Development and social dynamics of stone tool use in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys
5 affiliations
- 1Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- 2Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- 3Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- 4Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
- 5Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
Abstract
Percussive tool use for extractive foraging allows animals to access otherwise inaccessible resources and forage more efficiently, with potentially important implications for their fitness. The development of tool use proficiency has been well-documented in nut-cracking chimpanzees and robust capuchins, and in shellfish-cracking long-tailed macaques, where mothers and proficient tool users are the most important models for social learning. However, little is known about how tool use develops in populations where opportunities for social learning are scarce. White-faced capuchins ( Cebus capucinus imitator ) on Jicarón Island, Panama, provide a unique case to consider this question: stone tool use is entirely male-biased, meaning juveniles cannot learn from their mothers, and reduced group cohesion further limits social learning opportunities. Here, we investigate the acquisition and development of stone tool proficiency in this population using a year-long dataset from camera traps placed at two experimental anvils. We assess differences in proficiency between age classes, examine the development of tool use proficiency over time, and explore patterns of social attention during tool use. We show that juvenile capuchins are less proficient than subadults and adults, but their proficiency remains stable over the course of one year, suggesting that skill development may require prolonged practice or physical maturation. In contrast to other primates, social learning opportunities on Jicarón appear limited and scrounging is rare, yet when social attention occurs, we find robust patterns. Social attention to tool use mostly comes from juveniles too young to use tools themselves, who observe proficient subadults that tolerate scrounging. Our results contribute to the understanding of how complex tool use behaviours are acquired and maintained in primates. They highlight that even when tool use is largely solitary, directed social attention and social tolerance play an important role in the development of tool use proficiency. Highlights Juvenile white-faced capuchins are less proficient tool users than (sub)adults Development of capuchins’ tool use proficiency is a slow process Social learning opportunities on Jicarón island are limited and social attention rare Attention was selective, juveniles to proficient sub(adults) who tolerated scrounging Non-tool-using juveniles paid most attention, so likely important for acquisition
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BibTeX
@article{goldsborough2026development,
title = {{Development and social dynamics of stone tool use in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys}},
author = {Zoë Goldsborough and Meredith K.W. Carlson and Leonie S. Reetz and Evelyn Del Rosario-Vargas and Margaret C. Crofoot and Brendan J. Barrett},
journal = {Animal Behaviour},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123673},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123673},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Development and social dynamics of stone tool use in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys
AU - Zoë Goldsborough
AU - Meredith K.W. Carlson
AU - Leonie S. Reetz
AU - Evelyn Del Rosario-Vargas
AU - Margaret C. Crofoot
AU - Brendan J. Barrett
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/13
JO - Animal Behaviour
DO - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123673
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123673
AB - Percussive tool use for extractive foraging allows animals to access otherwise inaccessible resources and forage more efficiently, with potentially important implications for their fitness. The development of tool use proficiency has been well-documented in nut-cracking chimpanzees and robust capuchins, and in shellfish-cracking long-tailed macaques, where mothers and proficient tool users are the most important models for social learning. However, little is known about how tool use develops in populations where opportunities for social learning are scarce. White-faced capuchins ( Cebus capucinus imitator ) on Jicarón Island, Panama, provide a unique case to consider this question: stone tool use is entirely male-biased, meaning juveniles cannot learn from their mothers, and reduced group cohesion further limits social learning opportunities. Here, we investigate the acquisition and development of stone tool proficiency in this population using a year-long dataset from camera traps placed at two experimental anvils. We assess differences in proficiency between age classes, examine the development of tool use proficiency over time, and explore patterns of social attention during tool use. We show that juvenile capuchins are less proficient than subadults and adults, but their proficiency remains stable over the course of one year, suggesting that skill development may require prolonged practice or physical maturation. In contrast to other primates, social learning opportunities on Jicarón appear limited and scrounging is rare, yet when social attention occurs, we find robust patterns. Social attention to tool use mostly comes from juveniles too young to use tools themselves, who observe proficient subadults that tolerate scrounging. Our results contribute to the understanding of how complex tool use behaviours are acquired and maintained in primates. They highlight that even when tool use is largely solitary, directed social attention and social tolerance play an important role in the development of tool use proficiency. Highlights Juvenile white-faced capuchins are less proficient tool users than (sub)adults Development of capuchins’ tool use proficiency is a slow process Social learning opportunities on Jicarón island are limited and social attention rare Attention was selective, juveniles to proficient sub(adults) who tolerated scrounging Non-tool-using juveniles paid most attention, so likely important for acquisition
SN - 0003-3472
SN - 1095-8282
ER -