Transcript Howler Monkey

Live in Africa, Asia, South America
• Arboreal: live in trees
• Five digit hands with a thumb (“opposable thumb”)
• Nonspecialization: kept all 5 digits…did not specialize into fins,
hooves, claws, or paws
• Limb flexibility: arm and hand rotation unique to primates
• Visual acuity (great sense of vision)
• frontal direction, stereoscopic (3-D), color perception (typical
for animals that fly)
• Upright posture: bipedalism
Chapter 14-15-16 Blue Book (“Sitter”)
38-65 mill years. Smaller, nocturnal, arboreal, “furry”
Lemurs: size of a cat, diurnal, found in
Madagascar only, long furry tail, feed on leaves
and fruits, live in structured groups
Lorises: solitary, slow moving, hunt insects, no
tail, eyes close together
38-50 mill years. Larger than prosimians, prominent skulls, more
intelligent, full color 3-D vision, flat nose
Howler Monkey: arboreal, diurnal, rain forest
habitat, feed mainly on leaves. Prehensile tails
(“grasping” appendage). Loudest calls among
primates (i.e. the name!!)…consequently, very low
aggressive encounters.
Squirrel Monkey: smaller, arboreal, white face,
dark eyes, long NON-prehensile tails used for
balance, abundant food in leaves, fruits, flowers,
and even insects…consequently – widespread
habitat
Largest group of primates, African in
origin.
Guenons: (Blue Monkey) Small (12-20lbs), arboreal, omnivores,
live in troops of about 20 with one dominant male.
Larger sexual dimorphism due to competition among mating
males,
Non-dominant males live solitary and will mate with wandering
females of a troop.
Large vaiation in facial patterns
Baboons: largest monkey species (80-150lbs). adapted for
walking on the ground (non-arboreal) using all 4 limbs.
Classic dimorphism…large difference btw male and female. Large
muscles, long tail, large teeth and jaws…used only for aggressive
“display”. Will actually stand and defend against predators!!
Complex social organization…both male (“alpha”) and female
have rank.
Males leave the troops around age 4, females stay (prevents
inbreeding)
Highly successful social species.
Hairless “Ischial callosites” on their butts…bare callous to sit
Apes: larger brain, no tail, Evolved
from Old World Monkeys about 25
million years ago.
Gibbons: 3 feet tall. Strictly arboreal, mostly
herbivorous.
Walk upright (bipedalism), but mostly move by
Brachiation (“swinging). Can leap 20 feet and brachiate
at 35 mph (fastest of all primates!!)
Thumbs are small and useless. Hands are used like
hooks for swinging quickly
Monogamous couples live with offspring (like human!!).
Leaves the family after 6-8 years.
Very little sexual dimorphism, due to low competition
among males
Non confrontational, and due to their speed, are rarely
preyed upon.
A. Orangutans
•
first of the Great Apes to evolve (10 million
years)
•
Heaviest tree dwelling animal (arboreal) in
the world (165lbs)
•
Shy solitary animal, difficult to study
naturally. Male and female socialize only to
mate.
•
Diet limited to hard to find fruits…better to
be on you own!
•
Can grasp with their feet
B. Gorillas
•
only discovered in the 19th century by European scientists
•
Contrary to myth, gorillas are the shyest and gentlest of all primates
…in spite of 300-600 lbs body standing over 6 feet tall!!
•
Live in small family groups of about 8-24. One large dominant silver-back male
leads the troop. Females move out after maturity (no inbreeding)
•
Herbivorous – eats 70lbs of vegetation per day!!
•
Cannot grasp with their feet….usually walk on all fours…NON-arboreal.
•
Chest pounding may indicate threat, sexual arousal, play, frustration, or
dominance.
