I chose to study the behaviors of the Spider monkey and the Sifaka. I chose them for a few reasons, one being that Spider monkeys are incredibly adorable and two Sifaka’s remind me of a childhood television show, Zoboomafoo. These two primate groups also struck my attention in class, so this project was a perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper. The behaviors I chose to observe were social interactions and locomotion. The biggest differences I noticed between the two primates were that the Spider monkeys have the prehensile tails and without exerting extra energy is able to engage in a few common locomotion patterns such as quadrupedal, suspensory and bipedalisim. Where as Sifaka’s lack a tail, and remain upright at all times, and the only way they don’t waste energy moving around is to jump through the trees. They both hangout in troops, eat similar things and mainly live up high in the trees-- but Spider monkeys care for their own young for up to a year while the Sifaka’s usually engage in non-maternal infant care. Spider monkey’s live in the tropical rain forrest and are best known for their incredible prehensile tails. I think it goes without saying that their tails adapted to have dermal ridges that hold and grab on to much tighter than any other prehensile tail in the animal kingdom because they lack functional thumbs, and the tails act as fingertips in replacement. Generally speaking, they hang out in Central and South America but sometimes show up as far away as Mexico. Their epic prehensile tails, long arms and teeny13.25 pound bodies allow them to feast high up in the trees on fruits, leaves, bird eggs and spiders. Although their interaction with the environment is interesting, so is their relationship with one anot... ... middle of paper ... ...ey have specially adapted hind legs to help them fly through the air at such great distances. The trees that they land on are super spiky and nobody really knows how they can land on the branches directly without hurting their feet, which is clearly an adaptive trait seeing as no other primate can do what they do. The Sifaka is not designed to walk on all fours, ground locomotion wastes energy, tires them out, and makes them susceptible to snakes and other predators. Which is why they choose to hangout in the trees, away from predators-- so they can work smarter not harder. This to me shows that they are using their brains, just as humans do to avoid expending more energy than necessary to get by. Works Cited http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/sifaka/?source=A-to-Z http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/
While reading Saint Monkey, there were several parts that reminded me of “Trilobites.” Saint Monkey tells the story of Audrey and Caroline living in a small town wanting to become jazz singers out of their hometown. When Audrey’s dad died is what really made me connect this story to “Trilobites.” One of the main parts of “Trilobites” is when Collie’s dad died and how it affects the rest of the story. One should realize how Saint Monkey and “Trilobites,” are similar through the characters and conflicts and how conflicts throughout the stories affect the characters and what writing style the author chooses to use.
A Primate’s Memoir, written by Robert Sapolsky, documents the author’s time in Kenya while he studied the various behaviors of a troop of baboons. One of the key aspects of the book was the social rank that developed within the troop. Female baboons have a social hierarchy that is fairly cut and dry. The eldest baboons in the troop are considered the higher-ranking females, and as the baboons get younger, so to follows the string of dominance. The ranking for males was essentially from the strongest baboons to the weakest baboons. The baboon at the top of the social hierarchy was considered the alpha male. This social rank has huge implications for the troop in regards to which baboons mated with each other. If another baboon wanted to become the alpha male, then he would have to challenge the current alpha male to a fight, and win. The baboon’s distinct personality mixed with their instincts are the primary factors for where one lands on the social hierarchy. Another key aspect of the book was the strategies that took place when the baboons wanted to mate with another baboon. Similar to humans, the baboon males tried to impress the female baboons in a way that would make them want to mate. The rank of the male is considered to be one of the greatest factors contributing to what mate they end up with, because there is nothing more impressive than becoming a high-ranking baboon. Also, there were instances of lower-ranking baboons strategizing and forming teams with other baboons to become a higher ranking baboon for the mating possibilities. The baboons in the group are considered a patch-work of different troops, as it is common for one baboon to move to different groups frequently.
Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event.
The second step shown in these monkey’s evolutionary progress is that now these animals appear to be goal oriented. Like mentioned previously, these monkeys had been working for themselves. They would do what ever they could to benefit themselves, get food, and have a nice place to sleep. Yet, once the changes begin and they have a leader, the monkeys begin to act as a group. They are more coordinated and it seems that their living style has changed from anarchy to monarchy. They attack a larger animal and kill it as a group. In turn, the raw meat is then split between the monkeys and everyone gets a share.
