title: Tool use by Amazonian capuchin monkeys during predation on caiman nests in a high-productivity forest.
abstract: Descriptions of new tool-use events are important for understanding how ecological context may drive the evolution of tool use among primate traditions. Here, we report a possible case of the first record of tool use by wild Amazonian capuchin monkeys (Sapajus macrocephalus). The record was made by a camera trap, while we were monitoring caiman nest predation at Mamirauá Reserve in Central Amazonia. An adult individual was registered in a bipedal posture, apparently using a branch as a shovel to dig eggs out of a nest. Caiman eggs are frequently depredated by opportunistic animals, such as the capuchin monkeys. As the Mamirauá Reserve is covered by a high-productivity forest, and caiman eggs are a high-quality food resource seasonally available on the ground, we believe that tool use by capuchins is more likely to be opportunity driven, rather than necessity driven, in our study site.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, Brazil. kellytorralvo@hotmail.com.|Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, Tefé, AM, Brazil. kellytorralvo@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torralvo
authors.affiliation: Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, Tefé, AM, Brazil.|Centro de Estudos Integrados Da Biodiversidade Amazônica, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Rabelo
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, Brazil.|Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, Tefé, AM, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, Tefé, AM, Brazil.|Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Robinson
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Botero-Arias
mesh_terms: D000489:Alligators and Crocodiles / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002428:Cebus / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D065928:Forests; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D053001:Tool Use Behavior
keywords: Behavior; Nest predation; Opportunistic tool use; Primate culture; Sapajus