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Mörchen J, Luhn F, Wassmer O, Kunz JA, Kulik L, van Noordwijk MA, Rianti P, Rahmaeti T, Utami Atmoko SS, Widdig A, Schuppli C. Orangutan males make increased use of social learning opportunities, when resource availability is high. iScience 2024; 27:108940. [PMID: 38333693 PMCID: PMC10850741 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans' colonization of diverse habitats relied on our ancestors' abilities to innovate and share innovations with others. While ecological impacts on innovations are well studied, their effect on social learning remains poorly understood. We examined how food availability affects social learning in migrant orangutan unflanged males, who may learn from local orangutans through peering (i.e., observational social learning). We analyzed 1,384 dyadic associations, including 360 peering events, among 46 wild Sumatran orangutan and 25 Bornean orangutan males, collected over 18 years. Migrants' peering rates significantly increased with higher food availability and time spent in proximity to others. Furthermore, migrants in the more sociable Sumatran population exhibited significantly higher peering rates compared to the Borneans, suggesting intrinsic and/or developmental effects of food availability on social learning. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating ecological effects on social learning on the immediate, developmental, and intrinsic levels for our understanding of cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Mörchen
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Primate Behaviour and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Frances Luhn
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Olivia Wassmer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Julia A. Kunz
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Lars Kulik
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maria A. van Noordwijk
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Comparative Socioecology, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Puji Rianti
- Primate Research Center, Institute of Research and Community Service, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
- Animal Biosystematics and Ecology Division, Department of Biology, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
| | - Tri Rahmaeti
- Department of Biology, Graduate Program, Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta 12520, Indonesia
| | - Sri Suci Utami Atmoko
- Department of Biology, Graduate Program, Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta 12520, Indonesia
| | - Anja Widdig
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Primate Behaviour and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Caroline Schuppli
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Erb WM, Barrow EJ, Hofner AN, Lecorchick JL, Mitra Setia T, Vogel ER. Wildfire smoke linked to vocal changes in wild Bornean orangutans. iScience 2023; 26:107088. [PMID: 37456857 PMCID: PMC10339020 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Tropical peatlands are the sites of Earth's largest fire events, with outsized contributions to greenhouse gases, toxic smoke, and haze rich with particulate matter. The human health risks from wildfire smoke are well known, but its effects on wildlife inhabiting these ecosystems are poorly understood. In 2015, peatland fires on Borneo created a thick haze of smoke that blanketed the region. We studied its effects on the long call vocalizations of four adult male Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) in a peat swamp forest. During the period of heavy smoke, orangutans called less often and showed reduced vocal quality-lower pitch, increased harshness and perturbations, and more nonlinear phenomena-similar to changes in human smokers. Most of these changes persisted for two months after the smoke had cleared and likely signal changes in health. Our work contributes valuable information to support non-invasive acoustic monitoring of this Critically Endangered primate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy M. Erb
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Barrow
- Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
- Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program, West Kalimantan, Ketapang 78811, Indonesia
| | - Alexandra N. Hofner
- Department of Integrative Conservation, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jessica L. Lecorchick
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Tatang Mitra Setia
- Fakultas Biologi, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta 12520, Indonesia
- Primate Research Center, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta 12520, Indonesia
| | - Erin R. Vogel
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
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Preuschoft S, Marshall AJ, Scott L, Badriyah SN, Purba MDT, Yuliani E, Corbi P, Yassir I, Wibawanto MA, Kalcher-Sommersguter E. The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2111. [PMID: 37443909 DOI: 10.3390/ani13132111] [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: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
