scholarly journals Division of Labor in Hand Usage Is Associated with Higher Hand Performance in Free-Ranging Bonnet Macaques,Macaca radiata

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur Mangalam ◽  
Nisarg Desai ◽  
Mewa Singh
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Absolute Difference ◽  
Macaca Radiata ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
Reaching Task ◽  
Bonnet Macaques ◽  
Hand Performance ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Performance Differentiation

A practical approach to understanding lateral asymmetries in body, brain, and cognition would be to examine the performance advantages/disadvantages associated with the corresponding functions and behavior. In the present study, we examined whether the division of labor in hand usage, marked by the preferential usage of the two hands across manual operations requiring maneuvering in three-dimensional space (e.g., reaching for food, grooming, and hitting an opponent) and those requiring physical strength (e.g., climbing), as described by Mangalam et al. [1], is associated with higher hand performance in free-ranging bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata. We determined the extent to which (a) the macaques exhibit laterality in hand usage in an experimental unimanual and a bimanual food-reaching task, and (b) manual laterality is associated with hand performance in an experimental hand-performance-differentiation task. We found strong negative relationships between (a) the performance of the preferred hand in the hand-performance-differentiation task (measured as the latency in food extraction; lower latency = higher performance), the preferred hand determined using the bimanual food-reaching task, and the normalized difference in the performance between the two hands (measured as the difference in the latency in food extraction between them normalized by the latency in food extraction using the preferred hand), and (b) the normalized difference in the performance between the two hands and the manual specialization (measured as the absolute difference in the laterality in hand usage between the unimanual and the bimanual food-reaching tasks; lesser difference = higher manual specialization). These observations demonstrate that the division of labor between the two hands is associated with higher hand performance.

scholarly journals Division of Labor in Hand Usage Is Associated with Higher Hand Performance in Free-Ranging Bonnet Macaques, Macaca radiata

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e0119337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur Mangalam ◽  
Nisarg Desai ◽  
Mewa Singh
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Macaca Radiata ◽  
Bonnet Macaques ◽  
Hand Performance ◽  
Free Ranging

Division of labor in hand usage in free-ranging bonnet macaques,Macaca radiata

2013 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur Mangalam ◽  
Nisarg Desai ◽  
Mewa Singh
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Macaca Radiata ◽  
Bonnet Macaques ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Endoparasitic Prevalence of Urban Free Ranging Bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) in Coonoor Town, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu: A Transversal Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (05) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manick Sundar B ◽  
Boon Allwin ◽  
Stalin Vedamanickam ◽  
Anjana Mohanraj ◽  
Bharath Jothi S
Keyword(s):  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Macaca Radiata ◽  
Bonnet Macaques ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Transversal Study

scholarly journals Division of Labor: A Democratic Approach to Understanding Manual Asymmetries in Non-Human Primates

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur Mangalam ◽  
Nisarg Desai ◽  
Mewa Singh
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
General Principle ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Gold Rush ◽  
Capuchin Monkeys ◽  
Behavioral Repertoire ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
Manual Asymmetries ◽  
Usage Patterns

A consequence of the ‘gold rush’ like hunch for human-like handedness in non-human primates has been that researchers have been continually analyzing observations at the level of the population, ignoring the analysis at the level of an individual and, consequently, have potentially missed revelations on the forms and functions of manual asymmetries. Recently, consecutive studies on manual asymmetries in bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata [Mangalam et al., 2014a; Mangalam et al., 2014b] revealed both the functional and the adaptive significance of manual asymmetries respectively, and pointed towards the division of labor as being the general principle underlying the observed hand-usage patterns. We review the studies on manual asymmetries in capuchin monkeys, Cebus spp. and argue that the observed hand-usage patterns might reflect specialization of the two hands for accomplishing tasks that require different dexterity types (i.e., maneuvering in three dimensional space or physical strength). To this end, we do a step-by-step analysis of the various tasks used in the studies on manual asymmetries in capuchin monkeys, wherein we: (a) analyze the different manual tasks that have been used to study manual asymmetries in non-human primates on the basis of the attributes such as the number of hands required to solve a given task (i.e., unimanual, pseudo unimanual, or bimanual) and the spatiotemporal progression of manual actions (i.e., sequential or concurrent). (b) Determine the forms and functions of manual asymmetries that these tasks can potentially elicit within the broader scope of the behavioral repertoire of an individual, a population, or a species. (c) Qualify the scope of the inter-individual, -population, or -species comparisons. We then describe the division of labor as a general principle underlying manual asymmetries in non-human primates, and propose experimental designs that would elaborate the forms and functions of manual asymmetries in non-human primates, and the associated adaptive value.

