1
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Grebe NM, Schmidt J, Eckardt W, Umuhoza R, Mayo D, Stoinski TS, Santymire RM, Rosenbaum S. Examining the dual hormone hypothesis in wild male mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Horm Behav 2024; 164:105588. [PMID: 38880022 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
The Challenge Hypothesis is an influential framework for understanding how androgens are involved in the promotion of competitive behavior during mating-related challenges and has been tested extensively in studies across scientific disciplines. Mixed support in psychological research led scholars to develop the Dual Hormone Hypothesis as a potential path forward, which argues that glucocorticoids moderate the relationship between androgens and status-striving. In the current study, we examine the Challenge Hypothesis and the Dual Hormone Hypothesis in wild male mountain gorillas, representing the first time the latter hypothesis has been tested in a non-human primate. In a sample of 30 adult males comprising over 600 days of observation, we find some limited support for the Challenge Hypothesis. Greater daily rates of targeted aggression toward other adult males corresponded to higher fecal androgen metabolites 1-2 days following observations, though this pattern did not fully generalize to dominance rank or other competitive behaviors examined. However, we find no support for the Dual Hormone Hypothesis: neither dominance rank nor any category of competitive behavior was predicted by the interaction between androgens and glucocorticoids. We close by discussing how this initial investigation might be leveraged toward the development of an expanded Dual Hormone Hypothesis that draws on the large evidence base in primate behavioral ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Grebe
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.
| | - Josephine Schmidt
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | | | | | - Dominic Mayo
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Tara S Stoinski
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Rachel M Santymire
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
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2
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Barel Hooge HL, Massey JS, Balolia KL. Evaluating the muscle attachment hypothesis for sagittal cresting in Gorilla and Pongo. J Anat 2024; 244:995-1006. [PMID: 38308581 PMCID: PMC11095300 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Primate mandibular morphology is often associated with jaw functionality of the masticatory complex in the context of variation in diets. Recent research into the disparities between the diet and jaw functionality in male and female hominoids is inconclusive and suggests that sexual dimorphism in the mandible may be influenced by external factors such as temporalis and masseter muscle morphology, which in turn may be influenced by sexual selection. As the muscles associated with mastication (i.e., the type of chewing exhibited by primates and other mammals) encompass the mandible as well as the neurocranium, including the sagittal crest among some individuals, this study investigates sex-specific associations between regions of the mandibular ramus and neurocranium associated with mastication in a dentally mature sample of Gorilla and Pongo. A total of four cranial and mandibular variables were measured in two Gorilla taxa (Gorilla gorilla gorilla and Gorilla beringei graueri) and one Pongo taxon (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) (n = 220). For all three taxa, we investigate (a) whether the degree of sexual dimorphism in cranial regions associated with sagittal cresting (sagittal crest size (SCS) and temporalis muscle attachment area (TMAA)) is proportional to the degree of mandibular ramus area (MRA) and coronoid process height (CPH) sexual dimorphism, (b) whether there are sex differences in scaling relationships between TMAA and MRA, and (c) whether there are sex differences in the strength of association between TMAA and CPH. We show that for G. g. gorilla, variables associated with sagittal cresting show higher sexual dimorphism values than our two mandibular ramus variables, which is not the case for G. b. graueri or for P. p. pygmaeus. All three taxa show similar sex-specific scaling relationships between TMAA and MRA, where for males this relationship does not diverge from isometry, and for females there is a negative allometric relationship. Our findings also show intraspecific sex differences in allometric slopes between MRA and TMAA for all three taxa. Only G. g. gorilla shows a significant association between TMAA and CPH, which is observed in both sexes. Although there are some statistical associations between the cranial and mandibular regions associated with mastication, our results show that among male gorillas and orangutans, patterns of variation in the sagittal crest, TMAA, mandibular ramus and the coronoid process cannot be explained by the muscle attachment hypothesis alone. These findings have implications surrounding the associations between social behaviour and the morphology of the craniofacial complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah L. Barel Hooge
- School of Archaeology and AnthropologyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
| | - Jason S. Massey
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery InstituteMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Katharine L. Balolia
- School of Archaeology and AnthropologyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
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3
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Judson K, Sanz C, Ebombi TF, Massamba JM, Teberd P, Abea G, Mbebouti G, Matoumona JKB, Nkoussou EG, Zambarda A, Brogan S, Stephens C, Morgan D. Socioecological factors influencing intraspecific variation in ranging dynamics of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Ndoki Forest. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23586. [PMID: 38151775 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Ranging dynamics are physical and behavioral representations of how different socioecological factors affect an organism's spatial decisions and space use strategies. Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are a model species to investigate the drivers of spatial dynamics based on both the natural variation in socioecological factors within the species and compared with their mountain gorilla counterparts. In this study, we evaluate the influences of resource seasonality and social dynamics on variation in home range size, utilization, and intergroup overlap among multiple gorilla groups over an 8-year study period in the northern Republic of Congo. This study shows that western lowland gorillas can have small home ranges comparable to mountain gorillas, rather than universally larger home ranges as previously supposed, and that home ranges are stable through time. The largest source of variation in space use was the degree of intergroup home range overlap. The study groups did not demonstrate intraspecific variation in range size nor changes in intergroup overlap with respect to seasonality of fruit resources, but all groups demonstrated expansion of monthly range and core area with group size, matching predictions of intragroup feeding competition. These findings highlight the potential impact of intergroup relationships on space use and prompt further research on the role of social dynamics in ranging strategies. In this study, we reveal a greater degree of variability and flexibility in gorilla ranging behavior than previously realized which is relevant to improving comparative studies and informing conservation strategies on behalf of these endangered primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Judson
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Crickette Sanz
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | | | - Jean Marie Massamba
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Prospère Teberd
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Gaston Abea
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Gaeton Mbebouti
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | | | | | - Alice Zambarda
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Sean Brogan
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Colleen Stephens
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - David Morgan
- Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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4
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van der Valk T, Jensen A, Caillaud D, Guschanski K. Comparative genomic analyses provide new insights into evolutionary history and conservation genomics of gorillas. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:14. [PMID: 38273244 PMCID: PMC10811819 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02195-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Genome sequencing is a powerful tool to understand species evolutionary history, uncover genes under selection, which could be informative of local adaptation, and infer measures of genetic diversity, inbreeding and mutational load that could be used to inform conservation efforts. Gorillas, critically endangered primates, have received considerable attention and with the recently sequenced Bwindi mountain gorilla population, genomic data is now available from all gorilla subspecies and both mountain gorilla populations. Here, we reanalysed this rich dataset with a focus on evolutionary history, local adaptation and genomic parameters relevant for conservation. We estimate a recent split between western and eastern gorillas of 150,000-180,000 years ago, with gene flow around 20,000 years ago, primarily between the Cross River and Grauer's gorilla subspecies. This gene flow event likely obscures evolutionary relationships within eastern gorillas: after excluding putatively introgressed genomic regions, we uncover a sister relationship between Virunga mountain gorillas and Grauer's gorillas to the exclusion of Bwindi mountain gorillas. This makes mountain gorillas paraphyletic. Eastern gorillas are less genetically diverse and more inbred than western gorillas, yet we detected lower genetic load in the eastern species. Analyses of indels fit remarkably well with differences in genetic diversity across gorilla taxa as recovered with nucleotide diversity measures. We also identified genes under selection and unique gene variants specific for each gorilla subspecies, encoding, among others, traits involved in immunity, diet, muscular development, hair morphology and behavior. The presence of this functional variation suggests that the subspecies may be locally adapted. In conclusion, using extensive genomic resources we provide a comprehensive overview of gorilla genomic diversity, including a so-far understudied Bwindi mountain gorilla population, identify putative genes involved in local adaptation, and detect population-specific gene flow across gorilla species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom van der Valk
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden.
