Biosciences Seminar Speaker 24 October 2019

Biosciences Seminar Series - Autumn 2019
24 October 2019 - 1pm - Zoology Museum

Multimodal foraging and intraspecific sensory variation in wild capuchin monkeys

Dr Amanda Melin

(University of Calgary, Canada)

Image from monkeyworlds.com

Our Biosciences Seminar Series continues for the 2019 autumn term with a talk by Dr Amanda Melin from the University of Calgary, in Alberta (Canada). Amanda is a behavioural ecologist and research in her lab involves questions concerning the behaviour, sensory ecology, and dietary outcomes of nonhuman and human primates. The broad questions tackled are about primate origins and evolution, and are adressed using an integrative approach, combining assessment of sensory systems with molecular ecology, microbiome analysis, metagenomics, and field observations of primates.

Abstract

Senses serve as the interface between animals and their environment and play a critical role in food detection and evaluation. Color and/or scent changes during ripening may attract frugivores and inform their investigation behaviors. While numerous studies have assessed the impact of color on fruit selection, comparatively little is known about fruit scent, and how olfactory and visual data are integrated during foraging.

We combine behavioral data on white-faced capuchins, black-handed spider monkeys, and mantled howler monkeys with measurements of fruit reflectance spectra (color) and plant volatile organic compounds (scents) from 18 dietary plant species at different ripeness stages. We show that the frequency of sniffing behaviors – a proxy for reliance on the sense of smell – is positively correlated with increases in the volume of fruit odorants during ripening. Additionally, monkeys with red-green colorblindness (dichromacy) sniffed fruits more often, indicating that increased reliance on olfaction may be a general behavioral strategy that mitigates decreased capacity to detect red-green chromatic contrast. These results demonstrate a complex interaction among fruit traits, sensory capacities and foraging strategies. By examining fruit traits and sensory investigation of seed dispersing mammals, we help elucidate the evolutionary relationships between plants and frugivores and explain variation in primate behavior.

  

Hope to see many of you - everyone most welcome to attend!


For the list of forthcoming seminars see here