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Freymann E, d'Oliveira Coelho J, Hobaiter C, Huffman MA, Muhumuza G, Zuberbühler K, Carvalho S. Applying collocation and APRIORI analyses to chimpanzee diets: Methods for investigating nonrandom food combinations in primate self-medication. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23603. [PMID: 38293796 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Identifying novel medicinal resources in chimpanzee diets has historically presented challenges, requiring extensive behavioral data collection and health monitoring, accompanied by expensive pharmacological analyses. When putative therapeutic self-medicative behaviors are observed, these events are often considered isolated occurrences, with little attention paid to other resources ingested in combination. For chimpanzees, medicinal resource combinations could play an important role in maintaining well-being by tackling different symptoms of an illness, chemically strengthening efficacy of a treatment, or providing prophylactic compounds that prevent future ailments. We call this concept the self-medicative resource combination hypothesis. However, a dearth of methodological approaches for holistically investigating primate feeding ecology has limited our ability to identify nonrandom resource combinations and explore potential synergistic relationships between medicinal resource candidates. Here we present two analytical tools that test such a hypothesis and demonstrate these approaches on feeding data from the Sonso chimpanzee community in Budongo Forest, Uganda. Using 4 months of data, we establish that both collocation and APRIORI analyses are effective exploratory tools for identifying binary combinations, and that APRIORI is effective for multi-item rule associations. We then compare outputs from both methods, finding up to 60% agreement, and propose APRIORI as more effective for studies requiring control over confidence intervals and those investigating nonrandom associations between more than two resources. These analytical tools, which can be extrapolated across the animal kingdom, can provide a cost-effective and efficient method for targeting resources for further pharmacological investigation, potentially aiding in the discovery of novel medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Freymann
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - João d'Oliveira Coelho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Wild Minds Lab, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Michael A Huffman
- Wildlife Research Center, Inuyama Campus, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
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2
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Abstract
The purpose of this review is to highlight the most important aspects of the anatomical and functional uniqueness of the human brain. For this, a comparison is made between our brains and those of our closest ancestors (chimpanzees and bonobos) and human ancestors. During human evolution, several changes occurred in the brain, such as an absolute increase in brain size and number of cortical neurons, in addition to a greater degree of functional lateralization and anatomical asymmetry. Also, the cortical cytoarchitecture became more diversified and there was an increase in the number of intracortical networks and networks extending from the cerebral cortex to subcortical structures, with more neural networks being invested in multisensory and sensory-motor-affective-cognitive integration. These changes permitted more complex, flexible and versatile cognitive abilities and social behavior, such as shared intentionality and symbolic articulated language, which, in turn, made possible the formation of larger social groups and cumulative cultural evolution that are characteristic of our species.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Eymard Homem Pittella
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Anatomia Patológica e Medicina Legal, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil
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3
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Bleuze MM. Changes in limb bone diaphyseal structure in chimpanzees during development. Am J Biol Anthropol 2024:e24942. [PMID: 38602254 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study tests if femoral and humeral cross-sectional geometry (CSG) and cross-sectional properties (CSPs) in an ontogenetic series of wild-caught chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ssp.) reflect locomotor behavior during development. The goal is to clarify the relationship between limb bone structure and locomotor behavior during ontogeny in Pan. MATERIALS AND METHODS The latex cast method was used to reconstruct cross sections at the midshaft femur and mid-distal humerus. Second moments of area (SMAs) (Ix, Iy, Imax, Imin), which are proportional to bending rigidity about a specified axis, and the polar SMA (J), which is proportional to average bending rigidity, were calculated at section locations. Cross-sectional shape (CSS) was assessed from Ix/Iy and Imax/Imin ratios. Juvenile and adult subsamples were compared. RESULTS Juveniles and adults have significantly greater femoral J compared to humeral J. Mean interlimb proportions of J are not significantly different between the groups. There is an overall decreasing trend in diaphyseal circularity between the juvenile phase of development and adulthood, although significant differences are only found in the humerus. DISCUSSION Juvenile chimpanzee locomotion includes forelimb- and hindlimb-biased behaviors. Juveniles and adults preferentially load their hindlimbs relative to their forelimbs. This may indicate similar locomotor behavior, although other explanations including a diversity of hindlimb-biased locomotor behaviors in juveniles cannot be ruled out. Different ontogenetic trends in forelimb and hindlimb CSS are consistent with limb bone CSG reflecting functional adaptation, albeit the complex nature of bone functional adaptation requires cautious interpretations of skeletal functional morphology from biomechanical analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele M Bleuze
- Institutional affiliation: Department of Anthropology, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Saito W, Ikawa T, Ogawa T, Momoi Y, Kaneko A, Miyabe-Nishiwaki T, Adachi I, Tomonaga M, Suzuki J, Yamamoto T. Endodontic Treatment of a Maxillary Incisor Tooth in a Chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes). J Vet Dent 2024; 41:148-154. [PMID: 37016792 DOI: 10.1177/08987564231164738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) with teeth severely damaged by dental caries and/or periodontal disease are often managed with medication and/or tooth extraction. A common endodontic treatment for severely decayed teeth in a 26-year-old female chimpanzee is reported. The left maxillary central incisor tooth had lost its crown, probably due to trauma that was not recent, and it had a fistula most likely due to chronic apical periodontitis. The diagnosis was confirmed radiographically before treatment. To treat the infected root canal, endodontic treatment used in humans was adapted for a chimpanzee. After the treatment, the tooth was sealed using an adhesive resin composite. At 11-years post-treatment, there were no signs of recurrence of the lesion or of failure of the tooth seal. The results of this case report suggest that common endodontic treatments used in humans are also effective in chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Saito
- Department of Operative Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan
- Department of Oral Hygiene, Tsurumi Junior College, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Tomoko Ikawa
- Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Takumi Ogawa
- Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Yasuko Momoi
- School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Akihisa Kaneko
- Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Takako Miyabe-Nishiwaki
- Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Ikuma Adachi
- Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
- Language and Intelligence Section, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | | | - Juri Suzuki
- Center for Human Evolution Modeling Research, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Takatsugu Yamamoto
- Department of Operative Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan
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5
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Sandel AA. Male-male relationships in chimpanzees and the evolution of human pair bonds. Evol Anthropol 2023; 32:185-194. [PMID: 37269494 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of monogamy has been a central question in biological anthropology. An important avenue of research has been comparisons across "socially monogamous" mammals, but such comparisons are inappropriate for understanding human behavior because humans are not "pair living" and are only sometimes "monogamous." It is the "pair bond" between reproductive partners that is characteristic of humans and has been considered unique to our lineage. I argue that pair bonds have been overlooked in one of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees. These pair bonds are not between mates but between male "friends" who exhibit enduring and emotional social bonds. The presence of such bonds in male-male chimpanzees raises the possibility that pair bonds emerged earlier in our evolutionary history. I suggest pair bonds first arose as "friendships" and only later, in the human lineage, were present between mates. The mechanisms for these bonds were co-opted for male-female bonds in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron A Sandel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Stuhlträger J, Kullmer O, Wittig RM, Kupczik K, Schulz-Kornas E. Variability in molar crown morphology and cusp wear in two Western chimpanzee populations. Am J Biol Anthropol 2023; 181:29-44. [PMID: 36807569 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) possess a relatively generalized molar morphology allowing them to access a wide range of foods. Comparisons of crown and cusp morphology among the four subspecies have suggested relatively large intraspecific variability. Here, we compare molar crown traits and cusp wear of two geographically close populations of Western chimpanzees, P. t. verus, to provide further information on intraspecific dental variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS Micro-CT reconstructions of high-resolution replicas of first and second molars of two Western chimpanzee populations from Ivory Coast (Taï National Park) and Liberia, respectively were used for this study. First, we analyzed projected tooth and cusp 2D areas as well as the occurrence of cusp six (C6) on lower molars. Second, we quantified the molar cusp wear three-dimensionally to infer how the individual cusps alter with advancing wear. RESULTS Both populations are similar in their molar crown morphology, except for a higher appearance rate of a C6 in Taï chimpanzees. In Taï chimpanzees, lingual cusps of upper molars and buccal cusps of lower molars possess an advanced wear pattern compared to the remaining cusps, while in Liberian chimpanzees this wear gradient is less pronounced. DISCUSSION The similar crown morphology between both populations fits with previous descriptions for Western chimpanzees and provides additional data on dental variation within this subspecies. The wear pattern of the Taï chimpanzees are in concordance with their observed tool rather than tooth use to open nuts/seeds, while the Liberian chimpanzees may have consumed hard food items crushed between their molars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Stuhlträger
- Former Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Group Animal Husbandry and Ecology, Group Animal Breeding, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Division of Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences, CNRS UMR5229 University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron, France
| | - Kornelius Kupczik
- Former Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile
| | - Ellen Schulz-Kornas
- Former Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Cariology, Endodontics and Periodontology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Section Mammalogy and Palaeoanthropology, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change and University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Freymann E, Huffman MA, Muhumuza G, Gideon MM, Zuberbühler K, Hobaiter C. Friends in high places: Interspecific grooming between chimpanzees and primate prey species in Budongo Forest. Primates 2023; 64:325-337. [PMID: 36790568 PMCID: PMC9930027 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01053-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
While cases of interspecies grooming have been reported in primates, no comprehensive cross-site review has been published about this behavior in great apes. Only a few recorded observations of interspecies grooming events between chimpanzees and other primate species have been reported in the wild, all of which have thus far been in Uganda. Here, we review all interspecies grooming events recorded for the Sonso community chimpanzees in Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda, adding five new observations to the single, previously reported event from this community. A new case of interspecies play involving three juvenile male chimpanzees and a red-tailed monkey is also detailed. All events took place between 1993 and 2021. In all of the six interspecific grooming events from Budongo, the 'groomer' was a female chimpanzee between the ages of 4-6 years, and the 'recipient' was a member of the genus Cercopithecus. In five of these events, chimpanzee groomers played with the tail of their interspecific grooming partners, and except for one case, initiated the interaction. In three cases, chimpanzee groomers smelled their fingers after touching distinct parts of the receiver's body. While a single function of chimpanzee interspecies grooming remains difficult to determine from these results, our review outlines and assesses some hypotheses for the general function of this behavior, as well as some of the costs and benefits for both the chimpanzee groomers and their sympatric interspecific receivers. As allogrooming is a universal behavior in chimpanzees, investigating the ultimate and proximate drivers of chimpanzee interspecies grooming may reveal further functions of allogrooming in our closest living relatives, and help us to better understand how chimpanzees distinguish between affiliative and agonistic species and contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Freymann
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Department of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. .,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.