- SciLifeLab, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Axel Jensen
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Damien Caillaud
- Department of Anthropology, University of CA - Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Katerina Guschanski
- SciLifeLab, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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5
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Leeds A, Kakule D, Stalter L, Mbeke JK, Fawcett K. Group structure and individual relationships of sanctuary-living Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri). PLoS One 2024; 19:e0295561. [PMID: 38232054 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of individual social relationships and group structure provides insights into a species' natural history and can inform management decisions for animals living in human care. The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) center provides permanent sanctuary for a group of 14 Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri), a critically endangered and poorly studied subspecies of the genus gorilla, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We monitored the association patterns of the gorillas at GRACE over eight months and here describe their individual relationships and group structure via multiple social network statistics. The group was highly connected but associations between individuals were weak on average. Social network metrics describe that an adult female was the most gregarious and socially central individual within the group. In fact, adult females were the most gregarious and socially central on average. Group level association patterns were significantly correlated over the study period and across observation types, suggesting the group was socially stable during the eight month study period. The data collected in this study were done so by GRACE caregivers as part of their daily husbandry routine and provided important insights into this group's behavior, ultimately informing on their care, welfare and future release considerations. The methodological approaches implemented here are easily scalable to any primate sanctuary or care facility seeking to use data to inform husbandry and management procedures. Lastly, our study is the first social network analysis to be conducted on Grauer's gorillas and provides tentative insights into the behavior of this poorly studied subspecies. Though more research is needed to evaluate if the findings here are reflective of this subspecies' natural history or the idiosyncrasies of the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin Leeds
- Animals, Science and Environment, Disney's Animal Kingdom®, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States of America
| | - Dalmas Kakule
- Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center, Kasugho, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Laura Stalter
- Animals, Science and Environment, Disney's Animal Kingdom®, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States of America
| | - Jackson K Mbeke
- Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center, Kasugho, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Katie Fawcett
- Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center, Kasugho, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
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6
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van Noordwijk MA, LaBarge LR, Kunz JA, Marzec AM, Spillmann B, Ackermann C, Rianti P, Vogel ER, Atmoko SSU, Kruetzen M, van Schaik CP. Reproductive success of Bornean orangutan males: scattered in time but clustered in space. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023; 77:134. [PMID: 38076722 PMCID: PMC10700224 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03407-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Abstract The social and mating systems of orangutans, one of our closest relatives, remain poorly understood. Orangutans (Pongo spp.) are highly sexually dimorphic and females are philopatric and maintain individual, but overlapping home ranges, whereas males disperse, are non-territorial and wide-ranging, and show bimaturism, with many years between reaching sexual maturity and attaining full secondary sexual characteristics (including cheek pads (flanges) and emitting long calls). We report on 21 assigned paternities, among 35 flanged and 15 unflanged, genotyped male Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii), studied from 2003 to 2018 in Tuanan (Central Kalimantan, Indonesia). All 10 infants born since mid-2003 with an already identified sire were sired by flanged males. All adult males ranged well beyond the study area (c. 1000 ha), and their dominance relations fluctuated even within short periods. However, 5 of the 10 identified sires had multiple offspring within the monitored area. Several sired over a period of c. 10 years, which overlapped with siring periods of other males. The long-calling behavior of sires indicated they were not consistently dominant over other males in the area around the time of known conceptions. Instead, when they were seen in the area, the known sires spent most of their time within the home ranges of the females whose offspring they sired. Overall, successful sires were older and more often resident than others. Significance statement It is difficult to assess reproductive success for individuals of long-lived species, especially for dispersing males, who cannot be monitored throughout their lives. Due to extremely long interbirth intervals, orangutans have highly male-skewed operational sex ratios and thus intensive male-male competition for every conception. Paternity analyses matched 21 immature Bornean orangutans with their most likely sire (only 10 of 50 genotyped males) in a natural population. Half of these identified sires had multiple offspring in the study area spread over periods of at least 10 years, despite frequently ranging outside this area. Dominance was a poor predictor of success, but, consistent with female mating tactics to reduce the risk of infanticide, known "sires" tended to have relatively high local presence, which seems to contribute to the males' siring success. The results highlight the importance of large protected areas to enable a natural pattern of dispersal and ranging. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-023-03407-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A. van Noordwijk
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Comparative Socio-Ecology Group, May Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Laura R. LaBarge
- Comparative Socio-Ecology Group, May Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Julia A. Kunz
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Institute des Sciences de l’Evolution Montpellier, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Anna M. Marzec
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Brigitte Spillmann
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Corinne Ackermann
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Puji Rianti
- Division of Animal Biosystematics and Ecology, Department of Biology, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
- Primate Research Center, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Erin R. Vogel
- Department of Anthropology, Center for Human Evolution Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, USA
| | | | - Michael Kruetzen
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Carel P. van Schaik
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Comparative Socio-Ecology Group, May Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
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7
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Rosenbaum S, Kuzawa CW. The promise of great apes as model organisms for understanding the downstream consequences of early life experiences. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105240. [PMID: 37211151 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Early life experiences have a significant influence on adult health and aging processes in humans. Despite widespread interest in the evolutionary roots of this phenomenon, very little research on this topic has been conducted in humans' closest living relatives, the great apes. The longitudinal data sets that are now available on wild and captive great ape populations hold great promise to clarify the nature, evolutionary function, and mechanisms underlying these connections in species which share key human life history characteristics. Here, we explain features of great ape life history and socioecologies that make them of particular interest for this topic, as well as those that may limit their utility as comparative models; outline the ways in which available data are complementary to and extend the kinds of data that are available for humans; and review what is currently known about the connections among early life experiences, social behavior, and adult physiology and biological fitness in our closest living relatives. We conclude by highlighting key next steps for this emerging area of research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, USA