•
Yawning is a submissive gesture
•
No “rump pad” (ischial callosites) – need to sleep in soft nest of leaves
•
Threat display: (usually accompanied with loud screams and roars)
•
1. Bluff Charge: charge past adversary
•
2. Rush Charge: charge and stop short
•
3. Slam Charge: runs directly into adversary
Dian Fossey: Gorilla in the Mist
(1998)
c. Chimpanzee
•
share over 98% of human genes…share common
ancestor.
•
Jane Goodall, Gombe, Tanzania (1960)…witnessed tool
use and carnivores
•
60-90 lbs. Only 200,000 left in the wild.
•
Usually NON-arboreal
•
Unlike baboons, males stay with the group while females
migrate.
•
Huge array of facial expressions and vocalizations (panthoot)
•
Males hunt monkeys in groups, each with a specific role
(driver, blockers, chasers, ambushers)
•
Chimps at war: they may seek out and kill members of a
different community…not eaten for food. Only primate
(other than human) to commit “murder”. Suggested that it’s
for territorial expansion…war???
Discover chimpanzees; behavior videos, vocal calls
D. Bonobos
• used to be called pygmy chimps, but they’re not much smaller than chimps
• slimmer build, narrower shoulders, longer legs smaller head
• Inhabit different areas in the wild, so they don’t mix with chimps.
• enjoy water (unlike chimps)…also have small webbing between toes!
• walk upright more easily than chimps
• Society dominated by females (unlike chimps!)
• Like humans, bonobos are sexually active all the time
• Love, Not War: Sex is used to maintain harmony within the group!
•Sex is used to avoid aggression, reconcile, or relieve tension (even between
same sex bonobos
Criteria traditionally used to show the evolution
of human intelligence.
However, it no longer is used to determine
intelligence because it is NOT linked with the
development or complexity of the Central
NS.
It’s an adaptive mechanism for animals to
get food rather than changing their physical
morphology.
We change our behaviors rather than our
bodies
(generalization rather than specialization)
Use of a stone to crack open a nut
Use of a stick to access a termite mound
Reaching adulthood…
No other species has a longer developmental period
than humans do, but other primates are close behind.
The investment in a long learning period and
more intense parenting:
•Many animals learn by operant and classical conditioning.
Primates spend much more effort on observational
learning…watching another perform a behavior, then remembering
what they see and trying it themselves in a safe setting.
•This process saves time and energy and also lowers the dangers
associated with making a mistake in the wild.
•Taking advantage of what others in the group already
know…building tradition (a collection of learned and socially
transmitted behaviors)
•Evidence shows that the tendency to imitate is probably innate.
Observational learning occurs primarily in primates, but otherwise is
actually quite rare in the animal kingdom (although does occur in a
few others, such as some mammals and birds.
It is an efficient, fast, and safe way to function within your
environment. The passing on of behaviors through generations
may result in traditions.
For most animals, it is innate (you’re born with it). These instinctive
responses protect animals from danger.
Lots of research still being done on this!! Nature versus nurture.
Important Early Childhood Experiences:
•Contact Comfort; touch,
warmth, protective security
•Peer Relations; social isolation
led to over-aggressiveness,
sexual inadequacy, rejection by
others…also, rocking, swaying,
self-mutilation…never learned
to get along with others in a
very social society.
•Mother Deprivation;
motherless mothers would sit
on the infant, throw it against
the wall, or try to kill it
* Harry Harlow’s work
Mother deprivation continued
• Infants who were raised by mothers then separated
from them became passive, sad, upset, tearful, and
depressed. (Anaclitic depression)
•Normal development was slowed down on all levels.
•How many of these findings can we generalize to
humans?
•Play; may be social, exercise, or
exploration.
•Costs; use energy, risk harm
•Benefits must outweigh
costs…healthy development
of the brain and nervous
system. (Greater stimulation
led to larger brain with more
synapses.) Practice
movements needed for
survival…deer vs. mountain
lion playing. Explore in safety.
Practice social behaviors.
Stimulates the development
of the nervous system and
thinking abilities. And maybe
just for fun!
So what do you think of
all of this ‘behavior’
stuff?
Is this class
over yet?