| | - Michael A. Huffman
- Wildlife Research Center, Inuyama Campus, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | | | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda ,Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Wild Minds Lab, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK ,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
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8
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Urbani B, Youlatos D. Simia langobardorum: Were African apes traded in late medieval Lombardy? Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23462. [PMID: 36645020 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Depictions of and references to apes (tailless hominoids) are very limited in early historical written accounts. The first known published representations of ape-like primates appear in Medieval European books during the first century following the invention of printing. Considering the current knowledge of ape iconography, this article examines an unusual image of a couple of ape-like creatures rendered in a European manuscript and explores the possible links of this challenging illustration with historical accounts and contexts during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. The studied manuscript is known as "BL Sloane MS 4016" and is a medieval herbal manuscript (Tratactus de Herbis) of Lombardian origin dated c. 1440. The illustration in question, which also appears in similar manuscripts, represents two primates. However, these representations differ significantly from those in the other manuscripts. The individuals have physical features that suggest attribution to chimpanzees. The location and the date of the manuscript in relation to the extended merchant and travel network between Europe and Africa during the late Medieval times and earlier Renaissance most likely indicate that free-living or traded chimpanzees or their images may have been the visual source for the illustration. The examination of early depictions and descriptions of apes helps us to understand how we, humans, have represented our own closest zoological relatives. In doing so, this study also provides a review of early ape iconography and historical accounts about African primates during the so-called Age of Discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernardo Urbani
- Center for Anthropology, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, Caracas, Venezuela.,Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research/German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dionisios Youlatos
- Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Goldsborough Z, Schel AM, van Leeuwen EJC. Chimpanzees communicate to coordinate a cultural practice. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221754. [PMID: 36651045 PMCID: PMC9845976 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Human culture thrives by virtue of communication, yet whether communication plays an influential role in the cultural lives of other animals remains understudied. Here, we investigated whether chimpanzees use communication to engage in a cultural practice by analysing grooming handclasp (GHC) interactions-a socio-cultural behaviour requiring interindividual coordination for successful execution. Previous accounts attributed GHC initiations to behavioural shaping, whereby the initiator physically moulds the partner's arm into the desired GHC posture. Using frame-by-frame analysis and matched-control methodology, we find that chimpanzees do not only shape their partner's posture (22%), but also use gestural communication to initiate GHC (44%), which requires an active and synchronized response from the partner. Moreover, in a third (34%) of the GHC initiations, the requisite coordination was achieved by seemingly effortless synchrony. Lastly, using a longitudinal approach, we find that for GHC initiations, communication occurs more frequently than shaping in experienced dyads and less in mother-offspring dyads. These findings are consistent with ontogenetic ritualization, thereby reflecting first documentation of chimpanzees communicating to coordinate a cultural practice. We conclude that chimpanzees show interactional flexibility in the socio-cultural domain, opening the possibility that the interplay between communication and culture is rooted in our deep evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë Goldsborough
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestraße 5a, Konstanz, 78467, Germany,Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, CA 3584, The Netherlands,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany
| | - Anne Marijke Schel
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, CA 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, CA 3584, The Netherlands,Behavioral Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium,Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, K. Astridplein 26, B 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
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Reddy RB, Sandel AA, Dahl RE. Puberty initiates a unique stage of social learning and development prior to adulthood: Insights from studies of adolescence in wild chimpanzees. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101176. [PMID: 36427434 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, puberty initiates a period of rapid growth, change, and formative neurobehavioral development. Brain and behavior changes during this maturational window contribute to opportunities for social learning. Here we provide new insights into adolescence as a unique period of social learning and development by describing field studies of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees. Like humans, chimpanzees have a multiyear juvenile life stage between weaning and puberty onset followed by a multiyear adolescent life stage after pubertal onset but prior to socially-recognized adulthood. As they develop increasing autonomy from caregivers, adolescent chimpanzees explore and develop many different types of social relationships with a wide range of individuals in a highly flexible social environment. We describe how adolescent social motivations and experiences differ from those of juveniles and adults and expose adolescents to high levels of uncertainty, risk, and vulnerability, as well as opportunities for adaptive social learning. We discuss how these adolescent learning experiences may be shaped by early life and in turn shape varied adult social outcomes. We outline how future chimpanzee field research can contribute in new ways to a more integrative interdisciplinary understanding of adolescence as a developmental window of adaptive social learning and resilience.
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Barrault C, Soldati A, Hobaiter C, Mugisha S, De Moor D, Zuberbühler K, Dezecache G. Thermal imaging reveals social monitoring during social feeding in wild chimpanzees. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210302. [PMID: 35934961 PMCID: PMC9358323 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the affective lives of animals has been a long-standing challenge in science. Recent technological progress in infrared thermal imaging has enabled researchers to monitor animals' physiological states in real-time when exposed to ecologically relevant situations, such as feeding in the company of others. During social feeding, an individual's physiological states are likely to vary with the nature of the resource and perceptions of competition. Previous findings in chimpanzees have indicated that events perceived as competitive cause decreases in nasal temperatures, whereas the opposite was observed for cooperative interactions. Here, we tested how food resources and audience structure impacted on how social feeding events were perceived by wild chimpanzees. Overall, we found that nasal temperatures were lower when meat was consumed as compared to figs, consistent with the idea that social feeding on more contested resources is perceived as more dangerous and stressful. Nasal temperatures were significant affected by interactions between food type and audience composition, in particular the number of males, their dominance status, and their social bond status relative to the subject, while no effects for the presence of females were observed. Our findings suggest that male chimpanzees closely monitor and assess their social environment during competitive situations, and that infrared imaging provides an important complement to access psychological processes beyond observable social behaviours. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Barrault
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Adrian Soldati
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | - Delphine De Moor
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Guillaume Dezecache
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Université Clermont Auvergne, LAPSCO CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Ross SR, Joshi PB, Terio KA, Gamble KC. A 25-Year Retrospective Review of Mortality in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Accredited U.S. Zoos from a Management and Welfare Perspective. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12. [PMID: 35892528 DOI: 10.3390/ani12151878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding causes of death allows adjustment of health management strategies for animals in managed care. From 224 documented chimpanzee deaths occurring from 1995 to 2019 in 42 accredited U.S. zoos, post-mortem records and necropsy reports were analyzed for the primary cause of death, which were available for 214 individuals. In total, 37 cases of stillbirth and neonatal deaths were assessed (16.5%); however, the focus was otherwise placed on the remaining 177 cases in which the death occurred in individuals aged greater than 1 month. There were no sex-related differences in etiology; however, age variation in the cause of death was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Elderly (35 years and older) chimpanzees tended to die of intrinsic, often degenerative, etiologies, whereas infants, juveniles, and adolescents (less than 15 years) were more likely to be involved in fatal trauma. Overall, there were 27 deaths (15.3% of all post-neonatal deaths) related to trauma and 13 of these were directly or indirectly related to conspecific aggression. Understanding causes of mortality and the interrelation with management can benefit managed populations of chimpanzees.
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13
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Nakamura M. Greetings among female chimpanzees in Mahale, Tanzania. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23417. [PMID: 35848352 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Greeting behaviors have been reported in several primate species, although their forms and context may vary across species. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) greet each other in various ways when they meet; however, many recent studies of greetings in chimpanzees have mostly focused on pant grunt vocalizations, which are often viewed as equivalent to submissive signals. As most greetings in chimpanzees are directed toward adult males, either from other males or females, relatively few studies have focused on female-female greetings. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to describe the greetings (not limited to pant grunts) between chimpanzee females in the Mahale Mountains National Park based on long-term observational data. I observed 405 female-female greeting events (10.9 instances per 100 observation hours [obsn. h]) between 1994 and 2018, of which 242 were pant grunts (6.5 instances per 100 obsn. h); 42.3% of greetings were nonaudible, such as tactile or gestural greetings. Most pant grunts were directed toward older females; females under 20 years of age were generally responsible for this trend, as they were the most frequent greeters among females and tended to perform pant grunts toward older females. Nonetheless, among females 20 years of age or older, pant grunts from an older to a younger female were not rare (37%). Compared to previous studies in Mahale, pant grunts between females were an order of magnitude less than those directed toward males. There may also be a large difference in the frequencies of female-female pant grunts across study sites, which may be attributed to differences in female gregariousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michio Nakamura
- Human Evolution Studies, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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14
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Péter H, Zuberbühler K, Hobaiter C. Well-digging in a community of forest-living wild East African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Primates 2022; 63:355-364. [PMID: 35662388 PMCID: PMC9273564 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-00992-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Access to resources shapes species' physiology and behaviour. Water is not typically considered a limiting resource for rainforest-living chimpanzees; however, several savannah and savannah-woodland communities show behavioural adaptations to limited water. Here, we provide a first report of habitual well-digging in a rainforest-living group of East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and suggest that it may have been imported into the community's behavioural repertoire by an immigrant female. We describe the presence and frequency of well-digging and related behaviour, and suggest that its subsequent spread in the group may have involved some degree of social learning. We highlight that subsurface water is a concealed resource, and that the limited spread of well-digging in the group may highlight the cognitive, rather than physical, challenges it presents in a rainforest environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hella Péter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, PO Box 362, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK. .,Budongo Conservation Field Station, PO Box 362, Masindi, Uganda.