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8
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Pawar H, Rymbekova A, Cuadros-Espinoza S, Huang X, de Manuel M, van der Valk T, Lobon I, Alvarez-Estape M, Haber M, Dolgova O, Han S, Esteller-Cucala P, Juan D, Ayub Q, Bautista R, Kelley JL, Cornejo OE, Lao O, Andrés AM, Guschanski K, Ssebide B, Cranfield M, Tyler-Smith C, Xue Y, Prado-Martinez J, Marques-Bonet T, Kuhlwilm M. Ghost admixture in eastern gorillas. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1503-1514. [PMID: 37500909 PMCID: PMC10482688 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02145-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Archaic admixture has had a substantial impact on human evolution with multiple events across different clades, including from extinct hominins such as Neanderthals and Denisovans into modern humans. In great apes, archaic admixture has been identified in chimpanzees and bonobos but the possibility of such events has not been explored in other species. Here, we address this question using high-coverage whole-genome sequences from all four extant gorilla subspecies, including six newly sequenced eastern gorillas from previously unsampled geographic regions. Using approximate Bayesian computation with neural networks to model the demographic history of gorillas, we find a signature of admixture from an archaic 'ghost' lineage into the common ancestor of eastern gorillas but not western gorillas. We infer that up to 3% of the genome of these individuals is introgressed from an archaic lineage that diverged more than 3 million years ago from the common ancestor of all extant gorillas. This introgression event took place before the split of mountain and eastern lowland gorillas, probably more than 40 thousand years ago and may have influenced perception of bitter taste in eastern gorillas. When comparing the introgression landscapes of gorillas, humans and bonobos, we find a consistent depletion of introgressed fragments on the X chromosome across these species. However, depletion in protein-coding content is not detectable in eastern gorillas, possibly as a consequence of stronger genetic drift in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harvinder Pawar
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aigerim Rymbekova
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | | | - Xin Huang
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Marc de Manuel
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tom van der Valk
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Scilifelab, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Irene Lobon
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Marc Haber
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Olga Dolgova
- Integrative Genomics Lab, CIC bioGUNE-Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biociencias, Parque Científico Tecnológico de Bizkaia building 801A, Derio, Spain
| | - Sojung Han
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | | | - David Juan
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Qasim Ayub
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
- Monash University Malaysia Genomics Facility, School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | | | - Joanna L Kelley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Omar E Cornejo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Oscar Lao
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aida M Andrés
- UCL Genetics Institute, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Katerina Guschanski
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Mike Cranfield
- Gorilla Doctors, Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, One Health Institute, University of California Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Yali Xue
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Javier Prado-Martinez
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Tomas Marques-Bonet
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain.
- Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Passeig de Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain.
- CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain.
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Martin Kuhlwilm
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain.
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.
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9
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Robbins MM. Reflections on connections. Primates 2023; 64:191-197. [PMID: 36867278 PMCID: PMC9982802 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01059-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Martha M Robbins
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leizpig, Germany.
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10
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Young C, Robbins MM. Association patterns of female gorillas. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210429. [PMID: 36440560 PMCID: PMC9703218 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions ultimately impact health and fitness in gregarious mammals. However, research focusing on the strength of affiliative interactions has primarily been conducted on female philopatric species. Gorillas provide an interesting counterpoint to previous research as females emigrate multiple times throughout their lives. We compare female-female association strength, duration and consistency in wild mountain (Gorilla beringei beringei) and western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Additionally, we examine whether the alpha male influences female association strength and if these associations are an artefact of both females concurrently in spatial proximity of the alpha male. In this between-species comparison, female gorillas had differentiated association patterns that were consistent on average for 2 years. The alpha males did not influence female association strength, with associations being similar in his presence or absence. Finally, we found more variability in association patterns among mountain gorillas with higher average association scores and higher proportion of 'preferred associates' than western gorillas. The rare dispersal pattern in the Gorilla genus may lead to greater flexibility in female association patterns than in species exhibiting female philopatry and strong kinship bonds. This may echo ancestral human society and provide new evidence to help us understand the evolution of modern human society. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Young
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Martha M. Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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11
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Urinary oxytocin and cortisol concentrations vary by group type in male western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in North American zoos. Primates 2023; 64:65-77. [PMID: 36472720 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-01037-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Evaluating how primates in human care function within their social environment is important for understanding and optimizing their management and welfare. The neuroendocrine hormone oxytocin is associated with affiliation and bonding, suggesting it can be used to evaluate the affiliative nature of social groupings. When paired with cortisol concentrations, social stressors can simultaneously be assessed, providing a more complete picture of primate social environments than if measuring either hormone independently. Here, we measured both oxytocin and cortisol in urine within a large subset of male western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla; n = 71) living in North American zoos. Both endocrine measures were compared between social group types, with an emphasis on comparing bachelor and mixed-sex groupings to understand how these broad management practices affect male gorillas in zoos. Oxytocin concentrations were greater in bachelor group males than mixed-sex group males and singly housed males, providing physiological evidence that males in bachelor groups form comparatively stronger affiliative relationships than males in other group types. Cortisol concentrations did not differ between bachelor and mixed-sex group males and males in both group types had lower cortisol concentrations than singly housed males. These results indicate that males are similarly capable of coping with group-specific social stressors, and single management may expose males to additional stressors for which further study is needed. These data contribute to a larger body of research highlighting the value of bachelor groups from both a population management and individual welfare perspective.
