Description of the acoustic repertoire and maternal nesting behavior in populations of Nasua nasua coatis living in Brazilian urban parks
By: Aline Gasco
Nasua nasua coatis are intelligent and highly social animals that live in matrilineal groups of adult females and immature individuals. In Brazil, coatis are still poorly investigated in terms of behavior and communication, mainly because there is a huge lack of funding to support long-term research. The description of your acoustic repertoire is the first step to understanding your communicative skills, and this project provides the first insights into its highly sociable nature. My doctorate consists of describing the acoustic repertoire of coatis from populations living in Brazilian urban parks and studying the nesting behavior of females for the birth of puppies.
Ecological and behavioral patterns of free-living capybaras ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ) on the USP campus of Ribeirão Preto, SP
By: Ana Maria Nievas
Capybaras have high reproductive capacity and general feeding, characteristics that, together with the absence of natural predators, make the species extremely adapted to live in anthropogenic areas. The concerns that permeate the high spatial and numerical expansion of the species have made it essential to monitor populations present in public areas, in order to understand their spatio-temporal dynamics, ecological and behavioral patterns. We seek to monitor the population of capybaras present on the USP campus of Ribeirão Preto, through the Global Positioning System (GPS) and direct observation, over three consecutive years, covering repeated seasonal seasons. This and other parallel projects, for monitoring on other campuses, are part of Fapesp's thematic project "Capybaras, ticks and spotted fever", for making decisions about management actions.
We are a family owned and operated business.
Communication and social networks in capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrachaeris )
By: Adriana Sicuto de Oliveira Ueno
Capybaras are the largest rodents in existence and are of great economic importance for the consumption of their meat, for the control of zoonoses and also in animal-human conflicts due to their easy adaptation to urban environments. Thus, it is a group that needs to be well known in order to be able to adopt the best measures for the preservation of the species simultaneously with the control of spotted fever, urban management and agricultural activity. In this project we study the social networks formed within the capybaras community, as well as the different vocalizations used for communication between them, whose contexts are investigated and applied to the identified social behavior relationships. We intend to provide scientific knowledge relevant to the different management strategies that are necessary for this species, whether in zoos, urban environments or in authorized agricultural activity units.
Who to be near? The influence of the hierarchical position and the nature of the resource on the structure of social networks in a group of capybaras
By: Camila Denóbile
Even though group life imposes competition for resources, it is essential for the survival of individuals and, in this scenario, the spatial proximity between animals can be considered an important vital mechanism, which varies according to the situation and the activity. The variation in the spatial distribution of individuals, although it has been noticed, in capybaras, has not yet been translated into association indexes. And, in the absence of these indexes, it was not yet possible to compare them taking into account the hierarchical positions and the different resources that are the target of dispute. The present project is presented, then, in order to understand the dynamics of the social structure of capybaras from the analysis of interaction networks during feeding, contrasted with moments of rest and locomotion, during which the resource of dispute is the spatial proximity with potentially protective animals.
Partner selection in caviomorphic rodents: a multi-sensory decision?
By: Paula Verzola Olivio
Females and males adopt different reproductive strategies. While for males the increase in their fitness is sought by increasing the number of copulas per breeding season, this practice adds nothing to the reproductive success of females. The increase in the female's fitness comes with the choice that, if done well, will confer direct (material) or indirect (genetic) benefits to her and / or her offspring. In guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), this choice must be made when the male shows himself to her using at least two communication channels: visual and acoustic. What does the female take into account when showing the male, to make her choice? Do the visual, acoustic and chemical signals complement each other or are they redundant, as suggested by the current theories of multi-modal communication? We believe that females prefer males with higher levels of testosterone and a different genetic pattern than hers and that males give clues to these characteristics through a multimodal communication system displayed during courtship. The offspring probably inherit the same system of choosing partners from the parent generation, following the theory of the reproductive characteristics runaway process proposed by Fisher in 1930.
Social structure and acoustic alarm signaling in three species of hedgehogs (Rodentia: Echimyidae)
By: Lais Mendes Ruiz Cantano
To what extent are mammalian social systems, as seen in primates, flexible and adaptable to today's ecological environments? Rodentia constitutes the greatest irradiation of Mammalia and, among them, the hedgehogs are the predominant group of Neotropical forests. The expressive diversity of species living under different selective regimes makes these rodents an interesting model for socio-ecological studies. We started from three species, two from the genus Trinomys, one from the Atlantic Forest (T. s. Denigratus) and the other from the Caatinga (T. yonenagae), and Clyomys bishopi, brother clade of Trinomys, inhabitant of the Cerrado, who shares with T. yonenagae social and underground habits. We will characterize the social structure (ES) of these species in captivity, and the effect of ecological variables on ES. Additionally, we will investigate the use of the so-called alarm as a cooperative defense or family selection mechanism. We hope to enrich the understanding of the evolution of sociality and to discuss the adaptive advantages that led the semi-fossorial species to adopt the concurrent social life with the underground, as opposed to the life history of other rodents.
We are a family owned and operated business.
