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Sabbi KH, Kurilla SE, Monroe IG, Zhang Y, Menante A, Cole MF, Otali E, Kobusingye M, Emery Thompson M, Muller MN, Wrangham RW, Machanda ZP. Ecological variation in adult social play reveals a hidden cost of motherhood for wild chimpanzees. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1364-1369.e2. [PMID: 38490201 PMCID: PMC11002997 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Though common among humans, social play by adults is an uncommon occurrence in most animals, even between parents and offspring.1,2,3 The most common explanation for why adult play is so rare is that its function and benefits are largely limited to development, so that social play has little value later in life.3,4,5,6 Here, we draw from 10 years of behavioral data collected by the Kibale Chimpanzee Project to consider an alternative hypothesis: that despite its benefits, adult play in non-humans is ecologically constrained by energy shortage or time limitations. We further hypothesized that, since they may be the only available partners for their young offspring, mother chimpanzees pay greater costs of play than other adults. Our analysis of nearly 4,000 adult play bouts revealed that adult chimpanzees played both among themselves and with immature partners. Social play was infrequent when diet quality was low but increased with the proportion of high-quality fruits in the diet. This suggests that adults engage in play facultatively when they have more energy and/or time to do so. However, when diet quality was low and most adult play fell to near zero, play persisted between mothers and offspring. Increased use of play by adult chimpanzees during periods of resource abundance suggests that play retains value as a social currency beyond development but that its costs constrain its use. At the same time, when ecological conditions constrain opportunities for young to play, play by mothers fills a critical role to promote healthy offspring development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kris H Sabbi
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, 110 Braker Hall, 8 Upper Campus Rd, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
| | - Sophia E Kurilla
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, 110 Braker Hall, 8 Upper Campus Rd, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Isabelle G Monroe
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Eat Hall 1004, 530 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Yukun Zhang
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Ashley Menante
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, 110 Braker Hall, 8 Upper Campus Rd, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Megan F Cole
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, MSC01-1040, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Emily Otali
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | | | - Melissa Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, MSC01-1040, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; Kibale Chimpanzee Project, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Martin N Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, MSC01-1040, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; Kibale Chimpanzee Project, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Richard W Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Kibale Chimpanzee Project, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Zarin P Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, 110 Braker Hall, 8 Upper Campus Rd, Medford, MA 02155, USA; Kibale Chimpanzee Project, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
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2
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Déaux EC, Bonneaud C, Baumeyer A, Zuberbühler K. Do chimpanzee food calls bias listeners toward novel items? Am J Primatol 2023:e23498. [PMID: 37113057 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Social learning is beneficial in almost every domain of a social animal's life, but it is particularly important in the context of predation and foraging. In both contexts, social animals tend to produce acoustically distinct vocalizations, alarms, and food calls, which have remained somewhat of an evolutionary conundrum as they appear to be costly for the signaller. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that food calls function to direct others toward novel food items, using a playback experiment on a group of chimpanzees. We showed chimpanzees novel (plausibly edible) items while simultaneously playing either conspecific food calls or acoustically similar greeting calls as a control. We found that individuals responded by staying longer near items previously associated with food calls even in the absence of these vocalizations, and peered more at these items compared with the control items, provided no conspecifics were nearby. We also found that once chimpanzees had access to both item types, they interacted more with the one previously associated with food calls than the control items. However, we found no evidence of social learning per se. Given these effects, we propose that food calls may gate and thus facilitate social learning by directing listeners' attention to new feeding opportunities, which if integrated with additional cues could ultimately lead to new food preferences within social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eloïse C Déaux
- Institue of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Clémence Bonneaud
- Institue of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institue of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Neurosciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK
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3
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Long-Term Assessment of Captive Chimpanzees: Influence of Social Group Composition, Seasonality and Biographic Background. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13030424. [PMID: 36766313 PMCID: PMC9913678 DOI: 10.3390/ani13030424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live in flexible fission-fusion societies with frequent changes in both group size and composition. These changes depend mostly on resource availability and individual social preferences yet in captivity are determined by housing organizations. During a period of seven years, we observed a group of sanctuary chimpanzees, focusing on how they adapted to changes in the group composition over time. Using linear mixed models (LMMs), factors such as group size, sex ratio, seasonality, and the individuals' sex and origin (wild caught vs. captive born) were considered in order to evaluate the impact on the chimpanzees' activity levels, the occurrence of undesired behaviors (abnormal and self-directed behaviors) and the social grooming networks. Our results indicate that the activity levels and the occurrence of undesired behaviors were impacted by changes in group composition and the individuals' biographic background. The colder season was marked by higher levels of activity and more time spent grooming. Moreover, it was the individuals' origin but not changes in group composition that affected social grooming, with wild-caught chimpanzees grooming far less frequently. Long-term observations are essential to evaluate, predict and detect potential benefits and/or issues of housing conditions while considering the social and physical environment.
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4
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Kifle Z, Bekele A. Effect of human disturbance on the group size and population structure of geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in and surrounding area of Borena Sayint National Park, Ethiopia. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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5
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Patch choice decisions by a fission–fusion forager as a test of the ecological constraints model. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03262-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Chapman et al.’s (Behav Ecol Sociobiol 36:59–70, 1995) ecological constraints model posits that the size and distribution of food patches place restrictions upon foraging group size. Larger groups incur increased travel costs for any given array of patches, and thus, to fulfil individual energetic and nutritional requirements, foragers should adjust group sizes to balance energy obtained against that spent on travelling. Support for this model comes from both comparative and species-specific studies but findings are contradictory, and the utility of the model has been questioned. This study provides a rigorous test, analysing measurements from distinct food patches and individual inter-patch movements, on an appropriately shorter temporal scale. Using data drawn from two social groups of a species characterised by a high degree of fission–fusion dynamics, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), we show that larger parties foraged in larger food patches and for longer durations, and that larger parties were associated with further travel between patches. Overt contest competition over food increased with party size. We found no evidence of distinct sex differences in either party size or travel distances: the predictive power of forager sex was low compared to that of ecological variables. We propose that analysis at the patch level is more appropriate than a daily averaging approach that may smooth out the very variation being investigated. Our findings suggest that, despite certain limitations, Chapman et al.’s (Behav Ecol Sociobiol 36:59–70, 1995) model of ecological constraints remains a useful tool. Ecology does indeed constrain grouping patterns, and the impact of this is not necessarily differentiated by sex.