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12
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Morrison RE, Hirwa JP, Ndagijimana F, Vecellio V, Eckardt W, Stoinski TS. Cascading effects of social dynamics on the reproduction, survival, and population growth of mountain gorillas. Anim Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R. E. Morrison
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Kinigi Rwanda
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Department of Psychology University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - J. P. Hirwa
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Kinigi Rwanda
| | - F. Ndagijimana
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Kinigi Rwanda
| | - V. Vecellio
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Kinigi Rwanda
| | - W. Eckardt
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Kinigi Rwanda
| | - T. S. Stoinski
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Kinigi Rwanda
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13
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Robbins AM, Manguette ML, Breuer T, Groenenberg M, Parnell RJ, Stephan C, Stokes EJ, Robbins MM. Population dynamics of western gorillas at Mbeli Bai. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275635. [PMID: 36260834 PMCID: PMC9581538 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-term studies of population dynamics can provide insights into life history theory, population ecology, socioecology, conservation biology and wildlife management. Here we examine 25 years of population dynamics of western gorillas at Mbeli Bai, a swampy forest clearing in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, the Republic of Congo. The Mbeli population more than doubled from 101 to 226 gorillas during the study. After adjusting for a net influx of gorillas into the study population, the increase represents an inherent growth rate of 0.7% per year, with 95% confidence limits between -0.7% and 2.6%. The influx of gorillas mainly involved immigration of individuals into existing study groups (social dispersal), but it also included the appearance of a few previously unknown groups (locational dispersal). The average group size did not change significantly during the study, which is consistent with the possibility that western gorillas face socioecological constraints on group size, even when the population is increasing. We found no significant evidence of density dependence on female reproductive success or male mating competition. The distribution of gorillas among age/sex categories also did not change significantly, which suggests that the population had a stable age structure. Our results provide evidence of population stability or growth for some western gorillas (albeit within a small area). The results highlight the value of law enforcement, long-term monitoring, and protected areas; but they do not diminish the importance of improving conservation for this critically endangered species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M. Robbins
- Wildlife Conservation Society–Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- * E-mail:
| | - Marie L. Manguette
- Wildlife Conservation Society–Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- Division of Developmental Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Richard J. Parnell
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, Bronx, NY, United States of America
| | - Claudia Stephan
- Wildlife Conservation Society–Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
- Division of Developmental Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Emma J. Stokes
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, Bronx, NY, United States of America
| | - Martha M. Robbins
- Wildlife Conservation Society–Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
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14
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Skov L, Peyrégne S, Popli D, Iasi LNM, Devièse T, Slon V, Zavala EI, Hajdinjak M, Sümer AP, Grote S, Bossoms Mesa A, López Herráez D, Nickel B, Nagel S, Richter J, Essel E, Gansauge M, Schmidt A, Korlević P, Comeskey D, Derevianko AP, Kharevich A, Markin SV, Talamo S, Douka K, Krajcarz MT, Roberts RG, Higham T, Viola B, Krivoshapkin AI, Kolobova KA, Kelso J, Meyer M, Pääbo S, Peter BM. Genetic insights into the social organization of Neanderthals. Nature 2022; 610:519-525. [PMID: 36261548 PMCID: PMC9581778 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05283-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Genomic analyses of Neanderthals have previously provided insights into their population history and relationship to modern humans1-8, but the social organization of Neanderthal communities remains poorly understood. Here we present genetic data for 13 Neanderthals from two Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia: 11 from Chagyrskaya Cave9,10 and 2 from Okladnikov Cave11-making this one of the largest genetic studies of a Neanderthal population to date. We used hybridization capture to obtain genome-wide nuclear data, as well as mitochondrial and Y-chromosome sequences. Some Chagyrskaya individuals were closely related, including a father-daughter pair and a pair of second-degree relatives, indicating that at least some of the individuals lived at the same time. Up to one-third of these individuals' genomes had long segments of homozygosity, suggesting that the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals were part of a small community. In addition, the Y-chromosome diversity is an order of magnitude lower than the mitochondrial diversity, a pattern that we found is best explained by female migration between communities. Thus, the genetic data presented here provide a detailed documentation of the social organization of an isolated Neanderthal community at the easternmost extent of their known range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurits Skov
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Stéphane Peyrégne
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Divyaratan Popli
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Leonardo N M Iasi
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thibaut Devièse
- European Centre for Research and Education in Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE), Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Collège de France, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Viviane Slon
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology Sackler, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Elena I Zavala
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mateja Hajdinjak
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Arev P Sümer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Steffi Grote
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alba Bossoms Mesa
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - David López Herráez
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Birgit Nickel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sarah Nagel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Julia Richter
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elena Essel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marie Gansauge
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anna Schmidt
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Petra Korlević
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Daniel Comeskey
- Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Anatoly P Derevianko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Aliona Kharevich
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Sergey V Markin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Forschungsverbund, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maciej T Krajcarz
- Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Richard G Roberts
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Thomas Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Forschungsverbund, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bence Viola
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrey I Krivoshapkin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Kseniya A Kolobova
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Janet Kelso
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Svante Pääbo
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Benjamin M Peter
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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15
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Robbins MM, Ortmann S, Seiler N. Dietary variability of western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271576. [PMID: 36001558 PMCID: PMC9401121 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial and temporal variability in the availability of food resources will lead to variation in a species’ diet, which can then influence patterns of space use, sociality, and life history characteristics. Despite such potential impacts, little information is available about dietary variability for some species with large geographical ranges. Here we quantify the diet and nutritional content of plants consumed by western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Loango National Park, Gabon over a 2.6 year period and make comparisons with two study sites located 800 km away. The major foods consumed by the Loango gorillas differed greatly from the other two study sites, but gorillas at all three locations spent a similar proportion of feeding time consuming herbaceous vegetation and tree leaves (~ 50%) and fruit (35%). The Loango gorillas spent approximately 10% of feeding time eating nuts, which were not consumed at the other two study sites. Gorillas at those sites spent about 5% of feeding time eating insects, which were not consumed by Loango gorillas. Even though the species composition of the diet differed among the three sites, the nutritional composition of the major food items differed very little, suggesting that western gorillas consume foods of similar nutritional values to meet their dietary needs. This study shows the flexibility of diet of a species with a wide geographic distribution, which has implications for understanding variation in life history characteristics and can be useful for conservation management plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha M. Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Sylvia Ortmann
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nicole Seiler
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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16
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Cordoni G, Pirarba L, Elies S, Demuru E, Guéry JP, Norscia I. Adult-adult play in captive lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Primates 2022; 63:225-235. [PMID: 35192080 PMCID: PMC9061689 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-00973-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Among African great apes, play is virtually absent between adult lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Here, we report an extremely rare case of adult-adult play observed in the lowland gorilla group housed at La Vallée de Singes (France). We recorded three playful interactions between the silverback and an adult lactating female. Given the diverse causal and functional nature of play, different factors may join in promoting this behaviour. In our group, contrary to what has been shown by previous studies in wild and captive gorillas, adult females spent more time in spatial proximity with the silverback than with other females. Hence, the probability of social interaction (including play) between silverback and adult females was enhanced. Moreover, the motivation of the lactating female to play might be an effect of oxytocin, a hormone that reaches high concentration levels during lactation and that promotes social affiliation. The fact that play invitations were always performed by the female might support this hypothesis. Certainly, we cannot exclude the possibility that the play event is a group idiosyncrasy or an artefact of captivity, even though the subjects never showed abnormal behaviour. Structurally, play sessions showed a suitable degree of pattern variability and switching frequency from one pattern to another. The proportion of offensive patterns was higher in the female during play and in the male during aggression, which conforms to the role reversal play phenomenon. In conclusion, this report confirms that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. It is likely that under particular physiological or socio-ecological conditions, adult-adult play may be manifested as an "unconventional" part of gorilla social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Cordoni
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, 10123, Torino, Italy.
