Ecology of Animal Societies
@livingingroups.bsky.social
Dept. for the Ecology of Animal Societies @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social & @uni-konstanz.de.
Posts do not represent the views of MPI, University of Konstanz , or lab leaders.
Posts do not represent the views of MPI, University of Konstanz , or lab leaders.
Studying sleep in the wild is hard. Orangutans sleep out of sight in nests, so we couldn’t measure sleep directly. We used time spent inactive in a nest – the sleep period – as an indicator of time spent sleeping. We still don't know the efficiency, depth, or architecture of their sleep periods. 6/8
June 25, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Studying sleep in the wild is hard. Orangutans sleep out of sight in nests, so we couldn’t measure sleep directly. We used time spent inactive in a nest – the sleep period – as an indicator of time spent sleeping. We still don't know the efficiency, depth, or architecture of their sleep periods. 6/8
Several behavioral, social, and ecological factors affect the nighttime sleep and nap period durations of these wild orangutans. For example, orangutans had shorter nighttime sleep periods and shorter daytime nap periods when they were in association with conspecifics 4/8
June 25, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Several behavioral, social, and ecological factors affect the nighttime sleep and nap period durations of these wild orangutans. For example, orangutans had shorter nighttime sleep periods and shorter daytime nap periods when they were in association with conspecifics 4/8
We also found a relationship between average duration of daily naps and the number of naps taken: Shorter naps = more frequent naps. This suggests that perhaps napping orangutans needed to fulfill a certain sleep duration quota, and so would nap again if an earlier nap was too short. 3/8
June 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
We also found a relationship between average duration of daily naps and the number of naps taken: Shorter naps = more frequent naps. This suggests that perhaps napping orangutans needed to fulfill a certain sleep duration quota, and so would nap again if an earlier nap was too short. 3/8
Using 14 years of focal follows we measured night + day sleep periods of wild adult orangutans at Suaq Balimbing, Sumatra. Orangutans make up for shorter nighttime sleep with next-day napping. When they do they nap, they add up to 10 mins of napping for every 1 hr of sleep lost the night before. 2/8
June 25, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Using 14 years of focal follows we measured night + day sleep periods of wild adult orangutans at Suaq Balimbing, Sumatra. Orangutans make up for shorter nighttime sleep with next-day napping. When they do they nap, they add up to 10 mins of napping for every 1 hr of sleep lost the night before. 2/8
We know some animals nap. But do they do it to make up for lost sleep?
Our joint study with Caroline Schuppli and the Suaq team dives deep into the sleep patterns of wild orangutans to find out their strategy for sleep homeostasis 🦧 💤
Paper @cellpress.bsky.social ▶️ doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
🧵 1/8
Our joint study with Caroline Schuppli and the Suaq team dives deep into the sleep patterns of wild orangutans to find out their strategy for sleep homeostasis 🦧 💤
Paper @cellpress.bsky.social ▶️ doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
🧵 1/8
June 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
We know some animals nap. But do they do it to make up for lost sleep?