Significance statement
Foraging animals face the ‘more mouths to feed’ problem: as the numbers in a group increase, the group must travel further to find enough food, using up energy. Hence, foragers should adjust numbers to minimise these costs, but tests of this idea have proved inconclusive. We investigated the foraging behaviour of chimpanzees, a species with highly flexible grouping, considering their travel between specific patches of food. We found clear support for this proposition, with larger patches of food hosting larger numbers of foragers, and such groups having to travel further to find food. Although it is often thought that female animals should respond more strongly to foraging costs, we found little evidence of sex differences. Our results show that ecology does indeed constrain grouping patterns, and that the impact is felt equally by males and females.
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6
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Shibata S, Furuichi T, Hashimoto C. Adaptive Party Choice of Low-Ranking Males in Fission-Fusion Dynamics of Chimpanzees in Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Uganda. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:2240. [PMID: 36077958 PMCID: PMC9454419 DOI: 10.3390/ani12172240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have examined factors that regulate fission-fusion dynamics (FFD) in chimpanzee communities, such as receptive females, predation risks, and food availability. However, the effects of these factors vary between populations. In this study, we conducted focal animal observations of adult males in the M group in Kalinzu to examine the influence of male dominance rank, aggression from other males, the presence of females exhibiting maximum sexual swelling (MS), and fruit abundance on male tendencies of party attendance. We found that low-ranking males spent more time alone than other males when females with MS were absent. In contrast, when females with MS were present, males of all ranks showed a similar tendency of party attendance. We also found that the aggressive interactions increased with the number of males irrespective of the presence or absence of females with MS, and low-ranking males attracted aggression more frequently than higher-ranking males. These results suggest that low-ranking males frequently ranged alone to avoid aggression from other males unless they attended parties to seek mating opportunities. We conclude that low-ranking males have alternative tactics to balance the costs and benefits incurred or gained when attending parties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shohei Shibata
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-9983, Japan
| | - Takeshi Furuichi
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
| | - Chie Hashimoto
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
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7
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Fitzgerald M, Willems EP, Gaspard Soumah A, Matsuzawa T, Koops K. To drum or not to drum: Selectivity in tree buttress drumming by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23382. [PMID: 35383993 PMCID: PMC9540414 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees live in fission-fusion social organizations, which means that party size, composition, and spatial distribution are constantly in flux. Moreover, chimpanzees use a remarkably extensive repertoire of vocal and nonvocal forms of communication, thought to help convey information in such a socially and spatially dynamic setting. One proposed form of nonvocal communication in chimpanzees is buttress drumming, in which an individual hits a tree buttress with its hands and/or feet, thereby producing a low-frequency acoustic signal. It is often presumed that this behavior functions to communicate over long distances and is, therefore, goal-oriented. If so, we would expect chimpanzees to exhibit selectivity in the choice of trees and buttresses used in buttress drumming. Selectivity is a key attribute of many other goal-directed chimpanzee behaviors, such as nut-cracking and ant dipping. Here, we investigate whether chimpanzees at the Seringbara study site in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea, West Africa, show selectivity in their buttress drumming behavior. Our results indicate that Seringbara chimpanzees are more likely to use larger trees and select buttresses that are thinner and have a greater surface area. These findings imply that tree buttress drumming is not a random act, but rather goal-oriented and requires knowledge of suitable trees and buttresses. Our results also point to long-distance communication as a probable function of buttress drumming based on selectivity for buttress characteristics likely to impact sound propagation. This study provides a foundation for further assessing the cognitive underpinnings and functions of buttress drumming in wild chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maegan Fitzgerald
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.,Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Erik P Willems
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Aly Gaspard Soumah
- Institut de Recherche Environnementale de Bossou, Bossou, Republic of Guinea
| | - Tetsuro Matsuzawa
- Department of Pedagogy, Chubu Gakuin University, Gifu, Japan.,Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Kathelijne Koops
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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8
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Satsias ZM, Silk MJ, Hockings KJ, Cibot M, Rohen J, McLennan MR. Sex-specific responses to anthropogenic risk shape wild chimpanzee social networks in a human-impacted landscape. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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9
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Lavín EG, Polo P, Newton-Fisher NE, Izquierdo IB. Dominance style and intersexual hierarchy in wild bonobos from Wamba. Behav Processes 2022:104627. [PMID: 35364224 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Dominance hierarchies vary between species and possess particular characteristics depending on the distribution and abundance of food resources that affect the competitive regime. Bonobos have been described as having female intersexual dominance, based mainly on female coalitionary support against males, and more egalitarian hierarchies than chimpanzees. In this study, we tested whether female intersexual dominance is dependent on female coalitions or whether it still arises when only dyadic interactions are considered. We also examined the role of food abundance in shaping dominance style in a wild population of bonobos in Wamba, Democratic Republic of Congo. We found partial support concerning our first prediction in which we expected a male dominance over females when only dyadic agonistic interactions were considered because females were not systematically dominant over males, finding instead an intersexual codominance pattern. We failed to find support for our second prediction that hierarchies become more despotic under low fruit abundance, in fact, we found the opposite pattern. We discuss that codominance based on dyadic interactions in this group may arise as a consequence of male deference rather than females winning conflicts against males and that more despotic hierarchies during high fruit season may arise as a consequence of competition for high-quality resources or variation in party size.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pablo Polo
- Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social, Facultad de Gobierno Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile.
