{
  "id": 9580609,
  "title": "Can't win, don't try: handling time costs affect foraging choices and vigilance in wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/cant-win-dont-try-handling-time-costs-affect-foraging-choices-and",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.16.752153v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a study examining the foraging choices and vigilance of wild vervet monkeys, researchers discovered that handling time, a crucial cost for resource acquisition, significantly impacted the monkeys' decision-making. Specifically, low-ranking individuals faced additional challenges, as they could be displaced before securing rewards, leading to a possible trade-off between monitoring their surroundings and focusing on food acquisition.\n\nA series of puzzle boxes, arranged linearly and increasing in handling difficulty and reward value, were offered to the monkeys. The findings revealed that competitive ability played a substantial role in accessing resources requiring extended handling times and investing time in complex problem-solving when social interference was possible. Monkeys with superior competitive abilities were more likely to attempt the high-handling time puzzle boxes, while those with lower ranks showed no preference for these challenging resources.\n\nIndividuals of all dominance ranks were observed to access resources with lower handling times and smaller rewards. However, only dominant monkeys, who were less fearful of being displaced, attempted the high-handling time puzzle box. Interestingly, the researchers found that handling time improved with experience at each puzzle box. Contrary to expectations, when vigilance rates were higher, monkeys were also faster at solving puzzle boxes.\n\nThese results suggest that there may not be a direct trade-off between attention to foraging tasks requiring handling and vigilance. If a high scanning frequency to both activities can be balanced with limited scanning duration, the consequences for the decision-making of foraging animals living in competitive groups and their dietary preferences could be significant.",
  "summary": "Resource handling time is an important cost to foraging animals and this is especially true for low-ranking individuals who may be displaced before they acquire rewards. Handling may also require visual attention that can lead to a trade-off between scanning the environment and focusing on food acquisition. We ran a foraging experiment on wild vervet monkeys where we simultaneously offered them…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}