Our joint study with Caroline Schuppli and the Suaq team dives deep into the sleep patterns of wild orangutans to find out their strategy for sleep homeostasis 🦧 💤
Paper @cellpress.bsky.social ▶️ doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
🧵 1/8
Our joint study with Caroline Schuppli and the Suaq team dives deep into the sleep patterns of wild orangutans to find out their strategy for sleep homeostasis 🦧 💤
Paper @cellpress.bsky.social ▶️ doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
🧵 1/8
This research was a wonderful collaboration of @livingingroups.bsky.social of @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social and STRI. With @zoegoldsborough.bsky.social, @bjjbarrett.bsky.social, @meg-crofoot.bsky.social, Odd Jacobson, Lisa Corewyn, Evelyn del Rosario-Vargas and Julián León (11/12) 📷 Christian Ziegler
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
This research was a wonderful collaboration of @livingingroups.bsky.social of @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social and STRI. With @zoegoldsborough.bsky.social, @bjjbarrett.bsky.social, @meg-crofoot.bsky.social, Odd Jacobson, Lisa Corewyn, Evelyn del Rosario-Vargas and Julián León (11/12) 📷 Christian Ziegler
An important final point: this social tradition is harmful to the howlers on Jicarón island. They’re an endemic, endangered subspecies, and these abductions have a serious impact. Humans aren’t the only animals whose culture can harm another species (10/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
An important final point: this social tradition is harmful to the howlers on Jicarón island. They’re an endemic, endangered subspecies, and these abductions have a serious impact. Humans aren’t the only animals whose culture can harm another species (10/12)
What can we learn from this? It seems that the conditions on Jicarón island (no predators, plenty of free time) are conducive to innovation, both of useful behaviors (like tool use) and less functional ones (like interspecies abduction) (9/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
What can we learn from this? It seems that the conditions on Jicarón island (no predators, plenty of free time) are conducive to innovation, both of useful behaviors (like tool use) and less functional ones (like interspecies abduction) (9/12)
It seems likely that Joker, the innovator, had a different motivation, perhaps he tried to “care” for the infants. Later carriers seem to have copied him, carrying infants for the sake of the behavior itself, and even used tools with howlers on their backs (8/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
It seems likely that Joker, the innovator, had a different motivation, perhaps he tried to “care” for the infants. Later carriers seem to have copied him, carrying infants for the sake of the behavior itself, and even used tools with howlers on their backs (8/12)
The howler-carrying behavior is baffling: there’s no clear benefit to the capuchin carriers. They don’t prey on the infants, don’t play with them, and don’t receive more (positive) attention from group mates while carrying (7/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
The howler-carrying behavior is baffling: there’s no clear benefit to the capuchin carriers. They don’t prey on the infants, don’t play with them, and don’t receive more (positive) attention from group mates while carrying (7/12)
How capuchins get a hold of howler infants is still a mystery, happening out of sight of our camera traps. Abduction seems most likely given the high rate of new infants, them trying to escape, and howler adults calling to their offspring (6/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
How capuchins get a hold of howler infants is still a mystery, happening out of sight of our camera traps. Abduction seems most likely given the high rate of new infants, them trying to escape, and howler adults calling to their offspring (6/12)
Over 15 months, these five capuchins carried 11 different howler infants for up to 9-day periods. See attached timeline (each color = a different infant). All were under 4 weeks old and unable to survive without milk. Four were seen dead on camera, but the others likely didn’t survive either (5/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Over 15 months, these five capuchins carried 11 different howler infants for up to 9-day periods. See attached timeline (each color = a different infant). All were under 4 weeks old and unable to survive without milk. Four were seen dead on camera, but the others likely didn’t survive either (5/12)
Then the story took a turn: Joker’s howler-carrying behavior spread rapidly to four other capuchins, all young males. The sex of the carriers is key, while cross-species carrying is seen across animals, it’s usually females carrying infants (4/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Then the story took a turn: Joker’s howler-carrying behavior spread rapidly to four other capuchins, all young males. The sex of the carriers is key, while cross-species carrying is seen across animals, it’s usually females carrying infants (4/12)
She dug through all the footage, and found not one, but four howler monkeys infant being carried. In every case, the carrier was the same subadult male capuchin: Joker. How did he get infants of another species? And why carry them for days? (3/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
She dug through all the footage, and found not one, but four howler monkeys infant being carried. In every case, the carrier was the same subadult male capuchin: Joker. How did he get infants of another species? And why carry them for days? (3/12)
Since 2017, white-faced capuchins on Jicarón island, Panama have been monitored via camera traps to study their stone tool use. In 2022, doctoral researcher @zoegoldsborough.bsky.social spotted something bizarre: a capuchin carrying an infant howler monkey (2/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Since 2017, white-faced capuchins on Jicarón island, Panama have been monitored via camera traps to study their stone tool use. In 2022, doctoral researcher @zoegoldsborough.bsky.social spotted something bizarre: a capuchin carrying an infant howler monkey (2/12)