| | | | - Isabel Behncke Izquierdo
- Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social, Facultad de Gobierno Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile; Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group, Oxford University, UK
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10
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Giuliano C, Stewart FA, Piel AK. Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) grouping patterns in an open and dry savanna landscape, Issa Valley, western Tanzania. J Hum Evol 2022; 163:103137. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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11
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Jordán F, Kovács B, Verdolin JL. Resource availability influences global social network properties in Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni). BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Increasingly we are discovering that the interactions between individuals within social groups can be quite complex and flexible. Social network analysis offers a toolkit to describe and quantify social structure, the patterns we observe, and evaluate the social and environmental factors that shape group dynamics. Here, we used 14 Gunnison’s prairie dogs networks to evaluate how resource availability and network size influenced four global properties of the networks (centralization, clustering, average path length, small word index). Our results suggest a positive correlation between overall network cohesion and resource availability, such that networks became less centralized and cliquish as biomass/m2 availability decreased. We also discovered that network size modulates the link between social interactions and resource availability and is consistent with a more ‘decentralized’ group. This study highlights the importance of how individuals modify social cohesions and network connectedness as a way to reduce intragroup competition under different ecological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferenc Jordán
- Balaton Limnological Institute, Centre for Ecological Research, Tihany, Hungary
- Evolutionary Systems Research Group, Centre for Ecological Research, Tihany, Hungary
| | | | - Jennifer L. Verdolin
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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12
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Matthews JK, Ridley A, Kaplin BA, Grueter CC. Ecological and reproductive drivers of fission-fusion dynamics in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) inhabiting a montane forest. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02964-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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13
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Hunting of mammals by central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in the Loango National Park, Gabon. Primates 2021; 62:267-278. [PMID: 33417069 PMCID: PMC7936963 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00885-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The predation and consumption of animals are common behaviours in chimpanzees across tropical Africa. To date, however, relatively little is known concerning the hunting behaviour of central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). Here, we provide the first direct observations of hunting behaviour by individuals of the newly habituated Rekambo community in the Loango National Park, Gabon. Over a period of 23 months (May 2017 to March 2019), we observed a total of 61 predation attempts on eight mammal species, including four monkey species. The two most frequently hunted species were two monkey species (Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopithecus nictitans), which are not hunted at other long-term field sites. The majority of predation events observed involved parties of an average of eight individuals, mainly adult males, with hunting success being higher with increasing numbers of participants. Hunting occurred all year round, but hunting rates increased in the dry season, the period of high fruit availability in the Loango National Park. These results are in line with the nutrient surplus hypothesis which explains seasonal variation in hunting behaviour in several populations of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii: e.g., Mahale, Tanzania; Ngogo, Uganda). Finally, with a hunting frequency of 2.65 hunts per month, the Rekambo community had higher hunting rates than other sites (Bossou, Republic of Guinea; Kahuzi-Biega, Democratic Republic of Congo; Budongo, Uganda) where red colobus monkeys are also absent. We discuss these results and compare them to patterns at other long-term sites.
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14
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O'Bryan LR, Lambeth SP, Schapiro SJ, Wilson ML. Unpacking chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) patch use: Do individuals respond to food patches as predicted by the marginal value theorem? Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23208. [PMID: 33118192 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The marginal value theorem is an optimal foraging model that predicts how efficient foragers should respond to both their ecological and social environments when foraging in food patches, and it has strongly influenced hypotheses for primate behavior. Nevertheless, experimental tests of the marginal value theorem have been rare in primates and observational studies have provided conflicting support. As a step towards filling this gap, we test whether the foraging decisions of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) adhere to the assumptions and qualitative predictions of the marginal value theorem. We presented 12 adult chimpanzees with a two-patch foraging environment consisting of both low-quality (i.e., low-food density) and high-quality (i.e., high-food density) patches and examined the effect of patch quality on their search behavior, foraging duration, marginal capture rate, and its proxy measures: giving-up density and giving-up time. Chimpanzees foraged longer in high-quality patches, as predicted. In contrast to predictions, they did not depress high-quality patches as thoroughly as low-quality patches. Furthermore, since chimpanzees searched in a manner that fell between systematic and random, their intake rates did not decline at a steady rate over time, especially in high-quality patches, violating an assumption of the marginal value theorem. Our study provides evidence that chimpanzees are sensitive to their rate of energy intake and that their foraging durations correlate with patch quality, supporting many assumptions underlying primate foraging and social behavior. However, our results question whether the marginal value theorem is a constructive model of chimpanzee foraging behavior, and we suggest a Bayesian foraging framework (i.e., combining past foraging experiences with current patch sampling information) as a potential alternative. More work is needed to build an understanding of the proximate mechanisms underlying primate foraging decisions, especially in more complex socioecological environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa R O'Bryan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.,Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
| | - Michael L Wilson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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15
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Fruit availability has a complex relationship with fission-fusion dynamics in spider monkeys. Primates 2020; 62:165-175. [PMID: 32914343 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00862-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the ecological and social factors that influence group size is a major focus of primate behavioural ecology. Studies of species with fission-fusion social organizations have offered an insightful tool for understanding ecological drivers of group size as associations change over short temporal and spatial scales. Here we investigated how the fission-fusion dynamics of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) at Runaway Creek, Belize were affected by fruit availability. When males and females were analyzed together, we found no association between fruit availability and subgroup size. However, when females were analyzed separately, we found that when fruit availability increased, so did subgroup size. In all analyses, higher fruit availability did not influence subgroup spatial cohesion. Our results point to the complexity of understanding grouping patterns, in that while ecological factors make groups of specific sizes advantageous, social factors also play an important determining role.