For critically endangered species, restorative conservation becomes increasingly important. Successful re-introduction of rescued wild orangutan orphans requires rehabilitation mimicking maternal rearing in the wild. Feeding competence-what to eat, where and when to find food-needs to be learned before re-introduction. We observed seven orphans (2-10 years old) for a period of 3 years during their rehabilitation at the Yayasan Jejak Pulang forest school. Of the 111 plant genera eaten by the orphans, 92 percent were known orangutan food plants. Five plant genera were eaten by all orphans in over 90 percent of the months within the observation period. The Fruit Availability Index (FAI) was used to predict which parts of a plant were consumed by the orphans. We found that the orphans ate primarily fruit when the FAI was high, but consumed more young leaves, cambium, and pith when FAI was low. Thus, the orphans exhibited food choices very similar to mature wild orangutans and appropriate to forest productivity. The orphans' acquisition of feeding competence was facilitated by their immersion into a natural forest environment in combination with possibilities for observational learning from conspecifics as well as caregivers modelling food processing and consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Signe Preuschoft
- Ape Protection Unit, Four Paws, 22767 Hamburg, Germany
- Yayasan Jejak Pulang, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Andrew J Marshall
- Department of Anthropology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Program in the Environment, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Lorna Scott
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37083 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | | | - Erma Yuliani
- Yayasan Jejak Pulang, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Paloma Corbi
- Ape Protection Unit, Four Paws, 22767 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ishak Yassir
- BPSILHK, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - M Ari Wibawanto
- BKSDA Kalimantan Timur, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Samarinda 75243, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter
- Ape Protection Unit, Four Paws International, 1150 Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
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Widyastuti K, Reuillon R, Chapron P, Abdussalam W, Nasir D, Harrison ME, Morrogh-Bernard H, Imron MA, Berger U. Assessing the impact of forest structure disturbances on the arboreal movement and energetics of orangutans—An agent-based modeling approach. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.983337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Agent-based models have been developed and widely employed to assess the impact of disturbances or conservation management on animal habitat use, population development, and viability. However, the direct impacts of canopy disturbance on the arboreal movement of individual primates have been less studied. Such impacts could shed light on the cascading effects of disturbances on animal health and fitness. Orangutans are an arboreal primate that commonly encounters habitat quality deterioration due to land-use changes and related disturbances such as forest fires. Forest disturbance may, therefore, create a complex stress scenario threatening orangutan populations. Due to forest disturbances, orangutans may adapt to employ more terrestrial, as opposed to arboreal, movements potentially prolonging the search for fruiting and nesting trees. In turn, this may lead to changes in daily activity patterns (i.e., time spent traveling, feeding, and resting) and available energy budget, potentially decreasing the orangutan's fitness. We developed the agent-based simulation model BORNEO (arBOReal aNimal movEment mOdel), which explicitly describes both orangutans' arboreal and terrestrial movement in a forest habitat, depending on distances between trees and canopy structures. Orangutans in the model perform activities with a motivation to balance energy intake and expenditure through locomotion. We tested the model using forest inventory data obtained in Sebangau National Park, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. This allowed us to construct virtual forests with real characteristics including tree connectivity, thus creating the potential to expand the environmental settings for simulation experiments. In order to parameterize the energy related processes of the orangutans described in the model, we applied a computationally intensive evolutionary algorithm and evaluated the simulation results against observed behavioral patterns of orangutans. Both the simulated variability and proportion of activity budgets including feeding, resting, and traveling time for female and male orangutans confirmed the suitability of the model for its purpose. We used the calibrated model to compare the activity patterns and energy budgets of orangutans in both natural and disturbed forests . The results confirm field observations that orangutans in the disturbed forest are more likely to experience deficit energy balance due to traveling to the detriment of feeding time. Such imbalance is more pronounced in males than in females. The finding of a threshold of forest disturbances that affects a significant change in activity and energy budgets suggests potential threats to the orangutan population. Our study introduces the first agent-based model describing the arboreal movement of primates that can serve as a tool to investigate the direct impact of forest changes and disturbances on the behavior of species such as orangutans. Moreover, it demonstrates the suitability of high-performance computing to optimize the calibration of complex agent-based models describing animal behavior at a fine spatio-temporal scale (1-m and 1-s granularity).
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