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New research has found that spider monkeys have complex social systems that allow them to share “insider knowledge” of the best fruit trees in the forest, rather than forage randomly.
Scientists discovered that these primates constantly change their social subgroups, a dynamic behavior that allows them to exchange important information about food sources.
The research, a collaboration between scientists at Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, is based on seven years of field observations in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Researchers used this extensive data to explore a key aspect of Geoffroy’s spider monkey social behaviorin which group members often split into smaller subgroups and then rejoin in different combinations.
The same subpopulation may never forage together twice.
Dr Matthew Silk, an ecologist at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This is not random social interaction; it is a clever system that shares internal knowledge about where the best fruit trees are in the forest.
“By constantly changing their subpopulations, monkeys that know different parts of the forest can share information about where the fruit is.
“We tracked each monkey’s movements and mapped their core range, or the area each monkey is familiar with.
“Some parts of the forest are known to multiple monkeys, like a favorite restaurant in town, while other parts are known to only one or two monkeys, like a hidden gem.
“There is enough overlap for the monkeys to meet and exchange tips, but there is also enough separation for each monkey to scout a different part of the forest.
“This maximizes collective coverage of optimal feeding spots by the entire group.”
Spider monkeys usually live in groups of three or more, and their home ranges will also overlap in groups of three or more.
Ross Walker, a PhD student at Heriot-Watt University, developed an approach based on abstract mathematical theory rather than traditional ecological models analyzing pair relationships.
“We have shown that there is an optimal middle ground between monkeys sticking together and spreading too far apart,” he said.
“It’s not helpful if every monkey knows the exact same thing, and it’s not helpful if no one has ever met them.
“It’s best for individuals to explore different areas but still reconnect frequently to bring together what they’ve learned.”
The team used data from a group of Jeffrey’s spider monkeys collected by experienced observers between January 2012 and December 2017.
The species is considered endangered and is also known as the Central American spider monkey and the black-handed spider monkey.
Professor Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez from the National Autonomous University of Mexico said: “We have shown that the fluid social dynamics of spider monkeys have important consequences for their foraging success: by exploring the environment in a distributed manner and then coming together to share their uniquely acquired information, the entire group understands the forest better than a single individual.
“This foraging strategy is a great example of collective intelligence under natural conditions.
“In further work, we hope to use the same mathematical techniques to explore other interactions between more than two individuals, which are very common and understudied.”
The findings were published in the journal npj Complexity.