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16
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Tkaczynski PJ, Behringer V, Ackermann CY, Fedurek P, Fruth B, Girard-Buttoz C, Hobaiter C, Lee SM, Löhrich T, Preis A, Samuni L, Zommers Z, Zuberbühler K, Deschner T, Wittig RM, Hohmann G, Crockford C. Patterns of urinary cortisol levels during ontogeny appear population specific rather than species specific in wild chimpanzees and bonobos. J Hum Evol 2020; 147:102869. [PMID: 32866765 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Compared with most mammals, postnatal development in great apes is protracted, presenting both an extended period of phenotypic plasticity to environmental conditions and the potential for sustained mother-offspring and/or sibling conflict over resources. Comparisons of cortisol levels during ontogeny can reveal physiological plasticity to species or population specific socioecological factors and in turn how these factors might ameliorate or exaggerate mother-offspring and sibling conflict. Here, we examine developmental patterns of cortisol levels in two wild chimpanzee populations (Budongo and Taï), with two and three communities each, and one wild bonobo population (LuiKotale), with two communities. Both species have similar juvenile life histories. Nonetheless, we predicted that key differences in socioecological factors, such as feeding competition, would lead to interspecific variation in mother-offspring and sibling conflict and thus variation in ontogenetic cortisol patterns. We measured urinary cortisol levels in 1394 samples collected from 37 bonobos and 100 chimpanzees aged up to 12 years. The significant differences in age-related variation in cortisol levels appeared population specific rather than species specific. Both bonobos and Taï chimpanzees had comparatively stable and gradually increasing cortisol levels throughout development; Budongo chimpanzees experienced declining cortisol levels before increases in later ontogeny. These age-related population differences in cortisol patterns were not explained by mother-offspring or sibling conflict specifically; instead, the comparatively stable cortisol patterns of bonobos and Taï chimpanzees likely reflect a consistency in experience of competition and the social environment compared with Budongo chimpanzees, where mothers may adopt more variable strategies related to infanticide risk and resource availability. The clear population-level differences within chimpanzees highlight potential intraspecific flexibility in developmental processes in apes, suggesting the flexibility and diversity in rearing strategies seen in humans may have a deep evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Tkaczynski
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
| | - Verena Behringer
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Corinne Y Ackermann
- Université de Neuchâtel, Institut de Biologie, Cognition Comparée, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Pawel Fedurek
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK
| | - Barbara Fruth
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, L3 3AF, Liverpool, UK; Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Cédric Girard-Buttoz
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Sean M Lee
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Therese Löhrich
- World Wide Fund for Nature, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, BP 1053, Bangui Central African Republic; Robert Koch Institute, Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Seestraße 10, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Havard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zinta Zommers
- United Nations Environment Programme, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Université de Neuchâtel, Institut de Biologie, Cognition Comparée, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
| | - Gottfried Hohmann
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
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17
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Comparing Methods for Assessing Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) Party Size: Observations, Camera Traps, and Bed Counts from a Savanna–Woodland Mosaic in the Issa Valley, Tanzania. INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00142-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
AbstractStudying animal grouping behavior is important for understanding the causes and consequences of sociality and has implications for conservation. Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) party size is often assessed by counting individuals or extracted indirectly from camera trap footage or the number of nests. Little is known, however, about consistency across methods for estimating party size. We collected party size data for wild chimpanzees in the Issa valley, western Tanzania, using direct observations, camera traps, and nest counts over six years (2012–2018). We compared mean monthly party size estimates calculated using each method and found that estimates derived from direct observations were weakly positively correlated with those derived from camera traps. Estimates from nest counts were not significantly correlated with either direct observations or camera traps. Overall observed party size was significantly larger than that estimated from both camera traps and nest counts. In both the dry and wet seasons, observed party size was significantly larger than camera trap party size, but not significantly larger than nest party size. Finally, overall party size and wet season party size estimated from camera traps were significantly smaller than nest party size, but this was not the case in the dry season. Our results reveal how data collection methods influence party size estimates in unhabituated chimpanzees and have implications for comparative analysis within and across primate communities. Specifically, future work must consider how estimates were calculated before we can reliably investigate environmental influences on primate behavior.
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18
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How to measure chimpanzee party size? A methodological comparison. Primates 2020; 61:201-212. [PMID: 31894437 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00783-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live in fission-fusion societies where community members form temporary parties that frequently change in size and composition. Chimpanzee party size and composition have been widely studied to identify proximate causes of grouping patterns, and party size estimates are used to assess population sizes and densities. Numerous socio-ecological factors influence chimpanzee party size, but findings differ across studies. Various methods to measure party size exist, including direct observations, motion-triggered camera (MTC) observations, and nest counts. However, comparative analyses of these methods are lacking. Here, we assess relative differences in four commonly used party size methods and we examine socio-ecological factors influencing party size of unhabituated chimpanzees (P. t. verus) at Seringbara, Nimba, Guinea. We also assess which method(s) best reflect the influence of socio-ecological factors on party size. Using data collected over 69 months, we show that night nest counts resulted in relatively larger party size estimates than the other methods, and day nest counts resulted in relatively smaller party size estimates. Direct and MTC observations did not differ in relative estimates of party size and composition. Both fruit abundance and presence of estrous females positively influenced party size, but this effect was only evident when measuring party size with MTCs. Methods thus differ in relative party size estimates and their ability to assess the impact of socio-ecological factors. We conclude that MTC observations best represent party size and the effect of socio-ecological factors at Nimba. MTCs show promising potential for studying grouping patterns in unhabituated chimpanzees.
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19
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Lowe AE, Hobaiter C, Asiimwe C, Zuberbühler K, Newton-Fisher NE. Intra-community infanticide in wild, eastern chimpanzees: a 24-year review. Primates 2019; 61:69-82. [PMID: 31134473 PMCID: PMC6971177 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00730-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Infanticide is well documented in chimpanzees and various hypotheses have been proposed to explain this behavior. However, since infanticide by chimpanzees is relatively rare, it has thus far not been possible to thoroughly test these hypotheses. Here we present an analysis of the largest dataset of infanticides from a single community of chimpanzees, a full record of all intra-community infanticides and failed attempts at infanticide over a 24-year period for the Sonso community of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. We use these data to test four hypotheses for this behavior: the sexual selection hypothesis, male mating competition, resource competition, and meat acquisition. Our dataset consisted of 33 attacks on 30 victims, 11 of which were ‘definite’ infanticides, four of which ‘almost certain’, and nine were ‘suspected’, while nine were ‘attempted’ infanticides. The majority of attacks where the perpetrators were known (23) had only male attackers and victims were disproportionately young (two-thirds of victims with known ages were under 1 week old). Our data best support the sexual selection hypothesis for infanticide. Cannibalism was infrequent and partial, suggesting meat acquisition was a by-product of infanticide, and there was no evidence to suggest that infanticide was part of a male strategy to eliminate future competitors. Infanticide by females was rare, but we suggest sexual selection, operating through intra-sexual competition, may also be responsible for infanticide by females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana E Lowe
- Living Primates Research Group, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Nicholas E Newton-Fisher
- Living Primates Research Group, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
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20
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Fission-fusion dynamics as a temporally and spatially flexible behavioral strategy in spider monkeys. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2562-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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21
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Deacon F, Bercovitch FB. Movement patterns and herd dynamics among South African giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa). Afr J Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Francois Deacon
- Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences; University of the Free State; Bloemfontein South Africa
| | - Fred B. Bercovitch
- Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences; University of the Free State; Bloemfontein South Africa
- Wildlife Research Center; Kyoto University; Inuyama Aichi Japan
- Save the Giraffes Organisation; San Antonio TX USA
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22
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Crockford C, Wittig RM, Zuberbühler K. Vocalizing in chimpanzees is influenced by social-cognitive processes. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1701742. [PMID: 29152569 PMCID: PMC5687857 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Adjusting communication to take into account information available to one's audience is routine in humans but is assumed absent in other animals, representing a recent development on the lineage leading to humans. This assumption may be premature. Recent studies show changes in primate alarm signaling to threats according to the receivers' risk. However, a classic problem in these and other perspective-taking studies is discerning whether signalers understand the receivers' mental states or simply are responding to their behavior. We designed experiments to exclude concurrent reading of the receivers' behavior by simulating receivers using prerecorded calls of other group members. Specifically, we tested whether wild chimpanzees emitted differing signals in response to a snake model when simulated receivers previously emitted either snake-related calls (indicating knowledge) or acoustically similar non-snake-related calls (indicating ignorance). Signalers showed more vocal and nonvocal signaling and receiver-directed monitoring when simulated receivers had emitted non-snake-related calls. Results were not explained by signaler arousal nor by receiver identity. We conclude that chimpanzees are aware enough of another's perspective to target information toward ignorant group members, suggesting that the integration of signaling and social cognition systems was already emerging in early hominoid lineages before the advent of more language-specific features, such as syntax.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Corresponding author. (C.C.); (R.M.W.)
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Corresponding author. (C.C.); (R.M.W.)
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Mary’s Place, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
- Cognitive Science Centre, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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23
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Modeling the emergence of seasonal fission-fusion dynamics in red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2331-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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24
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Feeding in fear? How adult male western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) adjust to predation and savanna habitat pressures. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:480-496. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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25
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Busia L, Schaffner CM, Rothman JM, Aureli F. Do Fruit Nutrients Affect Subgrouping Patterns in Wild Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)? INT J PRIMATOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-016-9935-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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26
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Lisovski S, Hoye BJ, Klaassen M. Geographic variation in seasonality and its influence on the dynamics of an infectious disease. OIKOS 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Simeon Lisovski
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin Univ. Victoria Geelong Australia
- Dept of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior Univ. of California One Shields Avenue Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Bethany J. Hoye
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin Univ. Victoria Geelong Australia
| | - Marcel Klaassen
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin Univ. Victoria Geelong Australia
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27
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Fission-fusion dynamics in black-and-white ruffed lemurs may facilitate both feeding strategies and communal care of infants in a spatially and temporally variable environment. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2201-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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28
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Gruber T, Zuberbühler K, Neumann C. Travel fosters tool use in wild chimpanzees. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27431611 PMCID: PMC4972540 DOI: 10.7554/elife.16371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological variation influences the appearance and maintenance of tool use in animals, either due to necessity or opportunity, but little is known about the relative importance of these two factors. Here, we combined long-term behavioural data on feeding and travelling with six years of field experiments in a wild chimpanzee community. In the experiments, subjects engaged with natural logs, which contained energetically valuable honey that was only accessible through tool use. Engagement with the experiment was highest after periods of low fruit availability involving more travel between food patches, while instances of actual tool-using were significantly influenced by prior travel effort only. Additionally, combining data from the main chimpanzee study communities across Africa supported this result, insofar as groups with larger travel efforts had larger tool repertoires. Travel thus appears to foster tool use in wild chimpanzees and may also have been a driving force in early hominin technological evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaud Gruber
- Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Christof Neumann
- Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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29
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Foerster S, Zhong Y, Pintea L, Murray CM, Wilson ML, Mjungu DC, Pusey AE. Feeding habitat quality and behavioral trade-offs in chimpanzees: a case for species distribution models. Behav Ecol 2016; 27:1004-1016. [PMID: 27418751 PMCID: PMC4943107 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2015] [Revised: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The distribution and abundance of food resources are among the most important factors that influence animal behavioral strategies. Yet, spatial variation in feeding habitat quality is often difficult to assess with traditional methods that rely on extrapolation from plot survey data or remote sensing. Here, we show that maximum entropy species distribution modeling can be used to successfully predict small-scale variation in the distribution of 24 important plant food species for chimpanzees at Gombe National Park, Tanzania. We combined model predictions with behavioral observations to quantify feeding habitat quality as the cumulative dietary proportion of the species predicted to occur in a given location. This measure exhibited considerable spatial heterogeneity with elevation and latitude, both within and across main habitat types. We used model results to assess individual variation in habitat selection among adult chimpanzees during a 10-year period, testing predictions about trade-offs between foraging and reproductive effort. We found that nonswollen females selected the highest-quality habitats compared with swollen females or males, in line with predictions based on their energetic needs. Swollen females appeared to compromise feeding in favor of mating opportunities, suggesting that females rather than males change their ranging patterns in search of mates. Males generally occupied feeding habitats of lower quality, which may exacerbate energetic challenges of aggression and territory defense. Finally, we documented an increase in feeding habitat quality with community residence time in both sexes during the dry season, suggesting an influence of familiarity on foraging decisions in a highly heterogeneous landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Foerster
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University , Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708 , USA
| | - Ying Zhong
- Master of Environmental Management Program, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 450 Research Drive, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Lilian Pintea
- Conservation Science Department, The Jane Goodall Institute, 1595 Spring Hill Road, Suite 550, Vienna, VA 22182, USA
| | - Carson M Murray
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Michael L Wilson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA, and
| | - Deus C Mjungu
- Gombe Stream Research Centre, The Jane Goodall Institute, PO Box 1182, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Anne E Pusey
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University , Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708 , USA
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30
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Kołodziej-Sobocińska M, Pyziel AM, Demiaszkiewicz AW, Borowik T, Kowalczyk R. Pattern of parasite egg shedding by European bison (Bison bonasus) in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. MAMMAL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-016-0270-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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31
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Potts KB, Baken E, Levang A, Watts DP. Ecological factors influencing habitat use by chimpanzees at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Am J Primatol 2015; 78:432-440. [PMID: 26670217 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Revised: 11/09/2015] [Accepted: 11/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Although numerous ecological and social factors influence range use in vertebrates, the general assumption is that ranging patterns typically accord with principles of optimal foraging theory. However, given temporal variability in resource abundance, animals can more easily meet nutritional needs at some times than at others. For species in which sociality is particularly important for fitness, such as chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and other group-living primates, the influences of social factors can be particularly strong, and likely interact closely with ecological factors. We investigated home range use by a community of chimpanzees at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, to determine whether range use corresponded to energy-based optimality principles. Chimpanzees were particularly attracted to areas of the home range where individuals of Ficus mucuso (a large but low-density resource) were found, but only if those areas also offered other preferred or important resource classes. The aggregation of large foraging parties at F. mucuso crowns (frequently seen year-round) facilitates a number of socially beneficial activities for both males and females. Because chimpanzees apparently seek out F. mucuso in areas where other high-quality feeding opportunities exist, these social benefits likely do not come at the expense of fitness benefits accrued from feeding on high-quality resources. Am. J. Primatol. 78:432-440, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin B Potts
- Department of Biology, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Erica Baken
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Lowa
| | - Ashley Levang
- Department of Biology, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - David P Watts
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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32
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Baden AL, Webster TH, Kamilar JM. Resource seasonality and reproduction predict fission–fusion dynamics in black‐and‐white ruffed lemurs (
Varecia variegata
). Am J Primatol 2015; 78:256-79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2014] [Revised: 10/04/2015] [Accepted: 10/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea L. Baden
- Department of AnthropologyHunter CollegeNew YorkNew York
- Graduate CenterCity University of New YorkNew YorkNew York
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP)New YorkNew York
| | | | - Jason M. Kamilar
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of MassachusettsAmherstMassachusetts
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MassachusettsAmherstMassachusetts
- School of Human Evolution and Social ChangeArizona State UniversityTempeArizona
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33
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Hashimoto C, Furuichi T. Sex Differences in Ranging and Association Patterns in Chimpanzees in Comparison with Bonobos. DISPERSING PRIMATE FEMALES 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-55480-6_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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34
