title: The win-stay rule in foraging decisions by free-ranging titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus cupreus) and Tamarins (Saguinus imperator imperator and Saguinus fuscicollis weddelli).
abstract: Rainforest primates need to apply distinct foraging rules for efficiently using the spatial knowledge of the distribution of resources showing different temporal patterns of renewal. A win-stay rule is very important for exploiting abundant, long-lasting resources. Here, the author tests the use of this rule in wild groups of emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator imperator), saddle-back tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis weddelli), and titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus cupreus) during a series of foraging tasks. Four feeding stations composed of 8 visually similar feeding platforms (2 containing a food reward and 6 containing a sham reward) were constructed. The location of food rewards was reliable during some experiments and unreliable during others. All 3 species consistently adopted a win-stay rule for returning to reward platforms when their location was predictable over time but stopped using it when their spatial distribution changed randomly across experimental trials.
authors.affiliation: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. jcbicca@pucrs.br
authors.forename: Júlio César
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bicca-Marques
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D002427:Cebidae / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D051039:Leontopithecus / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009949:Orientation; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012201:Reward; D012931:Social Environment; D013045:Species Specificity