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15
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Massaro AP, Gilby IC, Desai N, Weiss A, Feldblum JT, Pusey AE, Wilson ML. Correlates of individual participation in boundary patrols by male chimpanzees. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210151. [PMID: 35369753 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Group territory defence poses a collective action problem: individuals can free-ride, benefiting without paying the costs. Individual heterogeneity has been proposed to solve such problems, as individuals high in reproductive success, rank, fighting ability or motivation may benefit from defending territories even if others free-ride. To test this hypothesis, we analysed 30 years of data from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Kasekela community, Gombe National Park, Tanzania (1978-2007). We examined the extent to which individual participation in patrols varied according to correlates of reproductive success (mating rate, rank, age), fighting ability (hunting), motivation (scores from personality ratings), costs of defecting (the number of adult males in the community) and gregariousness (sighting frequency). By contrast to expectations from collective action theory, males participated in patrols at consistently high rates (mean ± s.d. = 74.5 ± 11.1% of patrols, n = 23 males). The best predictors of patrol participation were sighting frequency, age and hunting participation. Current and former alpha males did not participate at a higher rate than males that never achieved alpha status. These findings suggest that the temptation to free-ride is low, and that a mutualistic mechanism such as group augmentation may better explain individual participation in group territorial behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony P Massaro
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55414, USA
| | - Ian C Gilby
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Nisarg Desai
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
| | - Alexander Weiss
- National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA.,Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Joseph T Feldblum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.,Society of Fellows, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Anne E Pusey
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Michael L Wilson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55414, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA.,Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55414, USA
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16
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Guevara EE, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Ely JJ, Bradley BJ, Sherwood CC. Epigenetic aging of the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum in humans and chimpanzees. Epigenetics 2022; 17:1774-1785. [PMID: 35603816 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2022.2080993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic age has emerged as an important biomarker of biological aging. It has revealed that some tissues age faster than others, which is vital to understanding the complex phenomenon of aging and developing effective interventions. Previous studies have demonstrated that humans exhibit heterogeneity in pace of epigenetic aging among brain structures that are consistent with differences in structural and microanatomical deterioration. Here, we add comparative data on epigenetic brain aging for chimpanzees, humans' closest relatives. Such comparisons can further our understanding of which aspects of human aging are evolutionarily conserved or specific to our species, especially given that humans are distinguished by a long lifespan, large brain, and, potentially, more severe neurodegeneration with age. Specifically, we investigated epigenetic aging of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum, of humans and chimpanzees by generating genome-wide CpG methylation data and applying established epigenetic clock algorithms to produce estimates of biological age for these tissues. We found that both species exhibit relatively slow epigenetic aging in the brain relative to blood. Between brain structures, humans show a faster rate of epigenetic aging in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to the cerebellum, which is consistent with previous findings. Chimpanzees, in contrast, show comparable rates of epigenetic aging in the two brain structures. Greater epigenetic change in the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to the cerebellum may reflect both the protracted development of this structure in humans and its greater age-related vulnerability to neurodegenerative pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine E Guevara
- Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.,Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - William D Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX 78602, USA
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10124, USA
| | - John J Ely
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.,MAEBIOS, Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA
| | - Brenda J Bradley
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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17
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Staes N, Vermeulen K, van Leeuwen EJC, Verspeek J, Torfs JRR, Eens M, Stevens JMG. Drivers of Dyadic Cofeeding Tolerance in Pan: A Composite Measure Approach. Biology (Basel) 2022; 11:713. [PMID: 35625440 PMCID: PMC9138277 DOI: 10.3390/biology11050713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to construct a composite model of Dyadic Cofeeding Tolerance (DCT) in zoo-housed bonobos and chimpanzees using a validated experimental cofeeding paradigm and to investigate whether components resulting from this model differ between the two species or vary with factors such as sex, age, kinship and social bond strength. Using dimension reduction analysis on five behavioral variables from the experimental paradigm (proximity, aggression, food transfers, negative food behavior, participation), we found a two-factor model: "Tolerant Cofeeding" and "Agonistic Cofeeding". To investigate the role of social bond quality on DCT components alongside species effects, we constructed and validated a novel relationship quality model for bonobos and chimpanzees combined, resulting in two factors: Relationship Value and Incompatibility. Interestingly, bonobos and chimpanzees did not differ in DCT scores, and sex and kinship effects were identical in both species but biased by avoidance of the resource zone by male-male dyads in bonobos. Social bonds impacted DCT similarly in both species, as dyads with high Relationship Value showed more Tolerant Cofeeding, while dyads with higher Relationship Incompatibility showed more Agonistic Cofeeding. We showed that composite DCT models can be constructed that take into account both negative and positive cofeeding behavior. The resulting DCT scores were predicted by sex, kinship and social bonds in a similar fashion in both Pan species, likely reflecting their adaptability to changing socio-ecological environments. This novel operational measure to quantify cofeeding tolerance can now be applied to a wider range of species in captivity and the wild to see how variation in local socio-ecological circumstances influences fitness interdependence and cofeeding tolerance at the dyadic and group levels. This can ultimately lead to a better understanding of how local environments have shaped the evolution of tolerance in humans and other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicky Staes
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kim Vermeulen
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
- Animal Behavior and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
- Animal Behavior and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jonas Verspeek
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jonas R. R. Torfs
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
| | - Jeroen M. G. Stevens
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (E.J.C.v.L.); (J.V.); (J.R.R.T.); (M.E.); (J.M.G.S.)
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
- SALTO Agro- and Biotechnology, Odisee University College, 9100 Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
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18
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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19
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Krief S, Iglesias-González A, Appenzeller BMR, Rachid L, Beltrame M, Asalu E, Okimat JP, Kane-Maguire N, Spirhanzlova P. Chimpanzee exposure to pollution revealed by human biomonitoring approaches. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2022; 233:113341. [PMID: 35217306 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife is increasingly exposed to environmental pollution, but data illustrating to what extent this exposure can impact health and survival of endangered species is missing. In humans, hair matrix analysis is a reliable tool for assessing cumulative exposure to organic pollutants such as pesticides but has rarely been used in other primates for this purpose. LC/MS-MS and GC/MS-MS multi-residue methods were used to screen the presence of 152 organic pollutants and their metabolites belonging to 21 different chemical families in hair samples from our closest relative, the chimpanzee. Samples were collected from 20 wild chimpanzees in Sebitoli, Kibale National Park, Uganda and 9 captive chimpanzees in the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, France. In total, 90 chemicals were detected, 60 in wild chimpanzees and 79 in captive chimpanzees. The median concentrations of detected chemicals in captive individuals were significantly higher than those in wild chimpanzees. Hair from the captive individuals at RAS was sampled a second time after 6 months in an environment of reduced exposure to these pollutants (diet of organic food, decreased use of plastic food and water containers). The number of chemicals detected in captive chimpanzees reduced from 79 to 63, and their concentrations were also significantly reduced. In the present study we report for the first time the use of hair analysis to detect organic pollutants in primate hair. We conclude that both wild and captive chimpanzees are exposed to a large range of different chemicals through their diet. Our study provides surprising and alarming evidence that besides the direct threats of poaching, deforestation and diseases, wild chimpanzees might be endangered by indirect consequences of anthropic activities. As chimpanzees are our closest relatives, our results should be considered as an alert for human health as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Krief
- UMR7206, Eco-Anthropologie, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle/CNRS/Paris VII, 17 place du Trocadéro, Paris, France; Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda.
| | - Alba Iglesias-González
- Human Biomonitoring Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), 1 A-B, Rue Thomas Edison, L-1445 Strassen, Luxembourg.
| | - Brice M R Appenzeller
- Human Biomonitoring Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), 1 A-B, Rue Thomas Edison, L-1445 Strassen, Luxembourg.
| | - Lyna Rachid
- Réserve Africaine de Sigean, 19 Hameau du Lac D6009, 11130 Sigean, France.
| | - Marielle Beltrame
- Réserve Africaine de Sigean, 19 Hameau du Lac D6009, 11130 Sigean, France.
| | - Edward Asalu
- Uganda Wildlife Authority, Plot, 7 Kira Rd, Kampala, Uganda.
| | | | | | - Petra Spirhanzlova
- UMR7206, Eco-Anthropologie, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle/CNRS/Paris VII, 17 place du Trocadéro, Paris, France; Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda; Laboratoire de Métrologie et d'Essais 1, rue Gaston Boissier, 75724 Paris, France.