They have small heads and body’s with a long lumbar region and narrow chest. Saki’s are arboreal quadrupeds with their arms and legs equal in length. They have a long olecranon process to be able to lock their joints so that their limbs can hold equal weight. White-Faced Sakis have long prehensile tails and long phalanges on their hands and feet for better travel and balance in the trees. A Saki’s dental formula is 2.1.3.3 with triangular molars meaning they are insectivores. They are also known as "flying monkeys" because they are able to leap 30 feet between tree branches. I already knew they could leap so I was hoping to see that when I observed it, but it was resting when I was there. They are sexually dimorphic due to color. White-Faced Sakis are vulnerable to being
1. Since apes were pushed out of the trees by lack of food, they eventually had to adapt to walking around on two legs.
Quiatt, D., & Reynolds, V. (1993). Primate behaviour: information, social knowledge, and the evolution of culture. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press].
It has been believed that culture is unique to humans and no other groups of animals have culture, but recent evidence refutes this ideology. Before getting into the meat of the argument, it is important to first address the issues regarding the ambiguity of the term, “culture.” What is culture? Many scientists may argue that culture is the way of life for a group of individuals, this definition includes the values, beliefs and traditions of the group (Sapolsky, 2006). Other scientists may argue that culture is the transmission of habits and information by social means (Sapolsky, 2006). Despite the different specifics of what culture is, almost all scientists would agree that culture is transmitted socially through social learning that promotes the transfer of information between members in a group (Boesch and Tomasello, 1998). Based on these notions of culture, it can be justifiably stated that primates have culture. Primates exhibit food preparation techniques, use of tools, communication skills, and most importantly, behaviors of social learning. An exemplar of primates’ capabilities for culture is Koko, the lowland gorilla. Koko, in captivity, was able to learn American sign language, demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to deceive.
The brown spider monkey is a species of spider monkey that inhabits areas of the continent of South America. The scientific name of the spider monkey is Ateles, while that of the brown spider monkey is Ateles hybridus. The habitat of the brown spider monkey consists of the undisturbed evergreen rainforests located in the subtropical and tropical lowlands of both Colombia and Venezuela. There are two subspecies of the brown spider monkey, Ateles hybridus hybridus and Ateles hybridus brunneus. (According to_____) Hybridus hybridus inhabits both Colombia and Venezuela in rainforests extending from the right of the banks of the Rio Magdalena River into western Venezuela. The latter subspecies, on the other hand, can only be found in the Colombian geographic departments of Bolivar, Antioquia, and Caldas. Brown spider monkeys reside mainly in the high canopy of the rainforests though they can also be found in the middle and lower strata. To travel the brown spider monkey hangs, swinging from branch to branch, rather than walking or running on all fours. The brown spider monkey is very well...
Stanford CB. 2006. The behavioral ecology of sympatric African apes: Implications for understanding fossil hominoid ecology. Primates 47:91-101.
In the short story, "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs, I came to the conclusion that Sergeant Major Morris was responsible for the sorrows that resulted from the monkey's paw. For instance, he was the one who owned the paw in the first place, allowed Mr. White to keep it, and even told them how to use it, stating on page 377, "Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud."
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
The Simpsons episode “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror II” is about a magical monkey’s paw bought by the Simpsons, a modern day family that lives in a town called Springfield. The family uses the paw to grant themselves four wishes. The wishes, they soon find out, all include repercussions that harm the family in some way. The book “The Monkey’s Paw” is about a family that is given a monkey’s paw by a friend that says it can grant three wishes. The family’s home in this story is Laburnum Villa, sometime in the past. At first the family is skeptical of the friends claim that the paw is magic saying, “If the tale about the monkey’s paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us, we shan't make much out of it.”(Page 4, W.W. Jacobs). They then proceed to use the paw and are surprised to find that what they wish for is in fact granted but comes with terrible consequences. While “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror II” both share similar plots, the settings of the stories and the
The goal of this paper is to discuss the physical characteristics that indicate the evolution of bipedalism and large brain size in the hominid line. To achieve this I will address the anatomical differences that evolved between humans and apes to make bipedalism an efficient form of locomotion, the increase of brain size,
One of the most important and pivotal physical and biological adaptations that separate humans from other mammals is habitual bipedalism. According to Darwin, as restated by Daniel Lieberman, “It was bipedalism rather than big brains, language, or tool use that first set th...