scholarly journals Infant Survival Among Free-Living Bonnet Macaques (Macaca radiata) in South India

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-236
Author(s):  
Małgorzata E. Arlet ◽  
Krishna N. Balasubramaniam ◽  
Rajarshi Saha ◽  
Brianne Beisner ◽  
Pascal R. Marty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Macaca Radiata ◽  
Infant Survival ◽  
Female Reproductive Success ◽  
Bonnet Macaques ◽  
Free Ranging

AbstractFemale reproductive success depends to a large extent on infants’ ability to survive to maturity. While most studies of female reproductive success have focused on the effects of individuals’ sociodemographic factors (e.g., age/parity, dominance rank) on offspring survival among wild primates living in less disturbed habitats, little research has focused on offspring survival in urban or periurban animals. Here we investigated sociodemographic and anthropogenic determinants of infant survival (up to 1 yr of age) in free-ranging bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) living in a periurban environment in Southern India. We conducted the study from November 2016 to May 2018, on two groups of bonnet macaques at the Thenmala tourist site in the state of Kerala. Fifty infants were born across two birth seasons. Of these infants, 29.2% died or disappeared in 2017 and 26.9% died or disappeared in 2018. We found that infant survival was strongly influenced by the mother’s parity: infants of experienced mothers had a better chance of survival than those of first-time mothers. We also found that male infants were more likely to die than female infants. However, we found no effects of mothers’ dominance rank, or of frequency of mothers’ interactions with humans and time spent foraging on anthropogenic food, on infant survival. Our results, consistent with findings from other wild primate species, show that even in challenging human-impacted environments, experienced bonnet macaque mothers have greater success than inexperienced ones.

scholarly journals Division of Labor in Hand Usage Is Associated with Higher Hand Performance in Free-Ranging Bonnet Macaques, Macaca radiate

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur Mangalam ◽  
Nisarg Desai ◽  
Mewa Singh
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Asymmetric System ◽  
Hand Performance ◽  
Motor Dexterity ◽  
The Right ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Better Than

Lateral asymmetries in body, brain, and cognition are ubiquitous among organisms. Asymmetries in motor-action patterns are a central theme of investigation, among others, as they are likely to have shaped primate evolution, and more specifically, their motor dexterity. Using an adaptationist approach one would argue that these asymmetries were evolutionarily selected because no bilateral organism can maneuver in three-dimensional space unless any one side becomes dominant and always takes the lead. However, which side becomes dominant is beyond the scope of this hypothesis as there is no apparent advantage or disadvantage associated with either the left or the right side. Both the evolutionary origin and adaptive significance of asymmetries in motor-action patterns remain largely unexplored. In the present study, we mathematically model how an asymmetry at a lower level could stimulate as well as govern asymmetries at the next higher level, and this process might reiterate; ultimately lateralizing the whole system. We then show by comparing two systems: one incorporating symmetric and the other incorporating asymmetric motor-action patterns, that (a) the asymmetric system performs better than the symmetric one in terms of time optimization, and (b) as the complexity of the task increases the advantage associated with asymmetries in the motor-action patterns increases. Our minimal model theoretically explains how lateral asymmetries could appear and evolve in a biological system using a systems theory approach.

scholarly journals Flexibility in Food Extraction Techniques in Urban Free-Ranging Bonnet Macaques, Macaca radiata

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e85497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhur Mangalam ◽  
Mewa Singh
Keyword(s):  
Macaca Radiata ◽  
Extraction Techniques ◽  
Bonnet Macaques ◽  
Free Ranging
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