Intra-and Inter-Specific Social Learning of a Novel Food Task in Two Species of Tamarin

Abstract

Investigated intra- and inter-specific social learning in the saddle-backed tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) and the red-bellied tamarin (S. labiatus). The authors explored whether improved food acquisition, through social learning, is a potential advantage of mixed-species troop formation by allowing a pair of naive observers to watch a pair of trained demonstrators complete a novel foraging task. The aims of the study were (a) to determine if individuals succeeded at the task more quickly after having observed demonstrators, (b) to investigate whether speed of acquisition differed after observation of conspecific demonstrators as opposed to congeneric demonstrators, and (c) to compare performance between species. Individuals succeeded on the task more quickly if they had had the opportunity to watch demonstrators, regardless of whether the demonstrator was a conspecific or congeneric. There was no difference in performance between species. It is concluded that, for both species, the learning of a new foraging technique is facilitated by the presence of both conspecifics and congenerics and that the likely mechanism for this facilitation is a combination of stimulus enhancement and response facilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)