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Testard C, Shergold C, Acevedo-Ithier A, Hart J, Bernau A, Negron-Del Valle JE, Phillips D, Watowich MM, Sanguinetti-Scheck JI, Montague MJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP, Platt ML, Brent LJN. Ecological disturbance alters the adaptive benefits of social ties. Science 2024; 384:1330-1335. [PMID: 38900867 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk0606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Extreme weather events radically alter ecosystems. When ecological damage persists, selective pressures on individuals can change, leading to phenotypic adjustments. For group-living animals, social relationships may be a mechanism enabling adaptation to ecosystem disturbance. Yet whether such events alter selection on sociality and whether group-living animals can, as a result, adaptively change their social relationships remain untested. We leveraged 10 years of data collected on rhesus macaques before and after a category 4 hurricane caused persistent deforestation, exacerbating monkeys' exposure to intense heat. In response, macaques demonstrated persistently increased tolerance and decreased aggression toward other monkeys, facilitating access to scarce shade critical for thermoregulation. Social tolerance predicted individual survival after the hurricane, but not before it, revealing a shift in the adaptive function of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - C Shergold
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - J Hart
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - A Bernau
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - J E Negron-Del Valle
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - D Phillips
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - M M Watowich
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - J I Sanguinetti-Scheck
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - M J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - N Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - J P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY, USA
| | - M L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Marketing Department, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - L J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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2
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Berman CM. Monkey business: A girl's once strange dream. Primates 2022; 63:463-481. [PMID: 35925423 PMCID: PMC9362339 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-01000-5] [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: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
For close to 50 years, my research has focused on social relationships and social structure, particularly in macaques, and has been marked by a gradual broadening of scope. Supported by open-minded parents, I followed a once unconventional path into field primatology largely by ignoring distinct gender-based ideas about appropriate occupations for women that were prevalent when I was a child. Later, as Robert Hinde’s PhD advisee, I benefited enormously from his mentoring and from the transformative experience he provided. I began by examining infant social development in free-ranging rhesus monkeys and the integration of infants into the kinship and dominance structures of their groups. I gradually branched out to look at (1) kinship and dominance in additional age classes and macaque species, (2) additional aspects of social structure (reciprocity, agonistic support, tolerance, cooperation, conflict management), (3) mechanisms and organizing principles (e.g., attraction to kin and high rank, intergenerational transmission, demography, reciprocity, social style, time constraints) and (4) evolutionary underpinnings of social relationships and structure (e.g., parental investment, kin selection, socioecology, phylogeny, biological markets). For much of this journey, I have been accompanied by talented PhD students who have enriched my experience and whom I am now proud to call colleagues and friends. It is gratifying to realize that my career choice is no longer considered as unconventional as it once was.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol M Berman
- Department of Anthropology, Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14261, USA.