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20
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Bouchard A, Zuberbühler K. An intentional cohesion call in male chimpanzees of Budongo Forest. Anim Cogn 2022. [PMID: 35044524 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01597-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Many social animals travel in cohesive groups but some species, including chimpanzees, form flexible fission–fusion systems where individuals have some control over group cohesion and proximity to others. Here, we explored how male chimpanzees of the Sonso community of Budongo Forest, Uganda, use communication signals during resting, a context where the likelihood of group fission is high due to forthcoming travel. We focused on a context-specific vocalisation, the ‘rest hoo’, to investigate its function and determine whether it is produced intentionally. We found that this call was typically given towards the end of typical silent resting bouts, i.e., the period when individuals need to decide whether to continue travelling after a brief stop-over or to start a prolonged resting bout. Subjects rested longer after producing ‘rest hoos’ and their resting time increased with the number of calls produced. They also rested longer if their calls were answered. Furthermore, focal subjects’ resting time was prolonged after hearing others’ ‘rest hoos’. Subjects called more when with top proximity partners and in small parties and rested longer if a top proximity partner called. We also found an interaction effect between rank and grooming activity, with high-ranking males with a high grooming index calling less frequently than other males, suggesting that vocal communication may serve as a cohesion strategy alternative to tactile-based bonding. We discuss these different patterns and conclude that chimpanzee ‘rest hoos’ meet key criteria for intentional signalling. We suggest that ‘rest hoos’ are produced to prolong resting bouts with desired partners, which may function to increase social cohesion.
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21
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Feliu O, Masip M, Maté C, Sánchez-López S, Crailsheim D, Kalcher-Sommersguter E. Behavioural Development of Three Former Pet Chimpanzees a Decade after Arrival at the MONA Sanctuary. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:138. [PMID: 35049762 PMCID: PMC8772579 DOI: 10.3390/ani12020138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimpanzees used as pets and in the entertainment industry endure detrimental living conditions from early infancy onwards. The preferred option for ending their existence as pet or circus chimpanzees is their rescue and transfer to a primate sanctuary that will provide them with optimal living and social conditions, so that they can thrive. In this case study, we had the rare opportunity to compare the activity budgets of three chimpanzees from their time as pets in 2004 to their time living at the MONA sanctuary in 2020, after almost a decade in the centre. We found their behaviour patterns changed in accordance with the sanctuaries' rehabilitation objectives. Resting periods increased considerably while vigilance simultaneously declined sharply. Moreover, the chimpanzees' social competence increased as allogrooming became the predominant social behaviour, and agonistic interactions diminished even though they were living within a larger social group at the sanctuary. All three chimpanzees expanded their allogrooming and proximity networks at the sanctuary, which included new group members, but they maintained the closest relationships to those conspecifics who they were rescued with. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the sanctuary environment and social group setting made it possible for these three chimpanzees to improve their social competence and increase their well-being over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Feliu
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
- Research Department, Fundació Mona, 17457 Girona, Spain; (M.M.); (D.C.)
| | - Marti Masip
- Research Department, Fundació Mona, 17457 Girona, Spain; (M.M.); (D.C.)
| | - Carmen Maté
- Department of Animal Rights, Barcelona City Council, C/Perez Galdós 24-26, 08012 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Sònia Sánchez-López
- Area of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain;
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22
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Rodrigues ED, Santos AJ, Hayashi M, Matsuzawa T, Hobaiter C. Exploring greetings and leave-takings: communication during arrivals and departures by chimpanzees of the Bossou community, Guinea. Primates 2021. [PMID: 34787740 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00957-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In human fission-fusion societies, ritualized non-linguistic signal exchanges that include gestures, vocalizations, and facial expressions are regularly observed at both arrivals (greetings) and departures (leave-takings). These communicative events play an important role in the formation and maintenance of social relationships. Wild chimpanzees also form large communities that split into smaller fluid parties during daily activities, with individuals moving freely between them. However, in chimpanzees only greetings have been reported. This study explores signal exchanges in the Bossou chimpanzee community during fissions (departures) and fusions (arrivals) given an individual's social rank, kinship, position as traveller or party-member, the level of potential threat, and the party size and presence of mature males. We analysed three time periods (1993-1994; 2003-2004; 2013-2014) during which the composition and social hierarchy of the community varied. We show that the occurrence and form of communication during fission and fusion events are mediated by social factors, including rank, kinship, and party size and composition. Individuals were more likely to communicate during fusions than during fissions, communication was more likely to be produced towards a higher-ranking individual and to non-kin individuals, but the tendency to communicate in general increased with an increase in social rank. The presence of more individuals, and in particular mature males, decreased the likelihood of communication. Communication during fusions supported patterns reported in previous studies on greetings, and our results support the argument that, if present, leave-takings are not a common feature of chimpanzee social interactions. Current methodological difficulties regarding the function of declarative signals hinder our ability to discriminate potential parting rituals within communication before departures. Given similar methodological difficulties, we also provide a note of caution in the interpretation of all signals produced during fusions as 'greetings'.
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23
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Leijnse JN, Spoor CW, Pullens P, Vereecke EE. Kinematic and dynamic aspects of chimpanzee knuckle walking: finger flexors likely do not buffer ground impact forces. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:272036. [PMID: 34477837 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.236604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Chimpanzees are knuckle walkers, with forelimbs contacting the ground by the dorsum of the finger's middle phalanges. As these muscular apes are given to high-velocity motions, the question arises of how the ground reaction forces are buffered so that no damage ensues in the load-bearing fingers. In the literature, it was hypothesized that the finger flexors help buffer impacts because in knuckle stance the metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPJs) are strongly hyperextended, which would elongate the finger flexors. This stretching of the finger flexor muscle-tendon units would absorb impact energy. However, EMG studies did not report significant finger flexor activity in knuckle walking. Although these data by themselves question the finger flexor impact buffering hypothesis, the present study aimed to critically investigate the hypothesis from a biomechanical point of view. Therefore, various aspects of knuckle walking were modeled and the finger flexor tendon displacements in the load-bearing fingers were measured in a chimpanzee cadaver hand, of which also an MRI was taken in knuckle stance. The biomechanics do not support the finger flexor impact buffering hypothesis. In knuckle walking, the finger flexors are not elongated to lengths where passive strain forces would become important. Impact buffering by large flexion moments at the MCPJs from active finger flexors would result in impacts at the knuckles themselves, which is dysfunctional for various biomechanical reasons and does not occur in real knuckle walking. In conclusion, the current biomechanical analysis in accumulation of previous EMG findings suggests that finger flexors play no role in impact buffering in knuckle walking.
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Affiliation(s)
- J N Leijnse
- Department of Human Structure and Repair, Anatomy and Embryology Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.,Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
| | - C W Spoor
- Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - P Pullens
- Radiology, Ghent University Hospital, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.,Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging (GIfMI), Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - E E Vereecke
- Muscles & Movement Group, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven Campus Kulak, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
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24
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Lindshield S, Hernandez-Aguilar RA, Korstjens AH, Marchant LF, Narat V, Ndiaye PI, Ogawa H, Piel AK, Pruetz JD, Stewart FA, van Leeuwen KL, Wessling EG, Yoshikawa M. Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) in savanna landscapes. Evol Anthropol 2021; 30:399-420. [PMID: 34542218 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are the only great apes that inhabit hot, dry, and open savannas. We review the environmental pressures of savannas on chimpanzees, such as food and water scarcity, and the evidence for chimpanzees' behavioral responses to these landscapes. In our analysis, savannas were generally associated with low chimpanzee population densities and large home ranges. In addition, thermoregulatory behaviors that likely reduce hyperthermia risk, such as cave use, were frequently observed in the hottest and driest savanna landscapes. We hypothesize that such responses are evidence of a "savanna landscape effect" in chimpanzees and offer pathways for future research to understand its evolutionary processes and mechanisms. We conclude by discussing the significance of research on savanna chimpanzees to modeling the evolution of early hominin traits and informing conservation programs for these endangered apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Lindshield
- Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - R Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar
- Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Amanda H Korstjens
- Life and Environmental Sciences Department, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, UK
| | | | - Victor Narat
- CNRS/MNHN/Paris Diderot, UMR 7206 Eco-anthropology, Paris, France
| | - Papa Ibnou Ndiaye
- Département de Biologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Hideshi Ogawa
- School of International Liberal Studies, Chukyo University, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
| | - Alex K Piel
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jill D Pruetz
- Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Fiona A Stewart
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK.,School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Kelly L van Leeuwen
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, UK
| | - Erin G Wessling
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Midori Yoshikawa
- Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Ibaraki, Tokyo, Japan
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25
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Pereira S, Henderson D, Hjelm M, Hård T, Hernandez Salazar LT, Laska M. Taste responsiveness of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) and black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) to eight substances tasting sweet to humans. Physiol Behav 2021; 238:113470. [PMID: 34048820 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Using a two-bottle choice test of short duration, we determined taste preference thresholds for eight substances tasting sweet to humans in three chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and four black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). We found that the chimpanzees significantly preferred concentrations as low as 100-500 mM galactose, 250 mM sorbitol, 0.5-2 mM acesulfame K, 0.5-2.5 mM alitame, 0.5 mM aspartame, 0.2-2 mM sodium saccharin, 0.001-0.2 mM thaumatin, and 0.0025-0.005 mM monellin over tap water. The spider monkeys displayed lower taste preference threshold values, and thus a higher sensitivity than the chimpanzees, with five of the eight substances (2-20 mM galactose, 20-50 mM sorbitol, 0.2-1 mM acesulfame K, 0.002-0.005 mM alitame, and 0.002-0.5 mM sodium saccharin), but were generally unable to perceive the sweetness of the remaining three substances (aspartame, thaumatin, and monellin). The ranking order of sweetening potency of the eight taste substances used here correlates significantly between chimpanzees and humans, but not between spider monkeys and humans. This is in line with genetic findings reporting a higher degree of sequence identity in the Tas1r2 and the Tas1r3 genes coding for the mammalian heterodimer sweet-taste receptor between chimpanzees and humans compared to spider monkeys and humans. Taken together, the findings of the present study support the notion that taste responsiveness for substances tasting sweet to humans may correlate positively with phylogenetic relatedness. At the same time, they are also consistent with the notion that co-evolution between fruit-bearing plants and the sense of taste in animals that serve as their seed dispersers may explain between-species differences in sweet-taste perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Pereira
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | | | | | | | | | - Matthias Laska
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
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26
