@article{camposurinewashingwhitefacedcapuchins2013,
 abstract = {Some primates regularly wash their hands and feet with
urine. This behaviour is outwardly similar to scent marking
in other mammals, but it differs in that the urine is
applied to the bare skin of the hands and feet rather than
rubbed into the fur or applied directly onto an object in
the environment. Empirical evidence for the functional
significance of urine-washing remains inconsistent. We used
rigorous statistical methods to examine environmental and
social influences on urine-washing behaviour, using 4380
observation hours on five groups of wild white-faced
capuchins (Cebus capucinus) in Costa Rica. Urine-washing
frequencies were most strongly affected by environmental
dryness, both within and between seasons, with markedly
less urine-washing during humid conditions. Increased
individual activity levels also promoted urine-washing.
Among females, urine-washing was less frequent during
lactation than during pregnancy and other reproductive
states. Among males, urine-washing frequencies were greater
in alpha males, who also exhibited a `vigorous' form of
urine-washing that may be functionally distinct. During the
dry season, 3/5 groups exhibited more urine-washing than
expected near fruit trees, but across groups there were no
consistent spatial patterns for urine-washing with respect
to water resources, home range overlap zones, core areas,
inter-group encounter zones, and the home-range periphery.
Urine-washing appears to differ fundamentally from common
forms of mammalian scent marking. We suggest that its
function is primarily mechanical, perhaps to apply a sticky
residue to the hands and feet to improve grip on dry,
arboreal substrates. Lesser signalling functions may
include sexual signalling and resource labelling.},
 author = {Campos, <NAME>. and <NAME>.},
 doi = {10.1163/1568539X-00003080},
 issn = {1568-539X},
 journal = {Behaviour},
 keywords = {communication,home
range,primates,Primates,scent-marking,seasonality,sexual
attraction,territoriality,thermoregulation},
 month = {January},
 number = {7},
 pages = {763--798},
 shorttitle = {Urine-Washing in White-Faced Capuchins},
 title = {Urine-Washing in White-Faced Capuchins: A New Look at an
Old Puzzle},
 volume = {150},
 year = {2013}
}

