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Collective decision-making in white-faced capuchin monkeys.
O Petit1, J Gautrais, J-B Leca
1Ethologie des Primates, Département Ethologie Physiologie Ecologie, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France. odile.petit@c-strasbourg.fr
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 17, 2009
Summary
Group movement decisions in white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) rely on a quorum of three followers joining the initiator. The initiator
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Ecology
- Primate studies
Background:
- Group-living animals exhibit collective movement through consensus.
- Individual responses to a proposed direction are key to group decision-making.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the temporal spread of individual responses in white-faced capuchins initiating group movement.
- To understand the consensus decision-making mechanisms in primate group movements.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 294 group movement start attempts in semi-free ranging white-faced capuchins.
- Application of a modeling approach to analyze decision-making dynamics.
Main Results:
- Group movement consensus involves mimetic joining and initiator's cancellation rate.
- Cancellation rate decreases as follower numbers increase, establishing a quorum of three.
- Initiator's abandonment influences follower behavior, which in turn affects the initiator.
Conclusions:
- Consensus decision-making in capuchins is a synergistic process between initiator behavior and self-organized mechanisms.
- A quorum of three followers is critical for successful collective movement initiation.
- The study highlights the interplay between individual decisions and emergent group behavior.
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