Écologie de la fission-fusion chez le singe araignée

Some social mammals present a group dynamic related to spatially and temporally variable environments described as fission-fusion dynamics. This dynamics is defined as the temporal division of a group into sub-groups varying in size and composition, and is thought to occur through social regulation to improve foraging efficiency. Nevertheless, the influential factors in that dynamics are not well understood. Particularly, the ecological causes and the social relationships in the fission-fusion remain unclear. In this study I expect to see changes in the fission-fusion dynamics of spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) groups inhabiting two different tropical forests, and under different contexts of food availability, subgroup size and subgroup composition. The main purpose of my project is to disentangle the relative influence of environmental and social variables on the fission-fusion dynamics in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). nderstanding the functioning of fission-fusion dynamics under different environmental and social conditions could allow us to understand the evolution and flexibility of group strategies. Given the high rates of current environmental changes, identifying a threshold in social behaviour could provide us useful indicators of environmental degradation for social animals.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sophie Calmé

Student:

Adriana Aguilar Melo

Partner:

Instituto Politécnico Nacional

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

University:

Université de Sherbrooke

Program: