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Bouafou L, Makanga BK, Rahola N, Boddé M, Ngangué MF, Daron J, Berger A, Mouillaud T, Makunin A, Korlević P, Nwezeobi J, Kengne P, Paupy C, Lawniczak MKN, Ayala D. Host preference patterns in domestic and wild settings: Insights into Anopheles feeding behavior. Evol Appl 2024; 17:e13693. [PMID: 38828055 PMCID: PMC11143308 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The adaptation of Anopheles malaria vectors to domestic settings is directly linked to their ability to feed on humans. The strength of this species-habitat association is unequal across the species within the genus, with the major vectors being particularly dependent on humans. However, our understanding of how blood-feeding behavior interacts with and adapts to environmental settings, including the presence of humans, remains limited. Using a field-based approach, we first investigated Anopheles community structure and feeding behavior patterns in domestic and sylvatic settings in La Lopé National Park in Gabon, Central Africa. We characterized the preference indices using a dual-host choice sampling approach across mosquito species, habitats, and seasons. We then quantified the plastic biting behavior of mosquito species in each habitat. We collected individuals from 16 Anopheles species that exhibited significant differences in species composition and abundance between sylvatic and domestic settings. The host-seeking behavior also varied among the seven most abundant species. The general attractiveness to each host, human or animal, remained relatively constant for each species, but with significant variations between habitats across species. These variations, to more generalist and to more anthropophilic behavior, were related to seasonal changes and distance from the village, respectively. Finally, we pointed out that the host choice of major malaria vectors changed in the absence of humans, revealing a plastic feeding behavior of these species. This study highlights the effect of humans on Anopheles distribution and feeding evolution. The characterization of feeding behavior in wild and domestic settings provides opportunities to better understand the interplay between genetic determinants of host preference and ecological factors. Our findings suggest that protected areas may offer alternative thriving conditions to major malaria vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lemonde Bouafou
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
- CIRMFFrancevilleGabon
| | | | - Nil Rahola
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | | | | | - Josquin Daron
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Audric Berger
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Theo Mouillaud
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | | | | | | | - Pierre Kengne
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
- CIRMFFrancevilleGabon
| | - Christophe Paupy
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | | | - Diego Ayala
- UMR MIVEGEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRDMontpellierFrance
- Medical Entomology UnitInstitut Pasteur de MadagascarAntananarivoMadagascar
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Albrecht A, Behringer V, Zierau O, Hannig C. Dental findings in wild great apes from macerated skull analysis. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23581. [PMID: 38041590 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Oral health is a crucial aspect of overall well-being in both humans and nonhuman primates. Understanding the oral pathologies and dental conditions in apes can provide valuable insights into their evolutionary history, dietary habits, and overall health. The present study evaluates dental findings in wild great apes from museum specimens to gain insights into the influence of natural nutrition on dental health. Complete macerated skulls of wild, adult great apes from the collection of the Museum of Natural History, Berlin, Germany, were examined. We analyzed skulls of 53 gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), 63 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and 41 orangutans (Pongo spp.). For each skull, we recorded wear of dental hard tissues (Lussi and Ganss index), carious lesions, and periodontal bone loss. Incisal and occlusal dental hard tissue defects were found in all skulls, as well as considerable external staining. In all species, incisors and canines showed the greatest loss of tissue, followed by molars. The wear of molars decreased from the first to the third molars, premolars showed the least pronounced defects. Some individuals had apical osteolytic defects along with severe dental hard tissue loss with pulp involvement or after dental trauma, respectively (n = 5). Our study did not observe any carious lesions among the examined great ape skulls. However, we did find evidence for localized or generalized periodontal bone loss in a subset of the specimens (n = 3 chimpanzees, n = 7 orangutans). The natural diet and foraging behavior of great apes induces abrasion and attrition of dental hard tissue but does not yield carious lesions. The occurrence of periodontitis in individual apes indicates that the natural circumstances can induce periodontal bone loss even in the wild, despite physiological nutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Albrecht
- Policlinic of Operative Dentistry, Periodontology, and Pediatric Dentistry Dresden, Faculty of Medicine 'Carl Gustav Carus', Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Verena Behringer
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Zierau
- Environmental Monitoring & Endocrinology, Faculty of Biology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Hannig
- Policlinic of Operative Dentistry, Periodontology, and Pediatric Dentistry Dresden, Faculty of Medicine 'Carl Gustav Carus', Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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Yue L, Wang C, Meng B, Xie B, Cao H, Su H, Zhang M. The Food Niche Overlap and Interspecific Relationship between the Sympatric Tibetan Macaque and Grey Snub-Nosed Monkey. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2536. [PMID: 37570344 PMCID: PMC10417265 DOI: 10.3390/ani13152536] [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: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Assessing the trophic niche and interspecific relationships between related species and determining how the species maintain differences in nutritional niches while coexisting in the same area are important topics in ecological research. Therefore, exploring the mechanism of food resource utilization, competition and coexistence among species distributed in the same region is important. In this study, we used fecal samples and metagenome sequencing technology to study the plant feeding habits and coexistence mechanisms of Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) and grey snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus brelichi) within the same area. In the winter of 2020, we collected a total of 40 fecal samples from Tibetan macaques and grey snub-nosed monkeys; of those, 29 samples were considered valid and were analyzed using DNA metabarcoding. The results showed that in winter, Tibetan macaques consumed plants from 117 families and 184 genera, whereas grey snub-nosed monkeys consumed plants from 109 families and 165 genera. Diversity analysis revealed that there was a significant difference in the food composition of Tibetan macaques and grey snub-nosed monkeys. Tibetan macaques had a broader food niche width than grey snub-nosed monkeys at the family and genus levels. In winter, the food niches of Tibetan macaques and grey snub-nosed monkeys almost entirely overlapped (0.99). Our research provides detailed dietary data for Tibetan macaques and grey snub-nosed monkeys and valuable information that can aid in conservation efforts targeting these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Yue
- College of Forestry, Research Center for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Zhangjiajie Giant Salamander National Nature Reserve Affairs Center, Zhangjiajie 427400, China
| | - Bingshun Meng
- College of Forestry, Research Center for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Bo Xie
- College of Forestry, Research Center for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Heqin Cao
- College of Forestry, Research Center for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Haijun Su
- College of Forestry, Research Center for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- College of Forestry, Research Center for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
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Forss S, Willems E. The curious case of great ape curiosity and how it is shaped by sociality. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Forss
- Collegium Helveticum, The joint Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) of the ETH Zurich The University of Zurich, and The Zurich University of the Arts Zurich Switzerland
| | - Erik Willems
- Department of Anthropology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
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5
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Nozaki S, Oishi M, Ogihara N. Talar trochlear morphology may not be a good skeletal indicator of locomotor behavior in humans and great apes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:24063. [PMID: 34911997 PMCID: PMC8674354 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03429-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To reconstruct locomotor behaviors of fossil hominins and understand the evolution of bipedal locomotion in the human lineage, it is important to clarify the functional morphology of the talar trochlea in humans and extant great apes. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the interspecific-differences
of the talar trochlear morphology among humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans by means of cone frustum approximation to calculate an apical angle and geometric morphometrics for detailed variability in the shape of the talar trochlea. The apical angles in gorillas and orangutans were significantly greater than those in humans and chimpanzees, but no statistical difference was observed between humans and chimpanzees, indicating that the apical angle did not necessarily correspond with the degree of arboreality in hominoids. The geometric morphometrics revealed clear interspecific differences in the trochlear morphology, but no clear association between the morphological characteristics of the trochlea and locomotor behavior was observed. The morphology of the trochlea may not be a distinct skeletal correlate of locomotor behavior, possibly because the morphology is determined not only by locomotor behavior, but also by other factors such as phylogeny and body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuhei Nozaki
- Laboratory of Human Evolutionary Biomechanics, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Motoharu Oishi
- Laboratory of Anatomy, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5201, Japan
| | - Naomichi Ogihara
- Laboratory of Human Evolutionary Biomechanics, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
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Nishida AH, Ochman H. Captivity and the co-diversification of great ape microbiomes. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5632. [PMID: 34561432 PMCID: PMC8463570 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25732-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Wild great apes harbor clades of gut bacteria that are restricted to each host species. Previous research shows the evolutionary relationships among several host-restricted clades mirror those of great-ape species. However, processes such as geographic separation, host-shift speciation, and host-filtering based on diet or gut physiology can generate host-restricted bacterial clades and mimic patterns of co-diversification across host species. To gain insight into the distribution of host-restricted taxa, we examine captive great apes living under conditions where sharing of bacterial strains is readily possible. Here, we show that increased sampling of wild and captive apes identifies additional host-restricted lineages whose relationships are not concordant with the host phylogeny. Moreover, the gut microbiomes of captive apes converge through the displacement of strains that are restricted to their wild conspecifics by human-restricted strains. We demonstrate that host-restricted and co-diversifying bacterial strains in wild apes lack persistence and fidelity in captive environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex H Nishida
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
- Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Howard Ochman
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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Dental wear patterns reveal dietary ecology and season of death in a historical chimpanzee population. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251309. [PMID: 33970963 PMCID: PMC8109778 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental wear analyses have been widely used to interpret the dietary ecology in primates. However, it remains unclear to what extent a combination of wear analyses acting at distinct temporal scales can be beneficial in interpreting the tooth use of primates with a high variation in their intraspecific dietary ecology. Here, we combine macroscopic tooth wear (occlusal fingerprint analysis, long-term signals) with microscopic 3D surface textures (short-term signals) exploring the tooth use of a historical western chimpanzee population from northeastern Liberia with no detailed dietary records. We compare our results to previously published tooth wear and feeding data of the extant and continually monitored chimpanzees of Taї National Park in Ivory Coast. Macroscopic tooth wear results from molar wear facets of the Liberian population indicate only slightly less wear when compared to the Taї population. This suggests similar long-term feeding behavior between both populations. In contrast, 3D surface texture results show that Liberian chimpanzees have many and small microscopic wear facet features that group them with those Taї chimpanzees that knowingly died during dry periods. This coincides with historical accounts, which indicate that local tribes poached and butchered the Liberian specimens during dust-rich dry periods. In addition, Liberian females and males differ somewhat in their 3D surface textures, with females having more microscopic peaks, smaller hill and dale areas and slightly rougher wear facet surfaces than males. This suggests a higher consumption of insects in Liberian females compared to males, based on similar 3D surface texture patterns previously reported for Taї chimpanzees. Our study opens new options for uncovering details of feeding behaviors of chimpanzees and other living and fossil primates, with macroscopic tooth wear tracing the long-term dietary and environmental history of a single population and microscopic tooth wear addressing short-term changes (e.g. seasonality).
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8
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Chimpanzees balance resources and risk in an anthropogenic landscape of fear. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4569. [PMID: 33633129 PMCID: PMC7907193 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83852-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Human-wildlife coexistence is possible when animals can meet their ecological requirements while managing human-induced risks. Understanding how wildlife balance these trade-offs in anthropogenic environments is crucial to develop effective strategies to reduce risks of negative interactions, including bi-directional aggression and disease transmission. For the first time, we use a landscape of fear framework with Bayesian spatiotemporal modelling to investigate anthropogenic risk-mitigation and optimal foraging trade-offs in Critically Endangered western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Using 12 months of camera trap data (21 camera traps, 6722 camera trap days) and phenology on wild and cultivated plant species collected at Caiquene–Cadique, Cantanhez National Park (Guinea-Bissau), we show that humans and chimpanzees broadly overlapped in their use of forest and anthropogenic parts of the habitat including villages and cultivated areas. The spatiotemporal model showed that chimpanzee use of space was predicted by the availability of naturalised oil-palm fruit. Chimpanzees used areas away from villages and agriculture more intensively, but optimised their foraging strategies by increasing their use of village areas with cultivated fruits when wild fruits were scarce. Our modelling approach generates fine-resolution space–time output maps, which can be scaled-up to identify human-wildlife interaction hotspots at the landscape level, informing coexistence strategy.
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Fiber-type phenotype of the jaw-closing muscles in Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, and Pan paniscus: A test of the Frequent Recruitment Hypothesis. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102938. [PMID: 33493971 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Skeletal muscle fiber types are important determinants of the contractile properties of muscle fibers, such as fatigue resistance and shortening velocity. Yet little is known about how jaw-adductor fiber types correlate with feeding behavior in primates. Compared with chimpanzees and bonobos, gorillas spend a greater percentage of their daily time feeding and shift to herbaceous vegetation when fruits are scarce. We thus used the African apes to test the hypothesis that chewing with unusually high frequency is correlated with the expression in the jaw adductors of a high proportion of type 1 (slow, fatigue-resistant) fibers at the expense of other fiber types (the Frequent Recruitment Hypothesis). We used immunohistochemistry to determine the presence and distribution of the four major myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms in the anterior superficial masseter (ASM), superficial anterior temporalis, and deep anterior temporalis of four Gorilla gorilla, two Pan paniscus, and four Pan troglodytes. Serial sections were stained against slow (MHC-1/-α-cardiac) and fast (MHC-2/-M) fibers. Fibers were counted and scored for staining intensity, and fiber cross-sectional areas (CSAs) were measured and used to estimate percentage of CSA of each MHC isoform. Hybrid fibers accounted for nearly 100% of fiber types in the masseter and temporalis of all three species, resulting in three main hybrid phenotypes. As predicted, the gorilla ASM and deep anterior temporalis comprised a greater percentage of CSA of the slower, fatigue-resistant hybrid fiber type, significantly so for the ASM (p = 0.015). Finally, the results suggest that fiber phenotype of the chewing muscles contributes to behavioral flexibility in ways that would go undetected in paleontological studies relying solely on morphology of the bony masticatory apparatus.
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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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11
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Food preference and nutrient composition in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus). Primates 2020; 61:661-671. [PMID: 32246408 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00813-6] [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: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Food preference has been studied in a range of Hominoidea in the wild and in captivity, allowing for interspecific comparisons. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) prefer low-fibre, high-sugar foods, suggesting that frugivory and their dietary overlap are a result of their shared preference for the same nutrients. Comparable tests of the nutritional preference of bonobos do not exist. In this study we examined food preferences of five captive bonobos for 23 familiar and ten novel food items. We performed paired-choice food tests, resulting in a clear rank order in food preference, with minor individual differences. Fruits were more preferred than vegetables. We correlated nutritional composition of the food items with the bonobos' preference. We found that preferences for familiar food items were positively correlated with total energy and carbohydrate content and negatively correlated with water and micronutrient (sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, manganese, selenium) content. Food preference for the novel food items also showed a significant positive correlation with total energy and carbohydrate content. Our study supports the idea that food preference among bonobos follows the pattern of the other great apes and that the shared frugivorous diets may be the result of a common preference for the same nutrients. In the wild, these preferences may be less clear due to the interference of preferred nutrients with secondary compounds. Combining food preference data and nutritional information can help in providing a healthy diet with a balanced nutrient composition in captivity. Individual food preferences can help in optimizing food choice for positive reinforcement training and food-related tasks in future research.
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Gorillas' (Gorilla g. gorilla) knowledge of conspecifics' affordances: intraspecific social tool use for food acquisition. Primates 2020; 61:583-591. [PMID: 32166437 PMCID: PMC7347707 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00805-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The use of tools, long thought to be uniquely human, has now been observed in other animal taxa including several species of birds, non-primate mammals as well as some non-human primate species. Chimpanzees, one of humankind’s closest living relatives, exceed all other non-human animal species as they have been reported to use an exceptionally large toolkit. However, relatively little is known about the tool-use skills of the other great ape species. While the majority of tools described are inanimate objects, the use of social tools has received relatively little attention. Here we provide the first evidence of naturally occurring spontaneous exploitative behaviour of a conspecific as a social tool for food acquisition in non-human animals. We observed gorillas in captivity utilising a conspecific as a ladder to gain access to unreachable food. We discuss our findings in the light of other studies on social tool use and suggest the need for more nuanced interpretations of gorillas’ cognitive skills.
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Abwe EE, Morgan BJ, Doudja R, Kentatchime F, Mba F, Dadjo A, Venditti DM, Mitchell MW, Fosso B, Mounga A, Fotso RC, Gonder MK. Dietary Ecology of the Nigeria–Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00138-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Uwimbabazi M, Rothman JM, Basuta GI, Machanda ZP, Conklin‐Brittain NL, Wrangham RW. INFLUENCE OF FRUIT AVAILABILITY ON MACRONUTRIENT AND ENERGY INTAKE BY FEMALE CHIMPANZEES. Afr J Ecol 2019; 57:454-465. [PMID: 32863473 DOI: 10.1111/aje.12636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Daily energy intake of adult female mammals is influenced by environmental conditions and physiological requirements, including reproduction. We examined the effects of fruit availability on macronutrient and metabolisable energy intake by adult female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda from January 2014 through June 2015. Drupe fruits were abundant for four months, whereas the other fourteen months were dominated by fig fruits. The mean daily intake of food (dry matter) and metabolisable energy, did not differ between drupe-months and fig-months. However, foraging costs were higher during fig-months, as indicated by a 20% increase in feeding time. Furthermore, during drupe-months female chimpanzees ingested more water-soluble carbohydrates and lipids, and less available protein and neutral detergent fibre. Although metabolisable energy intake did not differ consistently between drupe-months and fig-months, they consumed more on days when ripe fruit dominated the diet than when leaves and pithy stems dominated the diet. Our data suggest that differences in diet quality between drupes and figs can have important effects on frugivore foraging, and that they influence net energy gain more by their effects on macronutrient composition or foraging cost than by their direct impact on energy intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moreen Uwimbabazi
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences Makerere University Kampala Uganda
| | - Jessica M. Rothman
- Department of Anthropology Hunter College of the City University of New York New York New York
| | - Gilbert I. Basuta
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences Makerere University Kampala Uganda
| | | | | | - Richard W. Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts
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Lodwick JL, Salmi R. Nutritional composition of the diet of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla): Interspecific variation in diet quality. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e23044. [PMID: 31463957 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
To meet nutritional needs, primates adjust their diets in response to local habitat differences, though whether these dietary modifications translate to changes in dietary nutrient intake is unknown. A previous study of two populations of the mountain gorilla (MG: Gorilla beringei) found no evidence for intraspecific variation in the nutrient composition of their diets, despite ecological and dietary differences between sites. One potential explanation is that nutritional variability in primate diets requires greater ecological divergence than what was captured between MG sites, underpinning environmental differences in the nutrient quality of plant foods. To test whether Gorilla exhibits interspecific variation in dietary composition and nutrient intake, we studied the composition and macronutrients of the western gorilla (WG: Gorilla gorilla) staple diets and compared them with published data from the two MG populations. We recorded feeding time and food intake of four adult female WGs from one habituated group over a period of 11 months (December 2004-October 2005) at the Mondika Research Center, Republic of Congo, allowing for assessment of seasonal patterns of nutrient intake. Staple diets of WGs and MGs diverged in their dietary and macronutrient composition. Compared to MGs, the staple diet of WGs (by intake) contained higher proportions of fruit (43%) and leaf (12%) and a lower proportion of herb (39%), resulting in a higher intake of total nonstructural carbohydrate and fiber and a lower intake of crude protein. Staple gorilla fruits and herbs differed in nutrient quality between sites. Gorillas exhibit nutritional flexibility that reflects ecological variation in the nutrient quality of plant foods. Since dietary quality typically affects rates of growth and reproduction in primates, our results suggest that interspecific differences in nutrient intake and food quality may shape differences in gorilla nutrient balancing and female life history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Lodwick
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Roberta Salmi
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.,Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
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Stuhlträger J, Schulz-Kornas E, Wittig RM, Kupczik K. Ontogenetic Dietary Shifts and Microscopic Tooth Wear in Western Chimpanzees. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Golcher-Benavides J, Wagner CE. Playing out Liem's Paradox: Opportunistic Piscivory across Lake Tanganyikan Cichlids. Am Nat 2019; 194:260-267. [PMID: 31318283 DOI: 10.1086/704169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Trophic specialization is a key feature of the diversity of cichlid fish adaptive radiations. However, K. F. Liem observed that even species with highly specialized trophic morphologies have dietary flexibility, enabling them to exploit episodic food resources opportunistically. Evidence for dietary flexibility comes largely from laboratory studies, and it is unclear whether cichlid fishes undergo diet shifts in the wild. We report observations of diet switching by multiple cichlid species in Lake Tanganyika as a consequence of unusual concentrations of schooling juvenile clupeid fishes. Fish species with varying degrees of trophic specialization converged on a single prey: juvenile sardines that are also endemic to Lake Tanganyika (Stolothrissa tanganicae and Limnothrissa miodon). We provide evidence for cichlid species acting as jacks-of-all-trades and discuss this evidence in the framework of Liem's classic paradox: that trophic specialization does not preclude dietary flexibility.
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Chimpanzee feeding ecology and fallback food use in the montane forest of Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e22971. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Revised: 03/02/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Tédonzong LRD, Willie J, Tagg N, Tchamba MN, Angwafo TE, Keuko AMP, Kuenbou JK, Petre C, Lens L. The distribution of plant consumption traits across habitat types and the patterns of fruit availability suggest a mechanism of coexistence of two sympatric frugivorous mammals. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:4473-4494. [PMID: 31031921 PMCID: PMC6476771 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms governing the coexistence of organisms is an important question in ecology, and providing potential solutions contributes to conservation science. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of several mechanisms to the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores, using western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in a tropical rainforest of southeast Cameroon as a model system. We collected great ape fecal samples to determine and classify fruit species consumed; we conducted great ape nest surveys to evaluate seasonal patterns of habitat use; and we collected botanical data to investigate the distribution of plant species across habitat types in relation to their "consumption traits" (which indicate whether plants are preferred or fallback for either gorilla, chimpanzee, or both). We found that patterns of habitat use varied seasonally for both gorillas and chimpanzees and that gorilla and chimpanzee preferred and fallback fruits differed. Also, the distribution of plant consumption traits was influenced by habitat type and matched accordingly with the patterns of habitat use by gorillas and chimpanzees. We show that neither habitat selection nor fruit preference alone can explain the coexistence of gorillas and chimpanzees, but that considering together the distribution of plant consumption traits of fruiting woody plants across habitats as well as the pattern of fruit availability may contribute to explaining coexistence. This supports the assumptions of niche theory with dominant and subordinate species in heterogeneous landscapes, whereby a species may prefer nesting in habitats where it is less subject to competitive exclusion and where food availability is higher. To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the contribution of plant consumption traits, seasonality, and habitat heterogeneity to enabling the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores. OPEN RESEARCH BADGES This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally-shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.ms65f29.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc Roscelin Dongmo Tédonzong
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Jacob Willie
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
| | | | - Tsi Evaristus Angwafo
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
- Department of Fundamental SciencesThe University of Bamenda, HTTTCBambiliCameroon
| | - Ada Myriane Patipe Keuko
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Jacques Keumo Kuenbou
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Charles‐Albert Petre
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Laboratory of Tropical ForestryUniversity of LiègeGembloux Agro‐Bio TechLiègeBelgium
- Conservation Biology Unit, Directorate Natural EnvironmentRoyal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesBrusselsBelgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
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Abwe EE, Morgan BJ, Tchiengue B, Kentatchime F, Doudja R, Ketchen ME, Teguia E, Ambahe R, Venditti DM, Mitchell MW, Fosso B, Mounga A, Fotso RC, Gonder MK. Habitat differentiation among three Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ellioti) populations. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:1489-1500. [PMID: 30805176 PMCID: PMC6374666 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological niche models (ENMs) are often used to predict species distribution patterns from datasets that describe abiotic and biotic factors at coarse spatial scales. Ground-truthing ENMs provide important information about how these factors relate to species-specific requirements at a scale that is biologically relevant for the species. Chimpanzees are territorial and have a predominantly frugivorous diet. The spatial and temporal variation in fruit availability for different chimpanzee populations is thus crucial, but rarely depicted in ENMs. The genetic and geographic distinction within Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) populations represents a unique opportunity to understand fine scale species-relevant ecological variation in relation to ENMs. In Cameroon, P. t. ellioti is composed of two genetically distinct populations that occupy different niches: rainforests in western Cameroon and forest-woodland-savanna mosaic (ecotone) in central Cameroon. We investigated habitat variation at three representative sites using chimpanzee-relevant environmental variables, including fruit availability, to assess how these variables distinguish these niches from one another. Contrary to the assumption of most ENM studies that intact forest is essential for the survival of chimpanzees, we hypothesized that the ecotone and human-modified habitats in Cameroon have sufficient resources to sustain large chimpanzee populations. Rainfall, and the diversity, density, and size of trees were higher at the rainforest. The ecotone had a higher density of terrestrial herbs and lianas. Fruit availability was higher at Ganga (ecotone) than at Bekob and Njuma. Seasonal variation in fruit availability was highest at Ganga, and periods of fruit scarcity were longer than at the rainforest sites. Introduced and secondary forest species linked with anthropogenic modification were common at Bekob, which reduced seasonality in fruit availability. Our findings highlight the value of incorporating fine scale species-relevant ecological data to create more realistic models, which have implications for local conservation planning efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekwoge E. Abwe
- Department of BiologyDrexel UniversityPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Ebo Forest Research ProjectYaoundéCameroon
- San Diego Zoo GlobalSan DiegoCalifornia
| | - Bethan J. Morgan
- Ebo Forest Research ProjectYaoundéCameroon
- San Diego Zoo GlobalSan DiegoCalifornia
| | | | | | - Roger Doudja
- Ministry of Forestry and WildlifeYaoundéCameroon
| | | | - Eric Teguia
- Wildlife Conservation SocietyYaoundéCameroon
| | | | | | - Matthew W. Mitchell
- Department of BiologyDrexel UniversityPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
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McRae R, Aronsen GP. Inventory and Assessment of theGorilla gorilla(Savage, 1847) Skeletal Collection Housed at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. BULLETIN OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2018. [DOI: 10.3374/014.059.0205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan McRae
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven CT 06520-8277 USA
| | - Gary P. Aronsen
- Biological Anthropology Laboratories, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven CT 06520-8277 USA
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Mitchell MW, Locatelli S, Abwe EE, Ghobrial L, Gonder MK. Male-Driven Differences in Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Population Genetic Structure Across Three Habitats in Cameroon and Nigeria. INT J PRIMATOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-018-0053-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Schulz D, Qablan MA, Profousova-Psenkova I, Vallo P, Fuh T, Modry D, Piel AK, Stewart F, Petrzelkova KJ, Fliegerová K. Anaerobic Fungi in Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Feces: an Adaptation to a High-Fiber Diet? INT J PRIMATOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-018-0052-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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Bush ER, Bunnefeld N, Dimoto E, Dikangadissi JT, Jeffery K, Tutin C, White L, Abernethy KA. Towards effective monitoring of tropical phenology: maximizing returns and reducing uncertainty in long-term studies. Biotropica 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma R. Bush
- Biological and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA UK
| | - Nils Bunnefeld
- Biological and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA UK
| | - Edmond Dimoto
- Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN); B.P. 20379 Libreville Gabon
| | | | - Kathryn Jeffery
- Biological and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA UK
- Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN); B.P. 20379 Libreville Gabon
- Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale; CENAREST; BP 842 Libreville Gabon
| | - Caroline Tutin
- Biological and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA UK
| | - Lee White
- Biological and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA UK
- Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN); B.P. 20379 Libreville Gabon
- Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale; CENAREST; BP 842 Libreville Gabon
| | - Katharine A. Abernethy
- Biological and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA UK
- Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale; CENAREST; BP 842 Libreville Gabon
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Gut microbiomes of wild great apes fluctuate seasonally in response to diet. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1786. [PMID: 29725011 PMCID: PMC5934369 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04204-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The microbiome is essential for extraction of energy and nutrition from plant-based diets and may have facilitated primate adaptation to new dietary niches in response to rapid environmental shifts. Here we use 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the microbiota of wild western lowland gorillas and sympatric central chimpanzees and demonstrate compositional divergence between the microbiotas of gorillas, chimpanzees, Old World monkeys, and modern humans. We show that gorilla and chimpanzee microbiomes fluctuate with seasonal rainfall patterns and frugivory. Metagenomic sequencing of gorilla microbiomes demonstrates distinctions in functional metabolic pathways, archaea, and dietary plants among enterotypes, suggesting that dietary seasonality dictates shifts in the microbiome and its capacity for microbial plant fiber digestion versus growth on mucus glycans. These data indicate that great ape microbiomes are malleable in response to dietary shifts, suggesting a role for microbiome plasticity in driving dietary flexibility, which may provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms by which diet has driven the evolution of human gut microbiomes. Microbiota composition fluctuates in response to changes in environmental and lifestyle factors. Here, Hicks et al. show that the faecal microbiota of wild gorillas and chimpanzees is temporally dynamic, with shifts that correlate with seasonal rainfall patterns and periods of high and low frugivory.
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Masi S, Breuer T. Dialium seed coprophagy in wild western gorillas: Multiple nutritional benefits and toxicity reduction hypotheses. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22752. [PMID: 29664132 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Unraveling the relationship between the unusual feeding behaviors and the nutritional intake of endangered species may provide crucial information for understanding species response to habitat unpredictable changes. Primates occasionally re-ingest fruit seeds alongside ingestion of feces, a behavior called coprophagy. The nutritional benefit is one of the several non-mutual exclusive hypotheses proposed to explain this behavior. We investigated the ecological correlates of coprophagy in wild western gorillas. We tested whether coprophagy occurred during periods of lower fruit availability and whether it led to higher nutrient intake in comparison to the other food. Data integrated phenological, fecal and nutritional analyses of gorilla food with behavioral observations collected at two sites in Central Africa (Mbeli Bai: ad libitum observations on 15 groups/solitary males, October 2002-November 2005; Bai Hokou: 5-min scan on a habituated group, December 2004-December 2005). Coprophagy occurred at the end of the high-fruiting season in association of two Dialium species. Coprophagy correlated positively with the occurrence of Dialium spp. fruit in gorilla feces and in the feeding scans, and showed a positive trend with Dialium availability but not with total fruit availability. Nutritional comparison of Dialium seeds with other important gorilla food showed higher fat and mineral content, particularly of Mg, but also of phenols and tannins in Dialium seeds. We discuss how the effect of gut processing and gut heat via coprophagy may act as cooking-like effect: increasing the ability to maximize nutrient intake by concurrently softening fibers and decreasing the toxic effect of antifeedants, like in human traditional cooking. Our results support both the multiple nutritional benefit hypothesis and the toxicity reduction hypothesis. Since Dialium is precious timber, the importance of this tree for the critically endangered western gorillas should be taken with high consideration when planning controlled logging of degraded forests or in face of habitat changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Masi
- Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York
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Berthaume MA, Schroer K. Extant ape dental topography and its implications for reconstructing the emergence of early Homo. J Hum Evol 2017; 112:15-29. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2016] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Neufuss J, Robbins MM, Baeumer J, Humle T, Kivell TL. Comparison of hand use and forelimb posture during vertical climbing in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 164:651-664. [PMID: 28872656 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Studies on grasping and limb posture during arboreal locomotion in great apes in their natural environment are scarce and thus, attempts to correlate behavioral and habitat differences with variation in morphology are limited. The aim of this study is to compare hand use and forelimb posture during vertical climbing in wild, habituated mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and semi-free-ranging chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to assess differences in the climbing styles that may relate to variation in hand or forelimb morphology and body size. MATERIALS AND METHODS We investigated hand use and forelimb posture during both ascent and descent vertical climbing in 15 wild mountain gorillas and eight semi-free-ranging chimpanzees, using video records obtained ad libitum. RESULTS In both apes, forelimb posture was correlated with substrate size during both ascent and descent climbing. While climbing, both apes used power grips and diagonal power grips, including three different thumb postures. Mountain gorillas showed greater ulnar deviation of the wrist during vertical descent than chimpanzees, and the thumb played an important supportive role when gorillas vertically descended lianas. DISCUSSION We found that both apes generally had the same grip preferences and used similar forelimb postures on supports of a similar size, which is consistent with their overall similarity in hard and soft tissue morphology of the hand and forelimb. However, some species-specific differences in morphology appear to elicit slightly different grasping strategies during vertical climbing between mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Neufuss
- Animal Postcranial Evolution (APE) Laboratory, Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology & Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Martha M Robbins
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jana Baeumer
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tatyana Humle
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology & Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Animal Postcranial Evolution (APE) Laboratory, Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology & Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Knight-Sadler J, Fiorenza L. Tooth Wear Inclination in Great Ape Molars. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2017; 88:223-236. [DOI: 10.1159/000478775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 06/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Glowacka H, McFarlin SC, Vogel ER, Stoinski TS, Ndagijimana F, Tuyisingize D, Mudakikwa A, Schwartz GT. Toughness of the Virunga mountain gorilla (
Gorilla beringei beringei
) diet across an altitudinal gradient. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2016] [Revised: 03/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Halszka Glowacka
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Institute of Human OriginsArizona State UniversityTempeArizona
| | - Shannon C. McFarlin
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human PaleobiologyThe George Washington UniversityWashingtonDistrict of Columbia
| | - Erin R. Vogel
- Department of Anthropology, RutgersThe State University of New JerseyNew BrunswickNew Jersey
| | | | - Felix Ndagijimana
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund InternationalKarisoke Research CenterMusanzeRwanda
| | - Deo Tuyisingize
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund InternationalKarisoke Research CenterMusanzeRwanda
| | - Antoine Mudakikwa
- Department of Tourism and ConservationRwanda Development BoardKigaliRwanda
| | - Gary T. Schwartz
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Institute of Human OriginsArizona State UniversityTempeArizona
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Roberts P, Boivin N, Lee-Thorp J, Petraglia M, Stock J. Tropical forests and the genus Homo. Evol Anthropol 2017; 25:306-317. [PMID: 28004892 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Tropical forests constitute some of the most diverse and complex terrestrial ecosystems on the planet. From the Miocene onward, they have acted as a backdrop to the ongoing evolution of our closest living relatives, the great apes, and provided the cradle for the emergence of early hominins, who retained arboreal physiological adaptations at least into the Late Pliocene. There also now exists growing evidence, from the Late Pleistocene onward, for tool-assisted intensification of tropical forest occupation and resource extraction by our own species, Homo sapiens. However, between the Late Pliocene and Late Pleistocene there is an apparent gap in clear and convincing evidence for the use of tropical forests by hominins, including early members of our own genus. In discussions of Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene hominin evolution, including the emergence and later expansion of Homo species across the globe, tropical forest adaptations tend to be eclipsed by open, savanna environments. Thus far, it is not clear whether this Early-Middle Pleistocene lacuna in Homo-rainforest interaction is real and representative of an adaptive shift with the emergence of our species or if it is simply reflective of preservation bias.
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Ban SD, Boesch C, N'Guessan A, N'Goran EK, Tako A, Janmaat KR. Taï chimpanzees change their travel direction for rare feeding trees providing fatty fruits. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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McGrew WC. Field studies of Pan troglodytes reviewed and comprehensively mapped, focussing on Japan's contribution to cultural primatology. Primates 2016; 58:237-258. [PMID: 27461577 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-016-0554-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 06/24/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Field studies done over decades of wild chimpanzees in East, Central and West Africa have yielded impressive, cumulative findings in cultural primatology. Japanese primatologists have been involved in this advance from the outset, over a wide variety of topics. Here I review the origins and development of field studies of Pan troglodytes, then assess their progress based on analogy between cultural primatology and cultural anthropology, through four stages: natural history, ethnography, ethnology, and intuition. Then, I focus on six topics that continue to yield informative debate: technology, universals, nuanced variation, archaeology, applied primatology, and ecology. Finally, I offer a map of sites of field study of wild chimpanzees. It is clear that Japanese primatologists have made a significant contribution to East-West scientific exchange, especially at the field sites of Bossou and Mahale.
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Affiliation(s)
- William C McGrew
- Division of Biological Anthropology, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, UK.
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Nelson SV, Rook L. Isotopic reconstructions of habitat change surrounding the extinction of Oreopithecus, the last European ape. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:254-71. [PMID: 26932906 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2015] [Revised: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Oreopithecus bambolii was the last hominoid to survive in Europe. The purpose of this investigation was to reconstruct, through stable isotope analyses, Oreopithecus' habitat, subsistence behavior, and changes in habitat that may have led to its extinction. METHODS Carbon and oxygen stable isotopes from inorganic carbonate in tooth enamel from Oreopithecus and its contemporaneous faunas from localities in Tuscany and Sardinia were sampled. Also the fauna from localities in Tuscany shortly after Oreopithecus went extinct were sampled. RESULTS Results indicated that Oreopithecus, compared with most modern hominoids, inhabited forests that probably had a more open canopy. At Tuscan localities, Oreopithecus yields some of the highest carbon isotope values but some of the lowest oxygen, suggesting a diet that may have included tubers or aquatic vegetation. Relatively higher oxygen values in Sardinia suggested that its diet included arboreal foods as well. Among modern and fossil hominoids, Oreopithecus only resembled chimpanzees living outside of rainforests. It also resembled Ardipithecus in carbon isotope values, suggesting possible similarities in feeding strategies concordant with shared skeletal features between Oreopithecus and early hominins. Isotope values from post-Oreopithecus faunas indicated a shift to more forested conditions, unlike other hominoid extinctions associated with loss of forest. CONCLUSIONS Isotopic reconstructions of Oreopithecus' habitat and changes associated with its extinction indicated that its paleoecology was unique among hominoids. However, these reconstructions also suggested that like other hominoids, Oreopithecus was susceptible to changes in seasonality of precipitation, and it may have used wetlands as a buffer to seasonal regimes. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:254-271, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherry V Nelson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, MSC01-1040, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001
| | - Lorenzo Rook
- Dipartimento Di Scienze Della Terra, Università Di Firenze, via G. La Pira, 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy
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Bessa J, Sousa C, Hockings KJ. Feeding ecology of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) inhabiting a forest-mangrove-savanna-agricultural matrix at Caiquene-Cadique, Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau. Am J Primatol 2015; 77:651-65. [PMID: 25800459 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2014] [Revised: 01/18/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
With rising conversion of "natural" habitat to other land use such as agriculture, nonhuman primates are increasingly exploiting areas influenced by people and their activities. Despite the conservation importance of understanding the ways in which primates modify their behavior to human pressures, data are lacking, even for well-studied species. Using systematically collected data (fecal samples, feeding traces, and direct observations), we examined the diet and feeding strategies of an unhabituated chimpanzee community (Pan troglodytes verus) at Caiquene-Cadique in Guinea-Bissau that inhabit a forest-savanna-mangrove-agricultural mosaic. The chimpanzees experienced marked seasonal variations in the availability of plant foods, but maintained a high proportion of ripe fruit in the diet across months. Certain wild species were identified as important to this community including oil-palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit and flower. Honey was frequently consumed but no other insects or vertebrates were confirmed to be eaten by this community. However, we provide indirect evidence of possible smashing and consumption of giant African snails (Achatina sp.) by chimpanzees at this site. Caiquene-Cadique chimpanzees were confirmed to feed on nine different agricultural crops, which represented 13.6% of all plant species consumed. Consumption of fruit and nonfruit crops was regular, but did not increase during periods of wild fruit scarcity. Crop consumption is an increasing and potentially problematic behavior, which can impact local people's tolerance toward wildlife. To maximize the potential success of any human-wildlife coexistence strategy (e.g., to reduce primate crop feeding), knowledge of primate behavior, as well as multifaceted social dimensions of interactions, is critical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Bessa
- Centre for Research in Anthropology, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Cláudia Sousa
- Centre for Research in Anthropology, Lisbon, Portugal.,Department of Anthropology, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Kimberley J Hockings
- Centre for Research in Anthropology, Lisbon, Portugal.,Anthropology Centre for Conservation, Environment and Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Knigge RP, Tocheri MW, Orr CM, Mcnulty KP. Three-Dimensional Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Talar Morphology in Extant Gorilla Taxa from Highland and Lowland Habitats. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2014; 298:277-90. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan P. Knigge
- Evolutionary Anthropology Lab, Department of Anthropology; University of Minnesota; Minneapolis Minnesota
| | - Matthew W. Tocheri
- Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; Washington DC
- Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology; The George Washington University; Washington DC
| | - Caley M. Orr
- Department of Anatomy; Midwestern University; Downers Grove Illinois
| | - Kieran P. Mcnulty
- Evolutionary Anthropology Lab, Department of Anthropology; University of Minnesota; Minneapolis Minnesota
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Abstract
Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen has revolutionized anthropology's approach and understanding of the evolution of human diet. A baseline comparison across extant nonhuman primates reveals that they all depend on C3 plants in forests, forest patches, and woodlands except during rare seasonal intake, in marginal regions, or where maize fields exist. Even large-bodied hominoids that could theoretically rely on hard-to-digest C4 plants do not do so. Some Plio-Pleistocene hominins, however, apparently relied heavily on C4 and/or CAM plants, which suggests that they relied extensively on cecal-colon microbial fermentation. Neanderthals seem less carnivorous than is often assumed when we compare their δ15Nbone collagen values with those of recent human populations, including recent human foragers who also fall at or near the top of their local trophic system. Finally, the introduction of maize into North America is shown to have been more sporadic and temporally variable than previously assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret J. Schoeninger
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0532
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Macho GA, Lee-Thorp JA. Niche partitioning in sympatric Gorilla and Pan from Cameroon: implications for life history strategies and for reconstructing the evolution of hominin life history. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102794. [PMID: 25054380 PMCID: PMC4108342 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 06/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Factors influencing the hominoid life histories are poorly understood, and little is known about how ecological conditions modulate the pace of their development. Yet our limited understanding of these interactions underpins life history interpretations in extinct hominins. Here we determined the synchronisation of dental mineralization/eruption with brain size in a 20th century museum collection of sympatric Gorilla gorilla and Pan troglodytes from Central Cameroon. Using δ13C and δ15N of individuals' hair, we assessed whether and how differences in diet and habitat use may have impacted on ape development. The results show that, overall, gorilla hair δ13C and δ15N values are more variable than those of chimpanzees, and that gorillas are consistently lower in δ13C and δ15N compared to chimpanzees. Within a restricted, isotopically-constrained area, gorilla brain development appears delayed relative to dental mineralization/eruption [or dental development is accelerated relative to brains]: only about 87.8% of adult brain size is attained by the time first permanent molars come into occlusion, whereas it is 92.3% in chimpanzees. Even when M1s are already in full functional occlusion, gorilla brains lag behind those of chimpanzee (91% versus 96.4%), relative to tooth development. Both bootstrap analyses and stable isotope results confirm that these results are unlikely due to sampling error. Rather, δ15N values imply that gorillas are not fully weaned (physiologically mature) until well after M1 are in full functional occlusion. In chimpanzees the transition from infant to adult feeding appears (a) more gradual and (b) earlier relative to somatic development. Taken together, the findings are consistent with life history theory that predicts delayed development when non-density dependent mortality is low, i.e. in closed habitats, and with the "risk aversion" hypothesis for frugivorous species as a means to avert starvation. Furthermore, the results highlight the complexity and plasticity of hominoid/hominin development.
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Bortolamiol S, Cohen M, Potts K, Pennec F, Rwaburindore P, Kasenene J, Seguya A, Vignaud Q, Krief S. Suitable habitats for endangered frugivorous mammals: small-scale comparison, regeneration forest and chimpanzee density in Kibale National Park, Uganda. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102177. [PMID: 25033459 PMCID: PMC4102508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Landscape patterns and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) densities in Kibale National Park show important variation among communities that are geographically close to one another (from 1.5 to 5.1 chimpanzees/km2). Anthropogenic activities inside the park (past logging activities, current encroachment) and outside its limits (food and cash crops) may impact the amount and distribution of food resources for chimpanzees (frugivorous species) and their spatial distribution within the park. Spatial and temporal patterns of fruit availability were recorded over 18 months at Sebitoli (a site of intermediate chimpanzee density and higher anthropic pressure) with the aim of understanding the factors explaining chimpanzee density there, in comparison to results from two other sites, also in Kibale: Kanyawara (low chimpanzee density) and Ngogo (high density, and furthest from Sebitoli). Because of the post-logging regenerating status of the forest in Sebitoli and Kanyawara, smaller basal area (BA) of fruiting trees most widely consumed by the chimpanzees in Kanyawara and Sebitoli was expected compared to Ngogo (not logged commercially). Due to the distance between sites, spatial and temporal fruit abundance in Sebitoli was expected to be more similar to Kanyawara than to Ngogo. While species functional classes consumed by Sebitoli chimpanzees (foods eaten during periods of high or low fruit abundance) differ from the two other sites, Sebitoli is very similar to Kanyawara in terms of land-cover and consumed species. Among feeding trees, Ficus species are particularly important resources for chimpanzees at Sebitoli, where their basal area is higher than at Kanywara or Ngogo. Ficus species provided a relatively consistent supply of food for chimpanzees throughout the year, and we suggest that this could help to explain the unusually high density of chimpanzees in such a disturbed site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Bortolamiol
- UMR 7533 Laboratoire Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces, Paris Diderot University (Sorbonne Paris Cité), Paris, France
- UMR 7206 Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie (MNHN/CNRS/Paris Diderot), Paris, France
- Great Ape Conservation Project (PCGS), Sebitoli UWA Station in Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Marianne Cohen
- UMR 7533 Laboratoire Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces, Paris Diderot University (Sorbonne Paris Cité), Paris, France
- Pole Image, Paris Diderot University (Sorbonne Paris Cité), Paris, France
| | - Kevin Potts
- Department of Biology, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Flora Pennec
- UMR 7206 Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie (MNHN/CNRS/Paris Diderot), Paris, France
| | | | - John Kasenene
- Department of Botany, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | | | - Quentin Vignaud
- UMR 7206 Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie (MNHN/CNRS/Paris Diderot), Paris, France
- Pole Image, Paris Diderot University (Sorbonne Paris Cité), Paris, France
| | - Sabrina Krief
- UMR 7206 Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie (MNHN/CNRS/Paris Diderot), Paris, France
- Great Ape Conservation Project (PCGS), Sebitoli UWA Station in Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda
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Muchlinski MN, Deane AS. The interpretive power of infraorbital foramen area in making dietary inferences in extant apes. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2014; 297:1377-84. [PMID: 24898102 DOI: 10.1002/ar.22953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2013] [Revised: 01/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The infraorbital foramen (IOF) is located below the orbit and transmits the sensory infraorbital nerve (ION) to mechanoreceptors located throughout the maxillary region. The size of the IOF correlates with the size of the ION; thus, the IOF appears to indicate relative touch sensitivity of maxillary region. In primates, IOF size correlates well with diet. Frugivores have relatively larger IOFs than folivores or insectivores because fruit handling/processing requires increased touch sensitivity. However, it is unknown if the IOF can be used to detect subtle dietary differences among closely related hominoid species. Hominoids are traditionally grouped into broad dietary categories, despite the fact that hominoid diets are remarkably diverse. This study examines whether relative IOF size is capable of differentiating among the dietary preferences of closely related species with overlapping, yet divergent diets. We measured IOF area in Hylobates lar, Symphalangus syndactulus, Pongo pygmaeus spp., Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Gorilla beringei graueri, and Gorilla beringei beringei. We classified each species as a dedicated folivore, mixed folivore/frugivore, soft object frugivore, or hard object frugivore. The IOF is documented to be larger in more frugivorous species and smaller in more folivorous taxa. Interestingly, G.b. beringei, had the largest relative IOF of any gorilla, despite being a dedicated folivore. G.b. beringei does have unique food processing behavior that relies heavily on maxillary mechanoreception, thus this finding is not entirely unsupported behaviorally. The results of this study provide evidence that the IOF is an informative feature in interpretations of fossil apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena N Muchlinski
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky
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Phillips CA, McGrew WC. Macroscopic inspection of ape feces: what's in a quantification method? Am J Primatol 2014; 76:539-50. [PMID: 24482001 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2013] [Revised: 10/15/2013] [Accepted: 11/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Macroscopic inspection of feces has been used to investigate primate diet. The limitations of this method to identify food-items to species level have long been recognized, but ascertaining aspects of diet (e.g., folivory) are achievable by quantifying food-items in feces. Quantification methods applied include rating food-items using a scale of abundance, estimating their percentage volume, and weighing food-items. However, verification as to whether or not composition data differ, depending on which quantification method is used during macroscopic inspection, has not been done. We analyzed feces collected from ten adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda. We compare dietary composition totals obtained from using different quantification methods and ascertain if sieve mesh size influences totals calculated. Finally, this study validates findings from direct observation of feeding by the same individuals from whom the fecal samples had been collected. Contrasting diet composition totals obtained by using different quantification methods and sieve mesh sizes can influence folivory and frugivory estimates. However, our findings were based on the assumption that fibrous matter contained pith and leaf fragments only, which remains to be verified. We advocate macroscopic inspection of feces can be a valuable tool to provide a generalized overview of dietary composition for primate populations. As most populations remain unhabituated, scrutinizing and validating indirect measures are important if they are to be applied to further understand inter- and intra-species dietary variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline A Phillips
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa; Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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42
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Oelze VM, Head JS, Robbins MM, Richards M, Boesch C. Niche differentiation and dietary seasonality among sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees in Loango National Park (Gabon) revealed by stable isotope analysis. J Hum Evol 2014; 66:95-106. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2013] [Revised: 09/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/09/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Dunn RH, Tocheri MW, Orr CM, Jungers WL. Ecological divergence and talar morphology in gorillas. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 153:526-41. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2013] [Revised: 12/01/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel H. Dunn
- Department of Anatomy; Des Moines University; Des Moines IA 50312
| | - Matthew W. Tocheri
- Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; Washington DC 20560
- Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology; The George Washington University; Washington DC 20052
| | - Caley M. Orr
- Department of Anatomy; Midwestern University; Downers Grove IL 60515
| | - William L. Jungers
- Department of Anatomical Sciences; Stony Brook University; Stony Brook NY 11794
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Etiendem DN, Tagg N. Feeding Ecology of Cross River Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) at Mawambi Hills: The Influence of Resource Seasonality. INT J PRIMATOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9739-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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45
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Nakashima Y, Iwata Y, Ando C, Nze Nkoguee C, Inoue E, Akomo EFO, Nguema PM, Bineni TD, Banak LN, Takenoshita Y, Ngomanda A, Yamagiwa J. Assessment of landscape-scale distribution of sympatric great apes in African rainforests: concurrent use of nest and camera-trap surveys. Am J Primatol 2013; 75:1220-30. [PMID: 23907925 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2013] [Revised: 07/06/2013] [Accepted: 07/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Information on the distribution and abundance of sympatric great apes (Pan troglodytes troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are important for effective conservation and management. Although much research has been done to improve the precision of nest-surveys, trade-offs between data-reliability and research-efficiency have not been solved. In this study, we used different approaches to assess the landscape-scale distribution patterns of great apes. We conducted a conventional nest survey and a camera-trap survey concurrently, and checked the consistency of the estimates. We divided the study area (ca. 500 km²), containing various types of vegetation and topography, into thirty 16-km² grids (4 km × 4 km) and performed both methods along 2-km transects centered in each grid. We determined the nest creator species according to the definitions by Tutin & Fernandez [Tutin & Fernandez, 1984, Am J Primatol 6:313-336] and estimated nest-site densities of each species by using the conventional distance-sampling approach. We calculated the mean capture rate of 3 camera traps left for 3 months at each grid as the abundance index. Our analyses showed that both methods provided roughly consistent results for the distribution patterns of the species; chimpanzee groups (parties) were more abundant in the montane forest, and gorilla groups were relatively homogeneously distributed across vegetation types. The line-transect survey also showed that the number of nests per nest site did not vary among vegetation types for either species. These spatial patterns seemed to reflect the ecological and sociological features of each species. Although the consistent results may be largely dependent on site-specific conditions (e.g., high density of each species, distinct distribution pattern between the two species), conventional nest-surveys and a subsequent check of their consistency with independent estimates may be a reasonable approach to obtain certain information on the species distribution patterns. Further analytical improvement is necessary for camera-traps to be considered a stand-alone method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshihiro Nakashima
- Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto, Japan
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Phillips CA, McGrew WC. Identifying Species in Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Feces: A Methodological Lost Cause? INT J PRIMATOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9696-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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47
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Morton FB, Todd AF, Lee P, Masi S. Observational Monitoring of Clinical Signs during the Last Stage of Habituation in a Wild Western Gorilla Group at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2013; 84:118-33. [DOI: 10.1159/000350916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2012] [Accepted: 03/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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48
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Ungar PS. Dental Evidence for the Reconstruction of Diet in African Early Homo. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1086/666700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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49
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Junker J, Blake S, Boesch C, Campbell G, Toit LD, Duvall C, Ekobo A, Etoga G, Galat-Luong A, Gamys J, Ganas-Swaray J, Gatti S, Ghiurghi A, Granier N, Hart J, Head J, Herbinger I, Hicks TC, Huijbregts B, Imong IS, Kuempel N, Lahm S, Lindsell J, Maisels F, McLennan M, Martinez L, Morgan B, Morgan D, Mulindahabi F, Mundry R, N'Goran KP, Normand E, Ntongho A, Okon DT, Petre CA, Plumptre A, Rainey H, Regnaut S, Sanz C, Stokes E, Tondossama A, Tranquilli S, Sunderland-Groves J, Walsh P, Warren Y, Williamson EA, Kuehl HS. Recent decline in suitable environmental conditions for African great apes. DIVERS DISTRIB 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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50
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Willie J, Petre CA, Tagg N, Lens L. Density of herbaceous plants and distribution of western gorillas in different habitat types in south-east Cameroon. Afr J Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Nikki Tagg
- Projet Grands Singes; Centre for Research and Conservation; Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp; Koningin Astridplein 26; 2018; Antwerp; Belgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit; Ghent University; K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35; B-9000; Ghent; Belgium
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