| | - Luca Pirarba
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, 10123, Torino, Italy
| | | | - Elisa Demuru
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage, CNRS UMR5596, University of Lyon 2, Lyon, France.,Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, CNRS UMR 5292, Inserm UMR S 1028, University of Lyon/Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
| | | | - Ivan Norscia
- Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, 10123, Torino, Italy
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17
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Graham KE, Badihi G, Safryghin A, Grund C, Hobaiter C. A socio-ecological perspective on the gestural communication of great ape species, individuals, and social units. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022; 34:235-259. [PMID: 35529671 PMCID: PMC9067943 DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1988722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Over the last 30 years, most research on non-human primate gestural communication has been produced by psychologists, which has shaped the questions asked and the methods used. These researchers have drawn on concepts from philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, and ethology, but despite these broad influences the field has neglected to situate gestures into the socio-ecological context in which the diverse species, individuals, and social-units exist. In this review, we present current knowledge about great ape gestural communication in terms of repertoires, meanings, and development. We fold this into a conversation about variation in other types of ape social behaviour to identify areas for future research on variation in gestural communication. Given the large variation in socio-ecological factors across species and social-units (and the individuals within these groups), we may expect to find different preferences for specific gesture types; different needs for communicating specific meanings; and different rates of encountering specific contexts. New tools, such as machine-learning based automated movement tracking, may allow us to uncover potential variation in the speed and form of gesture actions or parts of gesture actions. New multi-group multi-generational datasets provide the opportunity to apply analyses, such as Bayesian modelling, which allows us to examine these rich behavioural landscapes. Together, by expanding our questions and our methods, researchers may finally be able to study great ape gestures from the perspective of the apes themselves and explore what this gestural communication system reveals about apes’ thinking and experience of their world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty E. Graham
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Gal Badihi
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Alexandra Safryghin
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Charlotte Grund
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s Quad, South St, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
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18
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Städele V, Arandjelovic M, Nixon S, Bergl RA, Bradley BJ, Breuer T, Cameron KN, Guschanski K, Head J, Kyungu JC, Masi S, Morgan DB, Reed P, Robbins MM, Sanz C, Smith V, Stokes EJ, Thalmann O, Todd A, Vigilant L. The complex Y-chromosomal history of gorillas. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23363. [PMID: 35041228 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Studies of the evolutionary relationships among gorilla populations using autosomal and mitochondrial sequences suggest that male-mediated gene flow may have been important in the past, but data on the Y-chromosomal relationships among the gorilla subspecies are limited. Here, we genotyped blood and noninvasively collected fecal samples from 12 captives and 257 wild male gorillas of known origin representing all four subspecies (Gorilla gorilla gorilla, G. g. diehli, G. beringei beringei, and G. b. graueri) at 10 Y-linked microsatellite loci resulting in 102 unique Y-haplotypes for 224 individuals. We found that western lowland gorilla (G. g. gorilla) haplotypes were consistently more diverse than any other subspecies for all measures of diversity and comprised several genetically distinct groups. However, these did not correspond to geographical proximity and some closely related haplotypes were found several hundred kilometers apart. Similarly, our broad sampling of eastern gorillas revealed that mountain (G. b. beringei) and Grauer's (G. b. graueri) gorilla Y-chromosomal haplotypes did not form distinct clusters. These observations suggest structure in the ancestral population with subsequent mixing of differentiated haplotypes by male dispersal for western lowland gorillas, and postisolation migration or incomplete lineage sorting due to short divergence times for eastern gorillas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Städele
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mimi Arandjelovic
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Evolutionary and Anthropocene Ecology, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stuart Nixon
- Field Programmes and Conservation Science, Chester Zoo, North of England Zoological Society, Chester, UK
| | | | - Brenda J Bradley
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Thomas Breuer
- WWF Germany, Berlin, Germany.,Mbeli Bai Study, Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | | | - Katerina Guschanski
- Department of Ecology and Genetics/Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Josephine Head
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Shelly Masi
- Eco-Anthropologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Musée de l'Homme, Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - David B Morgan
- Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Martha M Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Crickette Sanz
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.,Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | | | - Emma J Stokes
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Olaf Thalmann
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | | | - Linda Vigilant
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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19
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Kunz JA, Duvot GJ, Willems EP, Stickelberger J, Spillmann B, Utami Atmoko SS, van Noordwijk MA, van Schaik CP. The context of sexual coercion in orang-utans: when do male and female mating interests collide? Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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20
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Malalaharivony HS, Kappeler PM, Fichtel C. Infant Development and Maternal Care in Wild Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi). INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00255-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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21
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Southern LM, Deschner T, Pika S. Lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) on gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the wild. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14673. [PMID: 34282175 PMCID: PMC8290027 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93829-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Intraspecies violence, including lethal interactions, is a relatively common phenomenon in mammals. Contrarily, interspecies violence has mainly been investigated in the context of predation and received most research attention in carnivores. Here, we provide the first information of two lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) on another hominid species, western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), that occur sympatrically in the Loango National Park in Gabon. In both events, the chimpanzees significantly outnumbered the gorillas and victims were infant gorillas. We discuss these observations in light of the two most widely accepted theoretical explanations for interspecific lethal violence, predation and competition, and combinations of the two-intraguild predation and interspecific killing. Given these events meet conditions proposed to trigger coalitional killing of neighbours in chimpanzees, we also discuss them in light of chimpanzees' intraspecific interactions and territorial nature. Our findings may spur further research into the complexity of interspecies interactions. In addition, they may aid in combining field data from extant models with the Pliocene hominid fossil record to better understand behavioural adaptations and interspecific killing in the hominin lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara M Southern
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Comparative BioCognition, University of Osnabrück, Artilleriestrasse 34, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Interim Group Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Deschner
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Interim Group Primatology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simone Pika
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Comparative BioCognition, University of Osnabrück, Artilleriestrasse 34, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany.
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22
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Rosenbaum S, Eckardt W, Stoinski TS, Umuhoza R, Kuzawa CW, Santymire RM. Group structure, but not dominance rank, predicts fecal androgen metabolite concentrations of wild male mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23295. [PMID: 34223661 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Androgens are important mediators of male-male competition in many primate species. Male gorillas' morphology is consistent with a reproductive strategy that relies heavily on androgen-dependent traits (e.g., extreme size and muscle mass). Despite possessing characteristics typical of species with an exclusively single-male group structure, multimale groups with strong dominance hierarchies are common in mountain gorillas. Theory predicts that androgens should mediate their dominance hierarchies, and potentially vary with the type of group males live in. We validated the use of a testosterone enzyme immunoassay (T-EIA R156/7, CJ Munro, UC-Davis) for use with mountain gorilla fecal material by (1) examining individual-level androgen responses to competitive events, and (2) isolating assay-specific hormone metabolites via high-performance liquid chromatography. Males had large (2.6- and 6.5-fold), temporary increases in fecal androgen metabolite (FAM) after competitive events, and most captured metabolites were testosterone or 5α-dihydrotestosterone-like androgens. We then examined the relationship between males' dominance ranks, group type, and FAM concentrations. Males in single-male groups had higher FAM concentrations than males in multimale groups, and a small pool of samples from solitary males suggested they may have lower FAM than group-living peers. However, data from two different time periods (n = 1610 samples) indicated there was no clear relationship between rank and FAM concentrations, confirming results from the larger of two prior studies that measured urinary androgens. These findings highlight the need for additional research to clarify the surprising lack of a dominance hierarchy/androgen relationship in mountain gorillas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Rosenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Winnie Eckardt
- Karisoke Research Center, Musanze, Rwanda.,The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | | | | | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.,Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Rachel M Santymire
- Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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23
