
 all three monkey species feed from. More details are
 available in these publications: - Melin AD, Webb SE,
 Williamson RE, Chiou KL. 2018 Data collection in field primatology: a
 renewed look at measuring foraging behaviour. In Primate life histories,
 sex roles, and adaptability - Essays in honour of Linda M. Fedigan (eds U
 Kalbitzer, KM Jack), pp. 161–192. New York, NY: Springer.
 - Melin AD, Fedigan LM, Hiramatsu C, Hiwatashi T, Parr N,
 Kawamura S. 2009 Fig foraging by dichromatic and trichromatic Cebus
 capucinus in a tropical dry forest. Int. J. Primatol. 30, 753.
 (doi:10.1007/s10764-009-9383-9) - Hiramatsu C, Melin
 AD, Aureli F, Schaffner CM, Vorobyev M, Kawamura S. 2009 Interplay of
 olfaction and vision in fruit foraging of spider monkeys. Anim. Behav. 77,
 1421–1426. (doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.02.012) -
 Sánchez‐Solano KG, Morales‐Mávil JÉ, Laska M, Melin A, Hernández‐Salazar
 LT. 2020 Visual detection and fruit selection by the mantled howler monkey
 (Alouatta palliata). Am. J. Primatol. 82, e23186.
 (doi:10.1002/ajp.23186) - Sánchez-Solano KG,
 Reynoso-Cruz JE, Guevara R, Morales-Mávil JE, Laska M, Hernández-Salazar
 LT. 2022 Non-visual senses in fruit selection by the mantled howler monkey
 (Alouatta palliata). Primates (doi:10.1007/s10329-022-00984-4)