Mourthé Ítalo, Barnett Adrian A
Folia Primatol (Basel). 2014;85(6):379-398. doi: 10.1159/000371634. Epub 2015 Mar 18.
Predation is often considered to be a prime driver in primate evolution, but, as predation is rarely observed in nature, little is known of primate antipredator responses. Time-limited primates should be highly discerning when responding to predators, since time spent in vigilance and avoidance behaviour may supplant other activities. We present data from two independent studies describing and quantifying the frequency, nature and duration of predator-linked behaviours in 2 high-canopy primates, Ateles belzebuth and Cacajao ouakary. We introduce the concept of 'pseudopredators' (harmless species whose appearance is sufficiently similar to that of predators to elicit antipredator responses) and predict that changes in behaviour should increase with risk posed by a perceived predator. We studied primate group encounters with non-primate vertebrates across 14 (Ateles) and 19 (Cacajao) months in 2 undisturbed Amazonian forests. Although preliminary, data on both primates revealed that they distinguished the potential predation capacities of other species, as predicted. They appeared to differentiate predators from non-predators and distinguished when potential predators were not an immediate threat, although they reacted erroneously to pseudopredators, on average in about 20% of the responses given toward other vertebrates. Reacting to pseudopredators would be interesting since, in predation, one error can be fatal to the prey.
捕食通常被认为是灵长类动物进化的主要驱动力，但是，由于在自然界中很少观察到捕食行为，我们对灵长类动物的反捕食反应知之甚少。时间有限的灵长类动物在应对捕食者时应该非常有辨别力，因为用于警惕和回避行为的时间可能会取代其他活动。我们展示了两项独立研究的数据，这些数据描述并量化了两种树栖灵长类动物——蜘蛛猴（Ateles belzebuth）和白秃猴（Cacajao ouakary）——与捕食者相关行为的频率、性质和持续时间。我们引入了“拟捕食者”的概念（无害物种，其外观与捕食者足够相似，从而引发反捕食反应），并预测行为变化应随着感知到的捕食者所带来的风险增加而增加。我们在两个未受干扰的亚马逊森林中，对灵长类动物群体与非灵长类脊椎动物的相遇情况进行了为期14个月（蜘蛛猴）和19个月（白秃猴）的研究。尽管这些数据尚属初步，但关于这两种灵长类动物的数据都显示，正如预测的那样，它们能够区分其他物种的潜在捕食能力。它们似乎能够区分捕食者和非捕食者，并且在潜在捕食者并非直接威胁时也能做出区分，尽管它们平均约有20%的情况下会对拟捕食者做出错误反应，而这些反应是针对其他脊椎动物的。对拟捕食者做出反应会很有趣，因为在捕食过程中，一个错误对猎物来说可能是致命的。