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Masi S, Austerlitz F, Chabaud C, Lafosse S, Marchi N, Georges M, Dessarps‐Freichey F, Miglietta S, Sotto‐Mayor A, Galli AS, Meulman E, Pouydebat E, Krief S, Todd A, Fuh T, Breuer T, Ségurel L. No evidence for female kin association, indications for extragroup paternity, and sex-biased dispersal patterns in wild western gorillas. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7634-7646. [PMID: 34188840 PMCID: PMC8216920 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterizing animal dispersal patterns and the rational behind individuals' transfer choices is a long-standing question of interest in evolutionary biology. In wild western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), a one-male polygynous species, previous genetic findings suggested that, when dispersing, females might favor groups with female kin to promote cooperation, resulting in higher-than-expected within-group female relatedness. The extent of male dispersal remains unclear with studies showing conflicting results. To investigate male and female dispersal patterns and extragroup paternity, we analyzed long-term field observations, including female spatial proximity data, together with genetic data (10 autosomal microsatellites) on individuals from a unique set of four habituated western gorilla groups, and four additional extragroup males (49 individuals in total). The majority of offspring (25 of 27) were sired by the group male. For two offspring, evidence for extragroup paternity was found. Contrarily to previous findings, adult females were not significantly more related within groups than across groups. Consistently, adult female relatedness within groups did not correlate with their spatial proximity inferred from behavioral data. Adult females were similarly related to adult males from their group than from other groups. Using R ST statistics, we found significant genetic structure and a pattern of isolation by distance, indicating limited dispersal in this species. Comparing relatedness among females and among males revealed that males disperse farer than females, as expected in a polygamous species. Our study on habituated western gorillas shed light on the dispersal dynamics and reproductive behavior of this polygynous species and challenge some of the previous results based on unhabituated groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Masi
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Frédéric Austerlitz
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Chloé Chabaud
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Department of BiologyEcole normale supérieurePSL University ParisParisFrance
| | - Sophie Lafosse
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Nina Marchi
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Present address:
CMPGInstitute for Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BerneBerneSwitzerland
| | - Myriam Georges
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Present address:
UMS2700 2AD ‐ Acquisition et Analyse de Données pour l'Histoire naturelleConcarneauFrance
| | - Françoise Dessarps‐Freichey
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Silvia Miglietta
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Andrea Sotto‐Mayor
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Aurore San Galli
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Ellen Meulman
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | | | - Sabrina Krief
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
| | - Angelique Todd
- Dzanga‐Sangha Protected AreasWorld Wide Fund for NatureBanguiCentral African Republic
- Present address:
Fauna & Flora InternationalCambridgeUK
| | - Terence Fuh
- Dzanga‐Sangha Protected AreasWorld Wide Fund for NatureBanguiCentral African Republic
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Wildlife Conservation SocietyGlobal Conservation ProgramBronxNYUSA
- Present address:
World Wide Fund for Nature –GermanyBerlinGermany
| | - Laure Ségurel
- UMR7206 Eco‐anthropologieMuséum national d’Histoire naturelleCNRSUniversité de Paris; Musée de l'HommeParisFrance
- Present address:
Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie EvolutiveCNRS ‐ Université de LyonVilleurbanneFrance
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Leeds A, Boyer D, Ross SR, Lukas KE. Patterns of wounding in mixed-sex social groups of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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25
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Amusa C, Rothman J, Odongo S, Matovu H, Ssebugere P, Baranga D, Sillanpää M. The endangered African Great Ape: Pesticide residues in soil and plants consumed by Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, East Africa. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 758:143692. [PMID: 33272601 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park situated southwest of Uganda is a biodiversity hotspot that is home to about half of the world's endangered mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei). Given its ecological significance and mounting pressures from agricultural activities such as tea growing, continuous monitoring of the levels of chemical toxins like pesticides in the park and surrounding areas is needed for effective conservation strategies. Furthermore, persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) like DDT were used in agricultural gardens and indoor spraying in Kanungu district between the 1950s and 80s. The focus of this study was to explore the possible exposure of mountain gorillas to OCPs and cypermethrin used by the farmers in the areas near the park. Data from our interviews revealed that glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide by the farmers in areas surrounding the park, followed by cypermethrin, and mancozeb. Samples of leaves from plants consumed by mountain gorillas along the forest edges of the park and surficial soils (15-20 cm depths) were collected from three sites (Ruhija, Nkuringo and Buhoma) and analysed for the presence of cypermethrin and OCPs residues. Concentrations of total (∑) DDTs and ∑endosulfans were up to 0.34 and 9.89 mg/kg dry weight (d.w), respectively in soil samples. Concentrations of ∑DDTs and ∑endosulfans in samples of leaves ranged from 0.67 to 1.38 mg/kg d.w (mean = 1.07 mg/kg d.w) and 0.9 to 2.71 mg/kg d.w (mean = 1.68 mg/kg d.w), respectively. Mean concentration of ∑DDTs in leaves exceeded the European pharmacopeia and United States pharmacopeia recommended maximum residue limit values for DDTs in medicinal plants (1.0 mg/kg). In addition, calculated hazard indices for silverbacks (36.35), females (57.54) and juveniles (77.04) suggested potential health risks to the mountain gorillas. o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT ratios (0.5-0.63) in samples of leaves confirmed recent input of dicofol-DDT type in Bwindi rainforest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chemonges Amusa
- Department of Chemistry, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda; Uganda Wildlife Authority and Primate Conservation, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Jessica Rothman
- Department of Anthropology, and New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Silver Odongo
- Department of Chemistry, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Henry Matovu
- Department of Chemistry, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda; Department of Chemistry, Gulu University, P. O Box 166, Gulu, Uganda
| | - Patrick Ssebugere
- Department of Chemistry, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
| | - Deborah Baranga
- Department of Zoology, Makerere University, P. O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Mika Sillanpää
- Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam; Faculty of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam; Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa
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26
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Watson SK, Heesen R, Hedwig D, Robbins MM, Townsend SW. An exploration of Menzerath's law in wild mountain gorilla vocal sequences. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200380. [PMID: 33050832 PMCID: PMC7655478 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Menzerath's law, traditionally framed as a negative relationship between the size of a structure and its constituent parts (e.g. sentences with more clauses have shorter clauses), is widespread across information-coding systems ranging from human language and the vocal and gestural sequences of primates and birds, to the building blocks of DNA, genes and proteins. Here, we analysed an extensive dataset of 'close-call' sequences produced by wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei, no. individuals = 10, no. sequences = 2189) to determine whether, in accordance with Menzerath's law, a negative relationship existed between the number of vocal units in a sequence and the duration of its constituent units. We initially found positive evidence for this but, on closer inspection, the negative relationship was driven entirely by the difference between single- and multi-unit (two to six unit) sequences. Once single-unit sequences were excluded from the analysis, we identified a relationship in the opposite direction, with longer sequences generally composed of longer units. The close-call sequences of mountain gorillas therefore represent an intriguing example of a non-human vocal system that only partially conforms to the predictions of Menzerath's law.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K. Watson
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Daniela Hedwig
- Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Itaca, NY, USA
| | - Martha M. Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simon W. Townsend
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK
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27
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Effects of Female Group Size on the Number of Males in Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) Groups. INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00174-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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28
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Seiler N, Robbins MM. Ecological correlates of space use patterns in wild western lowland gorillas. Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23168. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2019] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Seiler
- Department of Primatology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Martha M. Robbins
- Department of Primatology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
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29
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Female dispersal patterns influenced by male tenure duration and group size in western lowland gorillas. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02863-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Evaluating the factors influencing the patterns of female dispersal in mammals is critical to understanding its importance for male and female reproductive strategies and the evolution of social systems. In western lowland gorillas, females emigrate from their natal group (natal dispersal) but also disperse between groups multiple times in their life (secondary dispersal). This strategy is uncommon in primates and may reflect females seeking to reduce feeding competition or female choice for males that can provide protection against infanticide. In this study, we test how inbreeding avoidance, group size, and male competitive ability could influence female dispersal in western gorillas, using 25 natal and 285 secondary dispersal events collected over 20 years at Mbeli Bai. We found that while all females dispersed out of their natal group, presumably to avoid inbreeding, females also left their group before having their first offspring when the dominant male was not their father, pointing towards unconditional dispersal by nulliparous females. Regarding secondary dispersal, we found that females were more likely to stay with males that were at the beginning of their tenure than transfer and more likely to disperse away from (presumably old) males that were near the end of their tenure or closer to their death. Females were also more likely to leave larger groups for smaller ones suggesting a potential effect of within-group feeding competition or avoidance of outsider males or predators. This study highlights the intersexual conflict found in gorillas: while female choice for high-quality males may influence the formation of their relatively rare social system, smaller group size may be more important for females than previously thought, which runs counter to the males’ interest of having a high number of females.