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van Dijk K, Cibot M, McLennan MR. Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) adapt their nesting behavior after large-scale forest clearance and community decline. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23323. [PMID: 34455609 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) build nests at night for sleeping and occasionally during daytime for resting. Over the course of seven years, forest fragments in Bulindi, Uganda, were reduced in size by about 80% when landowners converted forest to agricultural land. However, unlike other studies on nesting behavior in response to habitat disturbance, chimpanzees at Bulindi had no opportunity to retreat into nearby undisturbed forest. To understand behavioral adaptations to forest clearance, we compared Bulindi chimpanzees' nesting characteristics before and after this period of major deforestation. After deforestation, chimpanzees built nests at lower heights in shorter trees, and reused a larger proportion of their nests. Additionally, average nest group size increased after deforestation, even though community size declined by approximately 20% over the same period. The substantial decrease in available forest habitat may have caused the chimpanzees to aggregate for nesting. However, more cohesive nesting may also have been influenced by dietary shifts (increased reliance on agricultural crops) and a need for enhanced safety with increased human encroachment. Conversely, the chimpanzees selected similar tree species for nesting after deforestation, apparently reflecting a strong preference for particular species, nested less often in exotic species, and built integrated nests (constructed using multiple trees) at a similar frequency as before fragment clearance. Chimpanzees living in unprotected habitat in Uganda, as at Bulindi, face mounting anthropogenic pressures that threaten their survival. Nevertheless, our study shows that chimpanzees can adjust their nesting behavior flexibly in response to rapid, extensive habitat change. While behavioral flexibility may enable them to cope with deforestation, at least to a certain point, the long-term survival of chimpanzees in fast-changing human-modified landscapes requires intensive conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim van Dijk
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda.,Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marie Cibot
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda.,Anicoon Vétérinaires, Ploemeur, Larmor-Plage, France
| | - Matthew R McLennan
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda.,Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
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27
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Leroux M, Monday G, Chandia B, Akankwasa JW, Zuberbühler K, Hobaiter C, Crockford C, Townsend SW, Asiimwe C, Fedurek P. First observation of a chimpanzee with albinism in the wild: Social interactions and subsequent infanticide. Am J Primatol 2021; 84:e23305. [PMID: 34270104 PMCID: PMC9541794 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Albinism—the congenital absence of pigmentation—is a very rare phenomenon in animals due to the significant costs to fitness of this condition. Both humans and non‐human individuals with albinism face a number of challenges, such as reduced vision, increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation, or compromised crypticity resulting in an elevated vulnerability to predation. However, while observations of social interactions involving individuals with albinism have been observed in wild non‐primate animals, such interactions have not been described in detail in non‐human primates (hereafter, primates). Here, we report, to our knowledge, the first sighting of an infant with albinism in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), including social interactions between the infant, its mother, and group members. We also describe the subsequent killing of the infant by conspecifics as well as their behavior towards the corpse following the infanticide. Finally, we discuss our observations in relation to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior or attitudes towards individuals with very conspicuous appearances. Observations of wild non‐human primates with albinism are extremely rare We report the first observation of a chimpanzee with albinism in the wild We describe interactions between the infant with albinism and other group members We describe the subsequent infanticide of the individual with albinism We discuss these observations in light of our understanding of chimpanzee behavior
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Affiliation(s)
- Maël Leroux
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Center for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Center for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
| | | | - Simon W Townsend
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK
| | | | - Pawel Fedurek
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
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28
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Clark IR, Sandel AA, Reddy RB, Langergraber KE. A preliminary analysis of wound care and other-regarding behavior in wild chimpanzees at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Primates 2021; 62:697-702. [PMID: 34196840 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00925-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Caring for others is a key feature of human behavior. Mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, and other group members provide care in the form of provisioning, protection, and first aid. To what extent is other-regarding behavior present in our primate relatives? Here we describe an unusual incident of other-regarding behavior toward an injured juvenile female chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda. After the juvenile received a mild head wound from an adult female, several adolescent and juvenile chimpanzees gathered to touch, lick, and peer at the wound. One adolescent male wiped a leaf across the cut. Another adolescent male later groomed the injured female and briefly carried her. Across a 5-year period, we observed only three other instances of other-directed wound care in chimpanzees, occurring in 4% (4/100) of cases in which we observed individuals with fresh wounds, and 57 other instances of allomaternal carrying. Despite the infrequency of such behaviors, our study adds another chimpanzee field site to the list of those where other-directed wound care has been observed. Observations from wild chimpanzees provide insight into empathy and may inform our understanding of the evolution of other-regarding behavior in humans.
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29
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Hasegawa H, McLennan MR, Huffman MA, Matsuura K. Notes on Morphology and Life History of Probstmayria gombensis (Nematoda: Cosmocercoidea: Atractidae), Parasitic in Eastern Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, in Bulindi, Uganda. J Parasitol 2021; 107:155-162. [PMID: 33662115 DOI: 10.1645/20-88] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Probstmayria gombensis File, 1976 (Nematoda: Cosmocercoidea: Atractidae) individuals discharged in the feces of eastern chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, in Bulindi, Uganda, were examined morphologically. Adults and fourth-stage larvae, all females, found in the feces, and the third-stage larvae excised from the uterus of the gravid females were described. By close observation of the molting worms, it was considered that the uterine third-stage larvae attain molting phase, and then are laid to become fourth-stage larvae. Nutrients required for larval development in the uterus seem to be supplied by the mother after the eggshell is formed. After some growth in the host intestine, the fourth-stage larvae undergo the final molt to the adult stage. The genital primordium was very small in the early fourth-stage larvae but rapidly developed with embryonation in the pre-molt and molting phases. Such precocity suggests parthenogenetic reproduction without insemination by males. This style may enhance rapid autoinfection in the host intestine under the condition of male worm scarcity. Several ellipsoidal pseudocoelomocytes with granules of unknown function were found ventral to the intestine of the adults, fourth-stage larvae, and third-stage larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideo Hasegawa
- Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Hasama, Yufu, Oita 879-5593, Japan
| | - Matthew R McLennan
- Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, United Kingdom.,Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, P.O. Box 245, Hoima, Uganda
| | - Michael A Huffman
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan
| | - Keiko Matsuura
- Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Hasama, Yufu, Oita 879-5593, Japan
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30
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Westerhausen R, Fjell AM, Kompus K, Schapiro SJ, Sherwood CC, Walhovd KB, Hopkins WD. Comparative morphology of the corpus callosum across the adult lifespan in chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) and humans. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:1584-1596. [PMID: 32978976 PMCID: PMC7987726 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The human corpus callosum exhibits substantial atrophy in old age, which is stronger than what would be predicted from parallel changes in overall brain anatomy. To date, however, it has not been conclusively established whether this accentuated decline represents a common feature of brain aging across species, or whether it is a specific characteristic of the aging human brain. In the present cross-sectional study, we address this question by comparing age-related difference in corpus callosum morphology of chimpanzees and humans. For this purpose, we measured total midsagittal area and regional thickness of the corpus callosum from T1-weighted MRI data from 213 chimpanzees, aged between 9 and 54 years. The results were compared with data drawn from a large-scale human sample which was age-range matched using two strategies: (a) matching by chronological age (human sample size: n = 562), or (b) matching by accounting for differences in longevity and various maturational events between the species (i.e., adjusted human age range: 13.6 to 80.9 years; n = 664). Using generalized additive modeling to fit and compare aging trajectories, we found significant differences between the two species. The chimpanzee aging trajectory compared with the human trajectory was characterized by a slower increase from adolescence to middle adulthood, and by a lack of substantial decline from middle to old adulthood, which, however, was present in humans. Thus, the accentuated decline of the corpus callosum found in aging humans is not a universal characteristic of the aging brain, and appears to be human-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- René Westerhausen
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders M. Fjell
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - Kristiina Kompus
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway
- Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Estonia
| | - Steven J. Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michael E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Kristine B. Walhovd
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michael E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
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31
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Ben-Shlomo A, McLachlan SM, Hwe J, Aliesky H, Hasselschwert D, Mirocha J, Melmed S. Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 and Prolactin Levels in Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) Across the Lifespan. J Endocr Soc 2021; 5:bvab063. [PMID: 34235358 PMCID: PMC8256382 DOI: 10.1210/jendso/bvab063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
As human and chimpanzee genomes show high homology for IGF1 and PRL, we analyzed the sera of 367 healthy chimpanzees obtained during routine physical examinations in a single colony and measured chimpanzee insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and prolactin (PRL) levels across the lifespan using standard human immunoassays. Assuming chimpanzee IGF-1 levels peak during puberty as in humans, we randomly defined puberty as the age at which most IGF-1 levels were equal to or above the 90th percentile for each sex (males, ages ≥7.00 but <9.20 years; females, ≥5.00 but <8.00 years). IGF-1 levels steadily increased at a similar rate in juvenile males and females and peaked in puberty, strongly correlating with age, then slowly decreased faster in adult males than in adult females. As a group, males had a higher mean IGF-1 level than did females, but comparison by age category showed similar mean IGF-1 levels in males and females. PRL levels increased with age in females more than in males and levels were twice as high in females than in males. One pubertal male reported to have short stature had lower IGF-1 and weight compared with other males in the age group, confirming suspected growth hormone deficiency; a second male of normal height but low IGF-1 may have had delayed puberty. Overall, results show that differences in IGF-1 levels over the lifespan in this cohort of chimpanzees largely mimic those seen in humans, while patterns of PRL changes are less similar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anat Ben-Shlomo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Sandra M McLachlan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Jennifer Hwe
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Holly Aliesky
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Dana Hasselschwert
- Division of Veterinary Sciences University of Louisiana at Lafayette, New Iberia Research Center, New Iberia, LA 70560, USA
| | - James Mirocha
- Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Research Center, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Shlomo Melmed
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
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32
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Msindai JN, Roos C, Schürmann F, Sommer V. Population history of chimpanzees introduced to Lake Victoria's Rubondo Island. Primates 2021; 62:253-65. [PMID: 33532941 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00884-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Between 1966 to 1969, Bernhard Grzimek (Frankfurt Zoological Society, FZS) introduced chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) previously held in European institutions to Rubondo Island in Lake Victoria in Tanzania. Earlier publications report various numbers of released animals and that all founders originated from West Africa. We revise these assumptions through consultation of archived FZS records and genetic analyses of surviving descendants. Accordingly, 17 chimpanzees were transported to Africa in four waves, with male-female ratios of 3:8, 1:0, 1:0 and 2:2; one female died in transit. Thus, 16 chimpanzees were released in total. FZS and studbook records allocate a West African provenance to only 19% of the founders and a generic "Africa" origin to 56%. Still, studbook records render it unlikely that any of the founders were captive-born. In addition, our genetic analyses based on biological samples from the current descendants trace the geographical origin of their ancestors back to West Africa (P. t. verus) and Central Africa (P. t. troglodytes). Based on counts of individuals and night nests, we estimate that the population, since 1969, grew to around 35 individuals in 2014 (annual increase 3.3%). Thus, chimpanzees released onto a large forested island free from predators or hunting pressure, habitat destruction and conspecific competition can form a self-sustaining island population without human support.