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Rimbach R, Link A, Montes-Rojas A, Di Fiore A, Heistermann M, Heymann EW. Behavioral and physiological responses to fruit availability of spider monkeys ranging in a small forest fragment. Am J Primatol 2014; 76:1049-61. [PMID: 24820229 PMCID: PMC4229060 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2013] [Revised: 03/28/2014] [Accepted: 03/30/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Numerous animal species currently experience habitat loss and fragmentation. This might result in behavioral and dietary adjustments, especially because fruit availability is frequently reduced in fragments. Food scarcity can result in elevated physiological stress levels, and chronic stress often has detrimental effects on individuals. Some animal species exhibit a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics, and theory predicts that these species reduce intragroup feeding competition by modifying their subgroup size according to resource availability. Until now, however, there have been few studies on how species with such fission-fission dynamics adjust their grouping patterns and social behavior in small fragments or on how food availability influences their stress levels. We collected data on fruit availability, feeding behavior, stress hormone levels (measured through fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGCM)), subgroup size, and aggression for two groups of brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) in a small forest fragment in Colombia and examined whether fruit availability influences these variables. Contrary to our predictions, spider monkeys ranged in smaller subgroups, had higher FGCM levels and higher aggression rates when fruit availability was high compared to when it was low. The atypical grouping pattern of the study groups seems to be less effective at mitigating contest competition over food resources than more typical fission-fusion patterns. Overall, our findings illustrate that the relationship between resource availability, grouping patterns, aggression rates, and stress levels can be more complex than assumed thus far. Additional studies are needed to investigate the long-term consequences on the health and persistence of spider monkeys in fragmented habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rimbach
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate CenterGöttingen, Germany
- Fundación Proyecto PrimatesBogotá, Colombia
| | - Andrés Link
- Fundación Proyecto PrimatesBogotá, Colombia
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Bosques Tropicales y Primatología Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los AndesBogotá, Colombia
- Department of Anthropology, University of TexasAustin, Texas
| | - Andrés Montes-Rojas
- Fundación Proyecto PrimatesBogotá, Colombia
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidad del TolimaIbagué, Colombia
| | - Anthony Di Fiore
- Fundación Proyecto PrimatesBogotá, Colombia
- Department of Anthropology, University of TexasAustin, Texas
| | | | - Eckhard W Heymann
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate CenterGöttingen, Germany
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35
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Male chimpanzees compromise the foraging success of their mates in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1803-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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36
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Eckhardt N, Polansky L, Boesch C. Spatial cohesion of adult male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. Am J Primatol 2014; 77:125-34. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Revised: 06/22/2014] [Accepted: 06/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nadin Eckhardt
- Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology; Department of Primatology; Leipzig Germany
| | - Leo Polansky
- Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology; Department of Primatology; Leipzig Germany
- University of California; Department of Anthropology; Davis California
| | - Christophe Boesch
- Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology; Department of Primatology; Leipzig Germany
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37
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Hartwell KS, Notman H, Bonenfant C, Pavelka MSM. Assessing the Occurrence of Sexual Segregation in Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis), Its Mechanisms and Function. INT J PRIMATOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9746-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Ecology rather than psychology explains co-occurrence of predation and border patrols in male chimpanzees. Anim Behav 2013; 86:61-74. [PMID: 25400286 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The intense arousal and excitement shown by adult male chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, during territorial attacks on other chimpanzees and predation upon monkeys suggest that similar psychological mechanisms may be involved. Specifically, it has been proposed that hunting behaviour in chimpanzees evolved from intraspecies aggression. Over 32 years, chimpanzees at Gombe National Park, Tanzania were significantly more likely to engage in a territorial border patrol on days when they hunted red colobus monkeys (Procolobus spp.), and vice versa, even after statistically controlling for male chimpanzee party size. We test the hypothesis that this correlation arises because hunting and patrolling are components of a specieslevel aggressive behavioural syndrome; specifically that predation arose as a by-product of territorial aggression in this species. However, hunting was equally likely to occur after a patrol and/or an intergroup interaction as it was before, and the occurrence of an intergroup interaction in which the chimpanzees approached strangers did not increase subsequent hunting probability. We also reject the hypothesis that hunting and patrolling reflect an individual-level behavioural syndrome. We identified two 'impact hunters' whose presence increased hunting probability. Similarly, there were also three 'impact patrollers', who increased the likelihood that a visit to the periphery of the community range resulted in a patrol. While this discovery has important implications for our understanding of the proximate causes of cooperation, it does not explain the temporal correlation between patrolling and hunting, since no males had such an impact in both contexts. Instead, the data suggest that the correlation arose because patrols typically involved males travelling long distances, which increased the probability of encountering prey. Additionally, parties that travelled to the periphery were more likely to encounter colobus in woodland, where hunts are more likely to occur and to succeed. Therefore, we conclude that ecological, rather than psychological, factors promote the co-occurrence of hunting and territorial aggression in this species.
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Social dynamics among females and their influence on social structure in an East African chimpanzee community. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Wittiger L, Boesch C. Female gregariousness in Western Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) is influenced by resource aggregation and the number of females in estrus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1534-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Schreier AL, Swedell L. Ecology and sociality in a multilevel society: ecological determinants of spatial cohesion in hamadryas baboons. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 148:580-8. [PMID: 22552956 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2011] [Accepted: 03/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The multilevel society of hamadryas baboons, consisting of troops, bands, clans, and one-male units (OMUs), is commonly perceived to be an effective means of adapting to variable food availability while allowing spatial cohesion in response to predator pressure. The relationship between these variables, however, has never been tested quantitatively. The Filoha site in Awash National Park, Ethiopia is ideally suited to such an investigation as it contains nutrient-dense palm forests in addition to the Acacia scrublands typical of hamadryas distribution elsewhere, allowing comparisons of spatial cohesion across habitat types. Here, we use observations over a 1-year period to examine the relationship between resource availability, perceived predator pressure, and spatial cohesion in a band of wild hamadryas baboons at Filoha. Our results demonstrate that the band was more likely to break into OMUs when foraging in habitats with lower food availability, and that the band fissioned into independent clans more often when preferred resources were not available. Furthermore, the baboons remained in larger aggregations for longer periods of time (i.e., prior to embarking on their daily foraging route) on mornings after predators were heard in the vicinity, and increased cohesion in response to encounters with people who may have been perceived as predators. These results support the notion that hamadryas baboons change their social groupings in response to both food availability and predation risk and that the ability of hamadryas bands to cleave and coalesce in response to changes in these factors underlies the evolution of the hamadryas modular social structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Schreier
- Department of Biology, Regis University, Denver, CO 80221, USA.