Significance
Dispersal is a very important life strategy for most group-living mammals. Secondary dispersal by females is a rare behavior but is believed to be a counterstrategy against sexual coercion by males, reduces feeding competition, assists in predator avoidance, and facilitates mate choice. We studied the factors influencing secondary dispersal in western lowland gorillas. We found that the duration of male tenure and the size of the group influences female transfer decisions. This study shows that female reproductive strategies such as secondary dispersal may be very powerful to counter the risk of infanticide through female choice for better protector males but also to reduce the impact of feeding competition or to avoid predators or outsider males.
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Wright E, Galbany J, McFarlin SC, Ndayishimiye E, Stoinski TS, Robbins MM. Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233235. [PMID: 32492071 PMCID: PMC7269200 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
According to life history theory, natural selection has shaped trade-offs for allocating energy among growth, reproduction and maintenance to maximize individual fitness. In social mammals body size and dominance rank are two key variables believed to influence female reproductive success. However, few studies have examined these variables together, particularly in long-lived species. Previous studies found that female dominance rank correlates with reproductive success in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which is surprising given they have weak dominance relationships and experience seemingly low levels of feeding competition. It is not currently known whether this relationship is primarily driven by a positive correlation between rank and body size. We used the non-invasive parallel laser method to measure two body size variables (back breadth and body length) of 34 wild adult female mountain gorillas, together with long-term dominance and demography data to investigate the interrelationships among body size, dominance rank and two measures of female reproductive success (inter-birth interval N = 29 and infant mortality N = 64). Using linear mixed models, we found no support for body size to be significantly correlated with dominance rank or female reproductive success. Higher-ranking females had significantly shorter inter-birth intervals than lower-ranking ones, but dominance rank was not significantly correlated with infant mortality. Our results suggest that female dominance rank is primarily determined by factors other than linear body dimensions and that high rank provides benefits even in species with weak dominance relationships and abundant year-round food resources. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms behind heterogeneity in female body size in relation to trade-offs in allocating energy to growth, maintenance and lifetime reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Wright
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Jordi Galbany
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Shannon C. McFarlin
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
| | - Eric Ndayishimiye
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Tara S. Stoinski
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Martha M. Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Ostrofsky KR, Robbins MM. Fruit-feeding and activity patterns of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:3-20. [PMID: 32274796 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Availability of fruit is an important factor influencing variation in great ape foraging strategies and activity patterns. This study aims to quantify how frugivory influences activity budgets across age-sex classes of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. MATERIALS AND METHODS Daily proportions of fruit-feeding and activity budgets were calculated using 6 years of observational data on four habituated groups. We fitted generalized linear mixed models to test for age-sex differences in the amount of fruit-feeding, and to test whether these factors influence the proportion of time spent feeding, resting, and traveling. RESULTS Bwindi mountain gorillas spent on average 15% of feeding time consuming fruit, with monthly variation ranging from 0 to 70%. Greater amounts of fruit-feeding were associated with more time feeding and traveling, and less time resting. Immatures tended to spend more feeding time on fruit than adults, but less overall time feeding and more time traveling. There were no significant differences in the amount of fruit-feeding and overall feeding time between adult females and silverback males, despite differences in body size. DISCUSSION This study confirms that gorillas are frugivorous, and only the Virunga mountain gorilla population can be characterized as highly folivorous. Along with other frugivorous great apes, Bwindi mountain gorillas alter their activity patterns in response to varying amounts of fruit in their diet. A better understanding of how variable ecological conditions can drive diversity even within a subspecies has important implications for understanding relationships between ecology, body size, and foraging strategies in great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly R Ostrofsky
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Martha M Robbins
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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32
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Furuichi T. Variation in Intergroup Relationships Among Species and Among and Within Local Populations of African Apes. INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00134-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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33
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Fatica LM, Almécija S, McFarlin SC, Hammond AS. Pelvic shape variation among gorilla subspecies: Phylogenetic and ecological signals. J Hum Evol 2019; 137:102684. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Faster growth corresponds with shallower linear hypoplastic defects in great ape canines. J Hum Evol 2019; 137:102691. [PMID: 31704354 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Deeper or more 'severe' linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) defects are hypothesized to reflect more severe stress during development, but it is not yet clear how depth is influenced by intrinsic enamel growth patterns. Recent work documented inter- and intraspecific differences in LEH defect depth in extant great apes, with mountain gorillas having shallower defects than other taxa, and females having deeper defects than males. Here, we assess the correspondence of inter- and intraspecific defect depth and intrinsic aspects of enamel growth: enamel extension rates, outer enamel striae of Retzius angles, and linear enamel thickness. Thin sections of great ape canines (n = 40) from Gorilla beringei beringei, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, and Pongo spp. were analyzed. Enamel extension rates were calculated within deciles of enamel-dentine junction length. Linear enamel thickness and the angle of intersection between striae of Retzius and the outer enamel surface were measured in the imbricational enamel. Mountain gorillas have faster enamel extension rates and shallower striae angles than the other taxa examined. Mountain gorillas have thinner imbricational enamel than western lowland gorillas and orangutans, but not chimpanzees. In the combined-taxon sample, females exhibit larger striae angles and thicker imbricational enamel than males. Enamel extension rates are highly negatively correlated with striae angles and LEH defect depth. Enamel growth variation corresponds with documented inter- and intraspecific differences in LEH defect depth in great ape canines. Mountain gorillas have shallower striae angles and faster extension rates than other taxa, which might explain their shallow LEH defect morphology and the underestimation of their LEH prevalence in previous studies. These results suggest that stressors of similar magnitude and timing might produce defects of different depths in one species or sex vs. another, which has implications for interpretations of stress histories in hominins with variable enamel growth patterns.