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33
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McCarthy MS, Stephens C, Dieguez P, Samuni L, Després‐Einspenner M, Harder B, Landsmann A, Lynn LK, Maldonado N, Ročkaiová Z, Widness J, Wittig RM, Boesch C, Kühl HS, Arandjelovic M. Chimpanzee identification and social network construction through an online citizen science platform. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:1598-1608. [PMID: 33613992 PMCID: PMC7882979 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Citizen science has grown rapidly in popularity in recent years due to its potential to educate and engage the public while providing a means to address a myriad of scientific questions. However, the rise in popularity of citizen science has also been accompanied by concerns about the quality of data emerging from citizen science research projects. We assessed data quality in the online citizen scientist platform Chimp&See, which hosts camera trap videos of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and other species across Equatorial Africa. In particular, we compared detection and identification of individual chimpanzees by citizen scientists with that of experts with years of experience studying those chimpanzees. We found that citizen scientists typically detected the same number of individual chimpanzees as experts, but assigned far fewer identifications (IDs) to those individuals. Those IDs assigned, however, were nearly always in agreement with the IDs provided by experts. We applied the data sets of citizen scientists and experts by constructing social networks from each. We found that both social networks were relatively robust and shared a similar structure, as well as having positively correlated individual network positions. Our findings demonstrate that, although citizen scientists produced a smaller data set based on fewer confirmed IDs, the data strongly reflect expert classifications and can be used for meaningful assessments of group structure and dynamics. This approach expands opportunities for social research and conservation monitoring in great apes and many other individually identifiable species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Colleen Stephens
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Paula Dieguez
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Human Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
- Taï Chimpanzee ProjectCentre Suisse de Recherches ScientifiquesAbidjanIvory Coast
| | | | - Briana Harder
- Zooniverse Citizen Scientistc/o Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Anja Landsmann
- Zooniverse Citizen Scientistc/o Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- Faculty of MedicineInstitute for Drug DiscoveryLeipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Laura K. Lynn
- Zooniverse Citizen Scientistc/o Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Nuria Maldonado
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- iScapesValenciaSpain
| | - Zuzana Ročkaiová
- Zooniverse Citizen Scientistc/o Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Jane Widness
- Zooniverse Citizen Scientistc/o Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- Department of AnthropologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- Taï Chimpanzee ProjectCentre Suisse de Recherches ScientifiquesAbidjanIvory Coast
| | | | - Hjalmar S. Kühl
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)Halle‐Leipzig‐JenaGermany
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34
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Reddy RB, Langergraber KE, Sandel AA, Vigilant L, Mitani JC. The development of affiliative and coercive reproductive tactics in male chimpanzees. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202679. [PMID: 33402074 PMCID: PMC7892417 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Like many animals, adult male chimpanzees often compete for a limited number of mates. They fight other males as they strive for status that confers reproductive benefits and use aggression to coerce females to mate with them. Nevertheless, small-bodied, socially immature adolescent male chimpanzees, who cannot compete with older males for status nor intimidate females, father offspring. We investigated how they do so through a study of adolescent and young adult males at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Adolescent males mated with nulliparous females and reproduced primarily with these first-time mothers, who are not preferred as mating partners by older males. Two other factors, affiliation and aggression, also influenced mating success. Specifically, the strength of affiliative bonds that males formed with females and the amount of aggression males directed toward females predicted male mating success. The effect of male aggression toward females on mating success increased as males aged, especially when they directed it toward females with whom they shared affiliative bonds. These results mirror sexual coercion in humans, which occurs most often between males and females involved in close, affiliative relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachna B. Reddy
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Kevin E. Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Aaron A. Sandel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzig, Germany
| | - John C. Mitani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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35
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Abstract
Sixty years of research on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Gombe National Park, Tanzania have revealed many similarities with human behaviour, including hunting, tool use, and coalitionary killing. The close phylogenetic relationship between chimpanzees and humans suggests that these traits were present in the last common ancestor of Pan and Homo (LCAPH). However, findings emerging from studies of our other closest living relative, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), indicate that either bonobos are derived in these respects, or the many similarities between chimpanzees and humans evolved convergently. In either case, field studies provide opportunities to test hypotheses for how and why our lineage has followed its peculiar path through the adaptive landscape. Evidence from primate field studies suggests that the hominin path depends on our heritage as apes: inefficient quadrupeds with grasping hands, orthograde posture, and digestive systems that require high quality foods. Key steps along this path include: (1) changes in diet; (2) increased use of tools; (3) bipedal gait; (4) multilevel societies; (5) collective foraging, including a sexual division of labor and extensive food transfers; and (6) language. Here I consider some possible explanations for these transitions, with an emphasis on contributions from Gombe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lawrence Wilson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN55455, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
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36
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Dezecache G, Zuberbühler K, Davila-Ross M, Dahl CD. A machine learning approach to infant distress calls and maternal behaviour of wild chimpanzees. Anim Cogn 2020; 24:443-455. [PMID: 33094407 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01437-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Distress calls are an acoustically variable group of vocalizations ubiquitous in mammals and other animals. Their presumed function is to recruit help, but there has been much debate on whether the nature of the disturbance can be inferred from the acoustics of distress calls. We used machine learning to analyse episodes of distress calls of wild infant chimpanzees. We extracted exemplars from those distress call episodes and examined them in relation to the external event triggering them and the distance to the mother. In further steps, we tested whether the acoustic variants were associated with particular maternal responses. Our results suggest that, although infant chimpanzee distress calls are highly graded, they can convey information about discrete problems experienced by the infant and about distance to the mother, which in turn may help guide maternal parenting decisions. The extent to which mothers rely on acoustic cues alone (versus integrate other contextual-visual information) to decide upon intervening should be the focus of future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Dezecache
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. .,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda. .,Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England, UK. .,Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda.,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK
| | - Marina Davila-Ross
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England, UK
| | - Christoph D Dahl
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. .,Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. .,Brain and Consciousness Research Center, Taipei Medical University, Shuang-Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
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37
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Funkhouser JA, Mayhew JA, Mulcahy JB, Sheeran LK. Human caregivers are integrated social partners for captive chimpanzees. Primates 2021; 62:297-309. [PMID: 33034790 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00867-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In a captive environment, it is challenging to ensure the highest level of social and psychological well-being for species with naturally complex social organizations and structures. There is a growing need to meet the social requirements for individuals of these species, especially chimpanzees, housed in zoos, sanctuaries, rehabilitation centers, and laboratories. Complex social interactions and broader social structures can be aptly described via social network analysis. We expand on the literature regarding captive chimpanzee social networks, but uniquely consider their human caregivers as potential social partners. We observed the social interactions between one group of seven chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and their caregivers in six behavioral contexts (nearest neighbor, play, aggression, grooming, grooming solicitation, and social vigilance) at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (USA). By constructing multiple chimpanzee and chimpanzee-caregiver social networks, our results indicate that caregivers are integrated partners in this group's social structure. Additionally, we observed that the type and strength of chimpanzee-caregiver relationships varied between the chimpanzees. These results support the notion that caregivers offer additional opportunities (i.e., beyond those with conspecifics) for captive chimpanzees to construct and maintain meaningful social relationships. Our results show that considerations of captive primate social dynamics should include caregivers as potentially important social partners. Our results also highlight the importance of evaluating individual chimpanzee characteristics when developing philosophies of care and adopting husbandry practices that offer fulfilling social niches. Our findings bear influence on contemporary discussions of interspecies social relationships, captive welfare, health, translocation, and husbandry protocols for captive chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates.