Social and acoustic life of the two known species of Clyomys (Rodentia: Echimyidae), with taxonomic contributions and the reproductive biology of the species
By: Lilian Cristina Luchesi
Group life brings individual evolutionary advantages, but it also imposes costs. Among the 250 species of rodents that use underground tunnels, few were identified as having social habits. Still, the categorization of sociality is generalist and based on indirect clues, making evolutionary comparative studies difficult. In addition, there is little information on the biology and behavior of species, especially in relation to neotropical rodents. Two interesting models emerge among the fossil rats of the New World: Clyomys s pe Trinomys yonenaga e. It is proposed to survey and describe comparatively the social structure of Clyomys (organization and individual spatial distribution) of free-living populations, in areas with ecological differences (such as risk of predation and demographic density), spatial and reproductive patterns. The results will encourage discussion about the evolution of sociality in underground rodents, contribute to the resolution of Clyomys taxonomic status and offer a description of the reproductive biology of these species still unknown, but so close to the areas occupied by man.
Is the Lombard Effect an alternative for the preservation of the long-distance communication processes of the maned wolf in noisy areas?
By: Bruna Campos Paula
Acoustic signals are under constant interaction with the environment and exposure to chronic noise requires structural adjustments to ensure effective communication. The conservation of sound species, ie, which depend on the acoustic channel for communication, involves the characterization and protection of natural acoustic landscapes. In order to feed energetically effectively in an environment of small prey, the maned wolf depends on the maintenance of individual non-shared hunting territories that marks and defends through chemical signals (latrines) and long distance vocal signals (aulido). Knowing the role of the aulido for the reproductive success of the wolf and its existence in very anthropized areas, we will test the hypothesis that the species is capable of adjusting to noisy environments. The work will be conducted at the Ecological Station of Itirapina (EEI), in Itirapina, SP. Areas of higher and lower noise levels will be identified and monitored with an automated sound recording system. It is hoped to obtain the characterization of the aulidos in an anthropized acoustic landscape, and the description of the acoustic landscape of nocturnal vertebrates of the ISS and that stimulates the formation of a wide network of scientific dissemination of acoustic landscapes in natural and urban environments with application in the preservation of sound species.
We are a family owned and operated business.
Application of a chip saving system in cooperative games: an experimental alternative?
By: Aline melina Vaz and Roberta Naegeli
One way to investigate human cooperative behavior is through experimental simulation games like the Public Goods Dilemma. The game predicts that the greater the cooperation, the greater the collective gain at the end of the game. In a game situation, the size of the group of participants is an important variable to be considered, however, the role of the reinforcers on cooperative behavior is not clear. Research like this is important so that we can increase our understanding of the phenomenon of cooperation, identifying the variables that lead us sometimes to cooperative behaviors in some situations, sometimes to more individualistic behaviors in others. The present work intends to investigate the effect of the application of the chip saving system (which allows access to a variety of reinforcers) on the behavior of cooperating in children submitted to cooperative gambling.
Automated recognition of maned wolf aura in recordings: is it possible to discriminate at the individual level?
By: Bruna Lima
The possibility of species identification through its acoustic communication signals started to be used as a tool in the monitoring of wild populations for conservation purposes. This is done through passive acoustic monitoring systems (SMAP), ie, audio recorders attached to trees and programmed to record acoustic windows at determined intervals throughout the year. Two SMAPs were comparatively tested to monitor maned wolves from Serra da Canastra through passive recording and automated identification of their aulides. The level of accuracy, however, did not exceed 30%. In this project, we will test an alternative SMAP in the automated identification of aulidos. We will also test the possibility of, with a greater effort, reaching the level of individual distinction of the aulidos, which would open the possibility of accessing information about the size, composition and dynamics of social groups with a minimum effort.
We are a family owned and operated business.
Can beliefs in the immutability of human behavior be changed through interventions? A comparative study
By: Mayra Antonelli Ponti
Perceiving human behaviors of other people or groups as being immutable and inevitable constitutes deterministic beliefs about behavior, which can be based on the influence of genetics or the social environment as determinants. Such beliefs can influence how people react to each other. In the educational environment, beliefs that the behavior is genetically determined can lead to a lack of motivation on the part of the teacher to invest in the improvement of the student, causing less stimuli. This project aims to test ways to modify such beliefs, which still exist in the population, comparing the effectiveness of two intervention programs on the deterministic beliefs of teachers at all levels of performance on student development. Its results will bring knowledge about the beliefs of the investigated sample and, if efficient, interventions may be useful for future projects, teacher training courses or the creation of public policies.
Effect of seasonality of the environment on the social behavior of free-living capybaras ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris )
By: Débora Bacchim Augusti
Capybaras are herbivores that depend on a habitat with the presence of a body of water and kill on dry land to survive. They are extremely sociable animals and have a hierarchical system within the clusters, including a dominant male who maintains his position through agonistic interactions, such as bites. Females exhibit puppies' alloparental behavior when caring for, defending and breastfeeding offspring of other females. Capybaras populations are strongly influenced by environmental variables, such as climatic conditions and the availability of resources that change the size of social groups, their ecological density and foraging pattern. The project aims to assess the effect of the seasonality of the environment (dry / cold and hot / rainy seasons) on the size of the free living group on the USP campus of Ribeirão Preto and its frequency of important social behaviors for maintaining the group, such as confrontations agonistic, affective relationships and care of the offspring through the analysis of videos made by camera trap.
