Dwindling resources and the social behaviour of Capybaras, (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) (Mammalia)
Abstract
Capybaras, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, were studied in the Venezuelan llanos during the peak of a dry season. As surface water and associated resources dwindled the rodents’group sizes, activity pattern and social behaviour were studied. Capybara group sizes varied from habitat to habitat in a way which seemed explicable by the pattern of the dwindling water supply. Other behaviour described includes communal suckling of young and collaborative defence against predators.
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For similar-sized brains, rodents perform more poorly than primates; the capuchin monkey, with a 52 g brain, has an outstanding behavioral, social, and cognitive repertoire compared to the capybara, with a 75 g brain.
“With a brain of only 52 g, the behavioral, social and cognitive repertoire of the capuchin monkey is outstanding compared to the capybara, a giant Amazonian rodent (MacDonald, 1981), even though the latter has a larger brain of 75 g.”
From The human brain in numbers: a linearly scaled-up primate brain (2009) · cites this paper as MacDonald, 1981
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Hamilton, W. D. (1971) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/0022-5193(71)90189-5 · Cited by 3,506 · see citing works
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The human brain in numbers: a linearly scaled-up primate brain
Herculano-Houzel, S. (2009) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/neuro.09.031.2009 · Cited by 1,778 · see citing works
“…brains, rodents also perform more poorly than primates: With a brain of only 52 g, the behavioral, social and cognitive repertoire of the capuchin monkey is outstanding compared to the capybara, a giant Amazonian rodent (MacDonald, 1981), even though the latter has a larger brain of 75 g.”
SIRT6 is responsible for more efficient DNA double-strand break repair in long-lived species
Tian, X., Firsanov, D., Zhang, Z., Cheng, Y., Luo, L., Tombline, G., Tan, R., Simon, M., Henderson, S., Steffan, J., et al. (2019) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.043 · Cited by 353 · see citing works
- Authors
- Macdonald, D. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Macdonald, D. W.
- ORCID
- Macdonald, D. W.
- Venue
- Journal of Zoology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1981-07
- Volume
- 194
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 371-391
- ISSN
- 0952-8369 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7998
- OpenAlex
- W2069395706
- Cited by
- 129
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 2.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Zoology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Keywords
- capybara, social behavior, group size, activity patterns, water scarcity, resource constraints, predator defense, Venezuelan Llanos, dry season
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