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38
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Chancellor R, Rundus A, Nyiratuza M, Nyandwi S, Aimable T. Community-based conservation and chimpanzee research in Gishwati forest, Rwanda. Am J Primatol 2020; 83:e23195. [PMID: 33016499 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
As great ape populations around the world continue to decline, largely due to anthropogenic activities, conservation programs aimed at supporting these efforts have had mixed success. Here, we evaluate our community-based conservation program in Gishwati forest, Rwanda, aimed at helping to restore biodiversity and ecosystem services using chimpanzees as a flagship species. We examine the effectiveness of this program on reducing one of the ongoing threats to Gishwati's population of chimpanzees, illegal cattle grazing as well as the program's influence on the size of the chimpanzee population. We monitored illegal cattle grazing during several study periods between 2009 and 2019 in Gishwati forest following the implementation of our conservation program in 2008 that included law enforcement, community engagement, and research components. We found that when our conservation program was active, illegal cattle grazing was reduced to low levels. We also observed an increase in the chimpanzee population size during the 11 years since we started our conservation program. We examine how this reduction in cattle grazing and increase in chimpanzee population size may have been influenced by our community-centered approach and discuss the future of our conservation work in Gishwati.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Chancellor
- Department of Anthropology and Sociology, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA.,Department of Psychology, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Aaron Rundus
- Department of Psychology, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Sylvain Nyandwi
- Forest of Hope Association, Gisenyi, Rwanda.,Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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39
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Guevara EE, Lawler RR, Staes N, White CM, Sherwood CC, Ely JJ, Hopkins WD, Bradley BJ. Age-associated epigenetic change in chimpanzees and humans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190616. [PMID: 32951551 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylation levels have been shown to change with age at sites across the human genome. Change at some of these sites is so consistent across individuals that it can be used as an 'epigenetic clock' to predict an individual's chronological age to within a few years. Here, we examined how the pattern of epigenetic ageing in chimpanzees compares with humans. We profiled genome-wide blood methylation levels by microarray for 113 samples from 83 chimpanzees aged 1-58 years (26 chimpanzees were sampled at multiple ages during their lifespan). Many sites (greater than 65 000) showed significant change in methylation with age and around one-third (32%) of these overlap with sites showing significant age-related change in humans. At over 80% of sites showing age-related change in both species, chimpanzees displayed a significantly faster rate of age-related change in methylation than humans. We also built a chimpanzee-specific epigenetic clock that predicted age in our test dataset with a median absolute deviation from known age of only 2.4 years. However, our chimpanzee clock showed little overlap with previously constructed human clocks. Methylation at CpGs comprising our chimpanzee clock showed moderate heritability. Although the use of a human microarray for profiling chimpanzees biases our results towards regions with shared genomic sequence between the species, nevertheless, our results indicate that there is considerable conservation in epigenetic ageing between chimpanzees and humans, but also substantial divergence in both rate and genomic distribution of ageing-associated sites. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine E Guevara
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.,Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Richard R Lawler
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
| | - Nicky Staes
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.,Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.,Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Cassandra M White
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | | | - William D Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX 78602, USA
| | - Brenda J Bradley
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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40
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McCarthy MS, Lester JD, Cibot M, Vigilant L, McLennan MR. Atypically High Reproductive Skew in a Small Wild Chimpanzee Community in a Human-Dominated Landscape. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2020; 91:688-696. [PMID: 32604094 DOI: 10.1159/000508609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Social rank is positively correlated with reproductive success in numerous species, albeit demographic factors often influence those patterns. In multimale primate species, reproductive skew tends to decrease with increasing numbers of males and sexually receptive females. Alpha male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) often sire a disproportionate, though somewhat variable, percentage of offspring compared to other males. In a small community of eastern chimpanzees inhabiting a human-dominated landscape in Bulindi, Uganda, we found extraordinarily high levels of alpha male reproductive success over a 5-year period (7/8 offspring = 88%), despite the presence of multiple subordinate males. The skew exceeds that reported in other studies of chimpanzees as well as closely related bonobos (Pan paniscus). Our findings underscore the role of demographic and social factors in male reproductive success and also suggest that conclusions about species differences may be premature. The interaction of small community size, dispersal limitations, and male reproductive strategies like those found here may decrease genetic diversity and increase the risk of concomitant inbreeding in chimpanzee communities under strong anthropogenic pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen S McCarthy
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, .,Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda,
| | - Jack D Lester
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda
| | - Marie Cibot
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda.,Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Anicoon Vétérinaires, Ploemeur/Larmor-Plage, France
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthew R McLennan
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda.,Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
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41
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Reddy RB, Mitani JC. Adolescent and young adult male chimpanzees form affiliative, yet aggressive, relationships with females. J Hum Evol 2020; 144:102813. [PMID: 32464481 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Primates frequently form affiliative relationships that have important fitness consequences. Affiliative relationships between unrelated males and females are ubiquitous in humans but are not widely reported in humans' closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Instead, adult male chimpanzees are extremely aggressive to females, using the aggression to coerce females to mate with them. Adolescent male chimpanzees are physically and socially immature and unable to use aggression toward females in the same way as adult males. Instead, adolescent males might build affiliative relationships with females as an alternative tactic to increase their chances of mating and reproducing. To investigate this possibility, we recorded social interactions between 20 adolescent and 10 young adult males and 78 adult female chimpanzees over 2 years at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Analyses using grooming and proximity as assays revealed that adolescent and young adult males formed differentiated, affiliative relationships with females. These relationships were as strong as the bonds young males formed with maternal kin and unrelated males and increased in strength and number as males aged and started to dominate females. Male-female relationships extended outside the immediate context of mating. Although males affiliated slightly more often with females when they were cycling, they also did so when females were pregnant and nursing young infants. Males and females who formed bonds reassured each other, looked back and waited for each other while traveling, and groomed more equitably than other male-female pairs, even after the time they spent together in association and the female's reproductive state were taken into account. Despite the affiliative nature of these relationships, adolescent and young adult males selectively targeted their female partners for aggression. These findings provide new insights into the evolution of social bonds between human females and males, which can involve both affiliation and coercive violence.
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42
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Earl SC, Hopper LM, Ross SR. Same Space, Different Species: The Influence of Exhibit Design on the Expression of Zoo-Housed Apes' Species-Typical Retiring Behaviors. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:E836. [PMID: 32408572 DOI: 10.3390/ani10050836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Wild chimpanzees frequently make arboreal nests, while wild lowland gorillas typically nest on the ground. We aimed to understand whether zoo-housed apes' use of elevated spaces for retiring similarly differed between species and across exhibits. Using a pre-planned exhibit switch at Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, USA), we compared where (elevated or terrestrial) two groups of apes (Pan troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla gorilla) performed retiring behaviors (inactive, sleeping, and nest-building behaviors). We studied a group of six chimpanzees and a group of four gorillas in two exhibits of similar size and configuration for two three-month periods (between 3 and 5 p.m.) before and after the groups switched exhibits. We predicted that chimpanzees would be more likely to retire in elevated locations compared to gorillas, irrespective of the exhibit. We found a significant effect of exhibit on where the apes retired but no effect of species, such that both species were more likely to retire in elevated locations in one exhibit but not the other. This suggests that the specific characteristics of the exhibits (e.g., number of visual barriers) influenced the expression of the apes' retiring behaviors. These findings offer further insight in how exhibit design can influence the expression of natural behaviors in these species.