Humans have many unusual traditions. But did you know animals’ strange behaviors can become culture too? Out now in Current Biology (doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...) we show the rise and spread of a surprising tradition: interspecies infant abduction. Interactive timeline (www.ab.mpg.de/671374) 🧵 (1/12)
May 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Humans have many unusual traditions. But did you know animals’ strange behaviors can become culture too? Out now in Current Biology (doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...) we show the rise and spread of a surprising tradition: interspecies infant abduction. Interactive timeline (www.ab.mpg.de/671374) 🧵 (1/12)
Historical data 📚offer key insights into animal behavior and long-term trends 📈. As global changes accelerate, tapping into these archives now is vital for #conservation. We urge researchers to harness these invaluable resources before they're lost to time! #Ecology 8/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Historical data 📚offer key insights into animal behavior and long-term trends 📈. As global changes accelerate, tapping into these archives now is vital for #conservation. We urge researchers to harness these invaluable resources before they're lost to time! #Ecology 8/8
Our research also shows that group size positively correlates with home range size within groups over time, offering novel evidence that demographic change impacts space use and resource access/requirements #ecology. 7/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Our research also shows that group size positively correlates with home range size within groups over time, offering novel evidence that demographic change impacts space use and resource access/requirements #ecology. 7/8
We found capuchin home ranges shrink and concentrate near water sources during El Niño. Neotropical dry rainforest species are highly vulnerable to these #climate fluctuations 🌳☀️. Effective #conservation relies on understanding their responses with longitudinal data. 6/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:25 PM
We found capuchin home ranges shrink and concentrate near water sources during El Niño. Neotropical dry rainforest species are highly vulnerable to these #climate fluctuations 🌳☀️. Effective #conservation relies on understanding their responses with longitudinal data. 6/8
By using historic records 📚, we added 20 years to our dataset, letting us explore long-term ecological processes beyond modern tech's reach. Discover how space use of capuchin groups changes longitudinally with #climate and demographic shifts. #LongTermStudy 5/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
By using historic records 📚, we added 20 years to our dataset, letting us explore long-term ecological processes beyond modern tech's reach. Discover how space use of capuchin groups changes longitudinally with #climate and demographic shifts. #LongTermStudy 5/8
🧐We validate our historical sleep site locations for home range estimation using rigorous comparisons with estimates from #GPS tracking data. Home range area and centroid from sleep sites consistently aligned with those from tracking data #MovementEcology 4/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:14 PM
🧐We validate our historical sleep site locations for home range estimation using rigorous comparisons with estimates from #GPS tracking data. Home range area and centroid from sleep sites consistently aligned with those from tracking data #MovementEcology 4/8
We showcase our method with 30 years of sleep-site records 📚 from 11 groups of white-faced capuchins 🐒 at the Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project in Costa Rica! #Research #Fieldwork 3/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:08 PM
We showcase our method with 30 years of sleep-site records 📚 from 11 groups of white-faced capuchins 🐒 at the Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project in Costa Rica! #Research #Fieldwork 3/8
Our team, Odd Jacobson, @bjjbarrett, Susan Perry, @ggfinerty, Kate Tiedmann, and @MegCrofoot, shows how researchers can turn overlooked data from handwritten observations into novel insights using interactive maps, georeferencing🌎, and continuous-time movement modeling!#ctmm 2/8
March 20, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Our team, Odd Jacobson, @bjjbarrett, Susan Perry, @ggfinerty, Kate Tiedmann, and @MegCrofoot, shows how researchers can turn overlooked data from handwritten observations into novel insights using interactive maps, georeferencing🌎, and continuous-time movement modeling!#ctmm 2/8
GPS is relatively new. So how can we study long-term animal movements? Our approach in @Ecology_Letters transforms historic location records (pre-GPS) into valuable data, revealing capuchins' responses to #climate and demographic change. #openaccess...
March 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
GPS is relatively new. So how can we study long-term animal movements? Our approach in @Ecology_Letters transforms historic location records (pre-GPS) into valuable data, revealing capuchins' responses to #climate and demographic change. #openaccess...
🦘Leap into our comprehensive list of recommendations in the discussion and explore our step-by-step guide to home range analysis using continuous-time movement modeling #ctmm in the supplemental material 🗒️ (9/9). #conservation
March 20, 2025 at 2:40 PM
🦘Leap into our comprehensive list of recommendations in the discussion and explore our step-by-step guide to home range analysis using continuous-time movement modeling #ctmm in the supplemental material 🗒️ (9/9). #conservation