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Lee SM, Murray CM, Lonsdorf EV, Fruth B, Stanton MA, Nichols J, Hohmann G. Wild bonobo and chimpanzee females exhibit broadly similar patterns of behavioral maturation but some evidence for divergence. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 171:100-109. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sean M. Lee
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of AnthropologyGeorge Washington University Washington District of Columbia
| | - Carson M. Murray
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of AnthropologyGeorge Washington University Washington District of Columbia
| | | | - Barbara Fruth
- Faculty of Science, School of Natural Sciences and PsychologyLiverpool John Moores University Liverpool United Kingdom
- Centre for Research and ConservationRoyal Zoological Society of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
| | - Margaret A. Stanton
- Department of PsychologyFranklin and Marshall College Lancaster Pennsylvania
| | - Jennifer Nichols
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of AnthropologyGeorge Washington University Washington District of Columbia
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36
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Intersexual conflict influences female reproductive success in a female-dispersing primate. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2727-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn group-living mammals, individual efforts to maximize reproductive success result in conflicts and compromises between the sexes. Females utilize counterstrategies to minimize the costs of sexual coercion by males, but few studies have examined the effect of such behaviors on female reproductive success. Secondary dispersal by females is rare among group-living mammals, but in western gorillas, it is believed to be a mate choice strategy to minimize infanticide risk and infant mortality. Previous research suggested that females choose males that are good protectors. However, how much female reproductive success varies depending on male competitive ability and whether female secondary dispersal leads to reproductive costs or benefits has not been examined. We used data on 100 females and 229 infants in 36 breeding groups from a 20-year long-term study of wild western lowland gorillas to investigate whether male tenure duration and female transfer rate had an effect on interbirth interval, female birth rates, and offspring mortality. We found that offspring mortality was higher near the end of males’ tenures, even after excluding potential infanticide when those males died, suggesting that females suffer a reproductive cost by being with males nearing the end of their tenures. Females experience a delay in breeding when they dispersed, having a notable effect on birth rates of surviving offspring per female if females transfer multiple times in their lives. This study exemplifies that female counterstrategies to mitigate the effects of male-male competition and sexual coercion may not be sufficient to overcome the negative consequences of male behavior.SignificanceIndividual reproductive success is maximized through conflicts and compromises between the sexes in social mammals. In species with high dimorphism, females can experience sexual coercion by males and develop counterstrategies to reduce these costs. We studied this link in western lowland gorillas, which exhibit female secondary dispersal, a strategy that is believed to reflect female choice for the protective abilities of males. We found that females are faced with the dilemma of staying with a silverback at the end of his tenure and risk higher infant mortality versus dispersing and suffering reproductive delays and lower birth rates. This study shows that female reproductive strategies, namely dispersal, used to counter the effects of sexual coercion by males are not sufficient to overcome the negative consequences of male behavior.
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Lodwick JL, Salmi R. Nutritional composition of the diet of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla): Interspecific variation in diet quality. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e23044. [PMID: 31463957 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
To meet nutritional needs, primates adjust their diets in response to local habitat differences, though whether these dietary modifications translate to changes in dietary nutrient intake is unknown. A previous study of two populations of the mountain gorilla (MG: Gorilla beringei) found no evidence for intraspecific variation in the nutrient composition of their diets, despite ecological and dietary differences between sites. One potential explanation is that nutritional variability in primate diets requires greater ecological divergence than what was captured between MG sites, underpinning environmental differences in the nutrient quality of plant foods. To test whether Gorilla exhibits interspecific variation in dietary composition and nutrient intake, we studied the composition and macronutrients of the western gorilla (WG: Gorilla gorilla) staple diets and compared them with published data from the two MG populations. We recorded feeding time and food intake of four adult female WGs from one habituated group over a period of 11 months (December 2004-October 2005) at the Mondika Research Center, Republic of Congo, allowing for assessment of seasonal patterns of nutrient intake. Staple diets of WGs and MGs diverged in their dietary and macronutrient composition. Compared to MGs, the staple diet of WGs (by intake) contained higher proportions of fruit (43%) and leaf (12%) and a lower proportion of herb (39%), resulting in a higher intake of total nonstructural carbohydrate and fiber and a lower intake of crude protein. Staple gorilla fruits and herbs differed in nutrient quality between sites. Gorillas exhibit nutritional flexibility that reflects ecological variation in the nutrient quality of plant foods. Since dietary quality typically affects rates of growth and reproduction in primates, our results suggest that interspecific differences in nutrient intake and food quality may shape differences in gorilla nutrient balancing and female life history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Lodwick
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
| | - Roberta Salmi
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.,Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
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Hagemann L, Arandjelovic M, Robbins MM, Deschner T, Lewis M, Froese G, Boesch C, Vigilant L. Long-term inference of population size and habitat use in a socially dynamic population of wild western lowland gorillas. CONSERV GENET 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-019-01209-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Gesture Use in Communication between Mothers and Offspring in Wild Orang-Utans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) from the Sabangau Peat-Swamp Forest, Borneo. INT J PRIMATOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-019-00095-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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Wright E, Galbany J, McFarlin SC, Ndayishimiye E, Stoinski TS, Robbins MM. Male body size, dominance rank and strategic use of aggression in a group-living mammal. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Dispersal and reproductive careers of male mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Primates 2019; 60:133-142. [PMID: 30847670 PMCID: PMC6428796 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00718-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/10/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal is a key event in the life of an animal and it influences individual reproductive success. Male mountain gorillas exhibit both philopatry and dispersal, resulting in a mixed one-male and multimale social organization. However, little is known about the relationship between male dispersal or philopatry and reproductive careers in Bwindi mountain gorillas. Here we analyze data spanning from 1993 to 2017 on social groups in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda to examine the proportion of males that disperse, age of dispersal, pathways to attaining alpha status, fate of dispersing males and philopatric males, and male tenure length as well as make comparisons of these variables to the Virunga mountain gorilla population. We report previously undocumented cases of dispersal by immature males and old males and we also observed the only known case of a fully mature male immigrating into a breeding group. We used genetic tracking of known individuals to estimate that a minimum of 25% of males that disperse to become solitary males eventually form new groups. No differences were found between the Bwindi and Virunga population in the age of male dispersal, the proportion of males that disperse, the age of alpha male acquisition, and dominance tenure length. The lack of differences may be due to small sample sizes or because the observed ecological variability does not lead to life history differences between the populations. Males in both populations follow variable strategies to attain alpha status leading to the variable one-male and multimale social organization, including dispersal to become solitary and eventually form a group, via group fissioning, usurping another alpha male, or inheriting the alpha position when a previous group leader dies.
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