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Socioecological adaptations by chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus, inhabiting an anthropogenically impacted habitat. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Watts DP, Potts KB, Lwanga JS, Mitani JC. Diet of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, 1. Diet composition and diversity. Am J Primatol 2011; 74:114-29. [PMID: 22109938 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.21016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2011] [Revised: 09/23/2011] [Accepted: 09/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are ecologically flexible omnivores with broad diets comprising many plant and animal foods, although they mostly eat fruit (including figs). Like other ecologically flexible nonhuman primates (e.g., baboons, Papio spp.) with broad diets, their diets vary across habitats. Much data on diets come from short studies that may not capture the range of variation, however, and data are scant on variation within habitats and populations. We present data on diet composition and diversity for chimpanzees at Ngogo, in Kibale National Park, Uganda, collected over a 15-year period, with a focus on the plant components of the diet. We compare Ngogo data to those on chimpanzees at the nearby Kibale site of Kanyawara, on other chimpanzee populations, and on some other frugivorous-omnivorous primates. Results support the argument that chimpanzees are ripe fruit specialists: Ngogo chimpanzees ate a broad, mostly fruit-based diet, feeding time devoted to fruit varied positively with fruit availability, and diet diversity varied inversely with fruit availability. Comparison of Ngogo and Kanyawara shows much similarity, but also pronounced within-population dietary variation. Chimpanzees fed much more on leaves, and much less on pith and stems, at Ngogo. Figs accounted for somewhat less feeding time at Ngogo, but those of Ficus mucuso were quantitatively the most important food. This species is essentially absent at Kanayawara; its abundance and high productivity at Ngogo, along with much higher abundance of several other important food species, help explain why chimpanzee community size and population density are over three times higher at Ngogo. High inter-annual variation at Ngogo highlights the value of long-term data for documenting the extent of ecological variation among chimpanzee populations and understanding how such variation might affect population biology and social dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- David P Watts
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
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Coles RC, Lee PC, Talebi M. Fission–Fusion Dynamics in Southern Muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides) in Continuous Brazilian Atlantic Forest. INT J PRIMATOL 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-011-9555-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Angedakin S, Lwanga J. Changes in group size and composition of the blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) between 1984 and 2009 at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Afr J Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01276.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Newton-Fisher NE, Thompson ME, Reynolds V, Boesch C, Vigilant L. Paternity and social rank in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) from the Budongo Forest, Uganda. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 142:417-28. [PMID: 20033921 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We analyzed patterns of paternity and male dominance rank in the Sonso community of wild East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. Our major objective was to determine whether and how social rank influenced paternity success. We successfully genotyped 52 individuals at up to nine microsatellite loci, using DNA extracted from fecal samples. Of 24 offspring analyzed, we identified sires for 21. Paternity success was significantly correlated with social rank, with alpha males siring a disproportionate number of offspring. However, both middle- and low-ranking males also fathered offspring, and the priority-of-access model provided a relatively poor prediction of which males would be successful and under what circumstances. The concentration of paternities among only seven males and the tendency for high-ranking males to sire offspring of multiparous females suggest that both individual variation in male quality and the resource value of particular females may be mediating factors. In comparison with other chimpanzee studies, our results support the hypothesis that larger male cohort size reduces the ability of the alpha male to monopolize females, though within our study, male number did not affect the success of the alpha. Successful sires were not necessarily those who achieved the highest mating success with the females whose offspring they sired, but were those who demonstrated higher investment by spending significantly more time in association with these females. Finally, we estimate extra-group paternity at 0-5%, supporting other evidence that the community serves as the primary reproductive unit in chimpanzees.
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Gross-Camp ND, Masozera M, Kaplin BA. Chimpanzee seed dispersal quantity in a tropical montane forest of Rwanda. Am J Primatol 2010; 71:901-11. [PMID: 19603417 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We describe chimpanzee seed dispersal in the tropical montane forest of Nyungwe National Park (NNP), Rwanda, for a total of three years from January 1998 through May 2000 and May 2006 through March 2007. Relatively few studies have examined chimpanzee seed dispersal in montane communities where there are generally fewer fruiting tree species than in lowland forests. Such studies may reveal new insights into chimpanzee seed dispersal behaviors and the role that they play in forest regeneration processes. Chimpanzees are large-bodied, highly frugivorous, and tend to deposit the seeds of both large- and small-seeded fruits they consume in a viable state. We found that chimpanzees dispersed a total of 37 fruiting species (20 families) in their feces, 35% of which were large-seeded trees (> or =0.5 cm). A single large-seeded tree, Syzygium guineense, was the only species to be dispersed in both wadges and feces. Based on phenological patterns of the top five large-seeded tree species found in chimpanzee feces, our results indicate that chimpanzees do not choose fruits based on their availability. There was, however, a positive relationship between the presence of Ekebergia capensis seeds in chimpanzee feces and S. guineense seeds in chimpanzee wadges and their respective fruit availabilities. Our data reveal that proportionately fewer chimpanzee fecal samples at NNP contained seeds than that reported in two other communities in the Albertine Rift including one at mid-elevation and one in montane forest. As in other chimpanzee communities, seeds of Ficus spp. were the most common genus in NNP chimpanzee feces. Our data do not support previous studies that describe Ficus spp. as a fallback food for chimpanzees and highlights an intriguing relationship between chimpanzees and the large-seeded tree species, S. guineense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole D Gross-Camp
- Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation, Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch University New England, Keene, New Hampshire 03431, USA.
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Yamagiwa J, Basabose AK. Fallback foods and dietary partitioning among Pan and gorilla. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2009; 140:739-50. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Acquisition of fission–fusion social organization in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) community released into the wild. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-009-0851-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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