SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON RHESUS MONKEY FOOD SELECTION

与人类相似，恒河猴(Macaca Mulatta)已经适应了广泛的 地理和气候范围。它们分布在森林、农村地区和 在印度次大陆的城市。这种行为可塑性，它 使他们能够容易地适应新的环境，可能集中在 围绕它们选择和避免生存所必需的食物的能力。 也类似于人类的文化群体成员(队伍)、社会阶层 (支配地位)、社交网络(亲属关系)、家庭规模/组成和 家庭传统在饮食的发展中扮演着重要的角色 猴子的模式和食物选择。食物选择是如何随性别而变化的， 年龄，以及个体的生殖状态？社会地位和社会地位如何 亲属关系影响获取食物来源、进餐模式或影响食物 选拔策略？这些变量是否会导致显著差异 在整体膳食构成中还是营养成分的膳食中？做什么 小猴子学会了食物选择模式？这样做的具体目的是 应用是评估五个主题变量对 动物在自然环境中的食物选择和进食模式： 1)个人年龄；2)性别；3)社会地位；4)成年女性生殖 状态；5)母性教养方式。主要受试者群体是一个庞大的， 一群占主导地位的恒河猴，它们可以无限制地接触到不同的 尼泊尔的森林栖息地。来自资源调配的更小的并行数据集 选择性觅食的猴子(在圣地亚哥卡约岛)和笼子里的 只接受商业饮食将允许评估这些社会 不同程度环境约束下的变量及其评价 在食谱自我选择方面对恒河猴的觅食 特定的营养素。局灶性动物行为的定量观察 食物的消耗率、持续时间和体积以及营养分析 食物已经做好了。每年重复的样本 母亲/婴儿的喂养行为将提供对 该物种中自然摄食的个体发育和母亲作为 教师。该项目的长期目标是评估 社会因素对食物选择和营养摄入的影响。次要目标 将提供可用于加强俘虏的信息 这些重要的研究动物所处的环境。

Similar to humans, rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) have adapted to a wide geographic and climatic range. They are found in forests, rural areas, and in cities on the Indian sub-continent. This behavioral plasticity, which has allowed them to readily adjust to new environments, may be centered around their ability to select and avoid foods as necessary for survival. Also similar to humans cultural group membership (the troop), social class (dominance status), social network (kinship), family size/composition and family traditions play important roles in the development of eating patterns and food choice in monkeys. How does food selection vary with sex, age, and reproductive state of the individual? How does social status and kinship affect access to food sources, meal patterning or influence food selection strategies? Do these variables result in significant differences in the overall dietary composition or nutrient content of the diets? How do infant monkeys learn food selection patterns? The specific aims of this application are to evaluate the impact of five subject variables on animals' food selection and eating patterns in their natural environment: 1) individual age; 2) sex; 3) social status; 4) adult female reproductive state; and 5) maternal rearing style. The main subject group was a large, dominant troop of rhesus monkeys who had unlimited access to a diverse forest habitat in Nepal. Smaller, parallel data sets from provisioned monkeys who selectively forage (on Cayo Santiago) and a caged colony which receives only commercial diet will allow evaluation of these social variables under varying degrees of environmental constraint and evaluation of foraging in rhesus monkeys in terms of dietary self-selection for specific nutrients. Quantitative observations on focal animal behavior with rate, duration and volume of food consumed as well as nutrient analyses of the food items have been completed. Repeated yearly samples of mother/infant feeding behavior will provide the first description of the ontogeny of natural feeding in this species and the role of the mother as teacher. The long-term objective of this project is to assess the impact of social factors on food selection and nutrient intake. A secondary objective will be to provide information which can be applied to enhance captive environments for these important research animals.