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43
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Sigmund AB, Cushing AC, Hendrix DVH. Ophthalmic findings in 10 captive, anesthetized chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes). Vet Ophthalmol 2020; 23:760-763. [PMID: 32374078 DOI: 10.1111/vop.12766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To document ophthalmic findings, Schirmer's tear test I (STT), and intraocular pressure (IOP) values for anesthetized chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). ANIMALS STUDIED Ten captive chimpanzees from Zoo Knoxville and Chattanooga Zoo. PROCEDURES Ten chimpanzees were anesthetized for annual physical examinations, blood collection, and ophthalmic examination. Each was anesthetized with intramuscular (IM) injections of dexmedetomidine, midazolam, and ketamine. Ophthalmic findings and STT and IOP values in addition to general health information were recorded for each chimpanzee. Pupillary diameter was measured after topical tropicamide administration. A Shapiro-Wilk test of normality was done for age, weight, STT values, IOP values, and pupil size. RESULTS Ages ranged from 11 to 42 years. Weight range was 40.9-83.6 kg. The mean STT was 13.4 ± 5.3 mm/min. The mean IOP was 14 ± 4.2 mm Hg. Seven of the 10 chimpanzees were considered geriatric, and each had perilimbal lipid deposits. Sedative-associated miosis was successfully counteracted with a regimen of repeated applications of tropicamide, enabling complete fundic examination. CONCLUSIONS A complete ophthalmic examination can be done on anesthetized chimpanzees with the protocol used in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex B Sigmund
- Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Andrew C Cushing
- Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Diane V H Hendrix
- Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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44
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Neadle D, Bandini E, Tennie C. Testing the individual and social learning abilities of task-naïve captive chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes sp.) in a nut-cracking task. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8734. [PMID: 32195057 PMCID: PMC7069405 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Nut-cracking is often cited as one of the most complex behaviours observed in wild chimpanzees. However, the cognitive mechanisms behind its acquisition are still debated. The current null hypothesis is that the form of nut-cracking behaviour relies on variants of social learning, with some researchers arguing, more precisely, that copying variants of social learning mechanisms are necessary. However, to date, very few experiments have directly investigated the potentially sufficient role of individual learning in explaining the behavioural form of nut-cracking. Despite this, the available data provides some evidence for the spontaneous acquisition of nut-cracking by chimpanzees; later group acquisition was then found to be at least facilitated by (unspecified) variants of social learning. The latter findings are in line with both suggested hypotheses, i.e., that copying social learning is required and that other (non-copying) social learning mechanisms are at play. Here we present the first study which focused (initially) on the role of individual learning for the acquisition of the nut-cracking behavioural form in chimpanzees. We tested task-naïve chimpanzees (N = 13) with an extended baseline condition to examine whether the behaviour would emerge spontaneously. After the baseline condition (which was unsuccessful), we tested for the role of social learning by providing social information in a step-wise fashion, culminating in a full action demonstration of nut-cracking by a human demonstrator (this last condition made it possible for the observers to copy all actions underlying the behaviour). Despite the opportunities to individually and/or socially learn nut-cracking, none of the chimpanzees tested here cracked nuts using tools in any of the conditions in our study; thus, providing no conclusive evidence for either competing hypothesis. We conclude that this failure was the product of an interplay of factors, including behavioural conservatism and the existence of a potential sensitive learning period for nut-cracking in chimpanzees. The possibility remains that nut-cracking is a behaviour that chimpanzees can individually learn. However, this behaviour might only be acquired when chimpanzees are still inside their sensitive learning period, and when ecological and developmental conditions allow for it. The possibility remains that nut-cracking is an example of a culture dependent trait in non-human great apes. Recommendations for future research projects to address this question are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Neadle
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Elisa Bandini
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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45
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Pene CHM, Muramatsu A, Matsuzawa T. Color discrimination and color preferences in Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes). Primates 2020; 61:403-413. [PMID: 31950319 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00790-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have been known for a long time to have color vision identical to humans (Grether in J Comp Psychol 29(2):167-177, 1940b; Jacobs et al. in Vis Res 36(16):2587-2594, 1996). With this study, we wonder if chimpanzees, as humans, show preferences for some colors rather than others. During a first range of experiments, we test their ability to discriminate all the colors from our set, through easy matching-to-sample tasks. The seven chimpanzees that participate in this first test show the results we can expect from chimpanzees with normal color vision. Then, six of them are tested for preferences. This range of experiments results in the existence of consistent tendencies across all the trials and situations, as chimpanzees would mostly first choose some particular colors, and conversely choose last different colors. Although the results for color discrimination are identical for all the seven chimpanzees, preference tests demonstrate four different tendencies. This study is the first step toward broader experiments, including more chimpanzee subjects, but also different species, with the only requirement of being trained to the basic use of a touch panel interface.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Akiho Muramatsu
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
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46
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Negrey JD, Sandel AA, Langergraber KE. Dominance rank and the presence of sexually receptive females predict feces-measured body temperature in male chimpanzees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020; 74:5. [PMID: 34079157 PMCID: PMC8168630 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2788-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Quantifying the costs of mating is key for understanding life-history trade-offs. As a reflection of metabolic rate, body temperature is one metric for assaying these costs. However, conventional methods for measuring body temperature are invasive and unsuitable for the study of free-living populations of endangered species, including great apes. A promising proxy for body temperature is fecal temperature, the internal temperature of fecal deposits shortly following defecation. We validated this method with humans, finding that maximum fecal temperature is a reliable proxy for rectal temperature. We then applied this method to wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. We collected and analyzed 101 fecal temperature measurements from 43 adult chimpanzees (male: N = 28; female: N = 15). Chimpanzee fecal temperature ranged from 33.4 to 38.9 °C, with a mean of 35.8 °C. Although fecal temperature was not predicted by sex, age, or ambient temperature, male fecal temperature was 1.1 °C higher on days when sexually receptive females were present and was positively correlated with male dominance rank. Post hoc analyses showed that overall copulation rates, but not aggression rates, were positively correlated with fecal temperature, suggesting that sexual physiology and behavior best explain mating-related temperature variation. Together, these results indicate fecal temperature is a reliable proxy for core body temperature in large-bodied mammals, captures metabolic costs associated with male mating behavior, and represents a valuable noninvasive tool for biological field research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D. Negrey
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Aaron A. Sandel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78705, USA
| | - Kevin E. Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, 900 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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Maibach V, Langergraber K, Leendertz FH, Wittig RM, Vigilant L. Differences in MHC-B diversity and KIR epitopes in two populations of wild chimpanzees. Immunogenetics 2019; 71:617-633. [PMID: 31797008 PMCID: PMC6900261 DOI: 10.1007/s00251-019-01148-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes play a critical role within the immune system, both by the presentation of antigens from intracellular pathogens to immunocompetent cells and by the interaction with killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) on natural killer cells (NK cells). Genes of the MHC are highly diverse, and MHC variation can have effects on the immune functionality of individuals; hence, comparisons of MHC diversity among closely related phylogenetic taxa may give insight into the factors responsible for the shaping of its diversity. The four geographically separated chimpanzee subspecies differ in their overall genetic diversity, have different population histories, and are confronted with different pathogens in their natural habitat, all of which may affect MHC class I DNA sequence diversity. Here, we compare the MHC-B exon two DNA sequence diversity from 24 wild western and 46 wild eastern chimpanzees using necropsy and noninvasively collected fecal samples, respectively. We found a higher MHC-B exon two nucleotide diversity, in our western than eastern chimpanzees. The inclusion of previously published MHC-B exon two data from other western and eastern chimpanzees supported this finding. In addition, our results confirm and extend the finding of a very low C1 epitope frequency at eastern chimpanzee MHC-B molecules, which likely affects the ability of these molecules to interact with NK cells. While the understanding of the differing pathogen environments encountered by disparate populations of a species is a challenging endeavor, these findings highlight the potential for these pathogens to selectively shape immune system variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Maibach
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Kevin Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
| | | | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, Abidjan, 01, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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Plaza DF, Gómez MF, Patarroyo MA. NHP-immunome: A translational research-oriented database of non-human primate immune system proteins. Cell Immunol 2020; 347:103999. [PMID: 31733823 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2019.103999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We are currently living the advent of a new age for medicine in which basic research is being quickly translated into marketable drugs, and the widespread access to genomics data is allowing the design and implementation of personalized solutions to medical conditions. Non-human primates (NHP) have gained an essential role in drug discovery and safety testing due to their close phylogenetic relationship to humans. In this study, a collection of well characterized genes of the human immune system was used to define the orthology-based immunome in four NHP species, with carefully curated annotations available based on multi-tissue RNA-seq datasets. A broad variation in the frequency of expressed protein isoforms was observed between species. Finally, this analysis also revealed the lack of expression of at least four different chemokines in new-world primates. In addition, transcripts corresponding to four genes including interleukin 12 subunit alpha were expressed in humans but no other primate species analyzed. Access to the non-human primate immunome is available in http://www.fidic.org.co:90/proyecto/.
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Luef EM, Pika S. Social relationships and greetings in wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes): use of signal combinations. Primates 2019; 60:507-15. [PMID: 31552566 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00758-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Signals of submission, so-called 'greetings', represent an important tool for the regulation of social life in primates. In chimpanzees, vocalizations and gestures are commonly employed to communicate greetings, however, the topic of signal complexity (i.e., combinations of signals) during greeting instances has been neglected by research to date. Here, we investigate combinatorial possibilities in vocal greetings in a free-ranging group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and study how greeter sex, rank relationship between an interacting pair, and strength of the social bond of a greeting dyad influence signal complexity. Results show that the social bond and the dominance distance between individuals engaged in a greeting bout are important determiners for vocal combinations. The findings indicate that greeting signals in chimpanzees, like other vocal signals of the species, can become subject to social influences.
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50
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Johansson MM, Pottmeier P, Suciu P, Ahmad T, Zaghlool A, Halvardson J, Darj E, Feuk L, Peuckert C, Jazin E. Novel Y-Chromosome Long Non-Coding RNAs Expressed in Human Male CNS During Early Development. Front Genet 2019; 10:891. [PMID: 31608120 PMCID: PMC6769107 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Global microarray gene expression analyses previously demonstrated differences in female and male embryos during neurodevelopment. In particular, before sexual maturation of the gonads, the differences seem to concentrate on the expression of genes encoded on the X- and Y-chromosomes. To investigate genome-wide differences in expression during this early developmental window, we combined high-resolution RNA sequencing with qPCR to analyze brain samples from human embryos during the first trimester of development. Our analysis was tailored for maximum sensitivity to discover Y-chromosome gene expression, but at the same time, it was underpowered to detect X-inactivation escapees. Using this approach, we found that 5 out of 13 expressed gametolog pairs showed unbalanced gene dosage, and as a consequence, a male-biased expression. In addition, we found six novel non-annotated long non-coding RNAs on the Y-chromosome with conserved expression patterns in newborn chimpanzee. The tissue specific and time-restricted expression of these long non-coding RNAs strongly suggests important functions during central nervous system development in human males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin M Johansson
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Philipp Pottmeier
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pascalina Suciu
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tauseef Ahmad
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ammar Zaghlool
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jonatan Halvardson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Elisabeth Darj
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lars Feuk
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Christiane Peuckert
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Molecular Biology, Stockholms University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elena Jazin
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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