Correlatos morfofisiológicos da personalidade em macacos-prego resgatados (Sapajus sp.)

Abstract

Personality can be defined as stable differences in the behavioral pattern among individuals of the same population and it has been recorded in many animal species. One aspect of increasing research refers to the relationships of morphological and physiological variables to personality. In this work we investigated the relationship of characteristics such as face, weight, size, teeth and glucorticoids with the personality measured by three different methods: behavioral observation, behavioral tests and questionnaires, in a sample of 33 rescued monkeys (Sapajus spp). Based on the literature, we test the following hypotheses: 1) animals with a larger face are more assertive; 2) animals with a higher baseline level of glucorticoids are more explorative. To verify such relationships we created regression models that were selected by the Akaike information criterion. The analyses revealed positive relationships between face and curiosity, aggressiveness to strangers, and in-group affiliative social behavior. Canine size and body length positively influence traits such as openness, feeding, positive social and locomotion. Glucorticoids negatively influenced assertiveness and sociability, and positively exploration and locomotion. The pattern found is discussed comparing to that discussed in the literature in such a way as to understand how the morphological and physiological variables relates the various types of behavior.