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4
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Preston EFR, Thompson FJ, Kyabulima S, Croft DP, Cant MA. The dynamics of social cohesion in response to simulated intergroup conflict in banded mongooses. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:18662-18675. [PMID: 35003700 PMCID: PMC8717285 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergroup conflict is widespread in nature and is proposed to have strong impacts on the evolution of social behavior. The conflict-cohesion hypothesis predicts that exposure to intergroup conflict should lead to increased social cohesion to improve group success or resilience in future conflicts. There is evidence to support this prediction from studies of affiliative responses to outgroup threats in some animal societies. However, most of these studies have focused on behavioral changes over short time periods (minutes and hours after exposure to an outgroup), and hence very little is known about the dynamics and durability of responses to intergroup conflict over the longer term. We investigated this question by simulating intergroup encounters in wild banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) and measuring social behavior before, during, and after these encounters over a 5-day period. We also ran control trials with non-threatening stimuli. Banded mongooses reacted immediately to intrusion stimuli by vocalizing, grouping together, and advancing on the stimulus. In the first 5 min after simulated intrusions, we saw an elevation in grooming levels, but in the hour after exposure grooming rates declined sharply, contrary to our expectation. In the two subsequent days, grooming rates remained at this depressed rate. In control trials, the initial increase in grooming was not seen, but grooming declined compared to the longer-term time periods. Grooming changed across time, but not in the same pattern as during intrusions, suggesting that intrusions had an impact above and beyond that of the experimental setup. The dynamics of grooming responses were short lived and more complex than we initially expected. We suggest this unexpected result may be linked to the frequency of aggressive intergroup encounters in this system. As control and experimental trials were run at different times of year, future work would be needed to confirm that these relative patterns are replicable. Our results indicate short-lived impacts of outgroup threat on measures of social cohesion in this species, but cannot confirm longer-term changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth F. R. Preston
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationCollege of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Faye J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationCollege of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | | | - Darren P. Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal BehaviourCollege of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Michael A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationCollege of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- Institute for Advanced StudyBerlinGermany
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5
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Xia W, Grueter CC, Ren B, Zhang D, Yuan X, Li D. Determinants of Harem Size in a Polygynous Primate: Reproductive Success and Social Benefits. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11102915. [PMID: 34679936 PMCID: PMC8532613 DOI: 10.3390/ani11102915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We used long-term data on the variation in harem size in Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys to research the effects of harem size on reproductive success and the ratio of grooming received to given (RGRG). The results suggest that harem holders derive reproductive benefits commensurate with harem size, whereas the females' reproductive success is unaffected by harem size. Males of larger harems groomed less and had higher RGRG than males of smaller harems. In the case of females, grooming given increased, and RGRG decreased with an increase in harem size. The males' reproductive success seems to be a driver of harem size maximization. From the females' perspective, dwindling social benefits appear to set the upper limit for harem enlargement. We also showed that males of monogamous units ('single-female harems') invested more into grooming their female, presumably to prevent unit disintegration and loss of mating privileges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wancai Xia
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China;
- Institute of Rare Animals and Plants, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China
| | - Cyril C. Grueter
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia;
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
| | - Baoping Ren
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
| | - Dejun Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, China; (D.Z.); (X.Y.)
| | - Xiaoxia Yuan
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, China; (D.Z.); (X.Y.)
| | - Dayong Li
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China;
- Institute of Rare Animals and Plants, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China
- Correspondence:
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Testard C, Larson SM, Watowich MM, Kaplinsky CH, Bernau A, Faulder M, Marshall HH, Lehmann J, Ruiz-Lambides A, Higham JP, Montague MJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Platt ML, Brent LJN. Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2299-2309.e7. [PMID: 33836140 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Understanding resilience and vulnerability to these intense stressors and their aftermath could reveal adaptations to extreme environmental change. In 2017, Puerto Rico suffered its worst natural disaster, Hurricane Maria, which left 3,000 dead and provoked a mental health crisis. Cayo Santiago island, home to a population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), was devastated by the same storm. We compared social networks of two groups of macaques before and after the hurricane and found an increase in affiliative social connections, driven largely by monkeys most socially isolated before Hurricane Maria. Further analysis revealed monkeys invested in building new relationships rather than strengthening existing ones. Social adaptations to environmental instability might predispose rhesus macaques to success in rapidly changing anthropogenic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Sam M Larson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Cassandre H Kaplinsky
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, Roehampton, UK
| | - Antonia Bernau
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Matthew Faulder
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Harry H Marshall
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Julia Lehmann
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Carribean Primate Research Center-Cayo Santiago, University of Puerto Rico, Cayo Santiago Island, Puerto Rico
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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7
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Mielke A, Bruchmann C, Schülke O, Ostner J. Grooming interventions in female rhesus macaques as social niche construction. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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8
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Balasubramaniam KN, Marty PR, Samartino S, Sobrino A, Gill T, Ismail M, Saha R, Beisner BA, Kaburu SSK, Bliss-Moreau E, Arlet ME, Ruppert N, Ismail A, Sah SAM, Mohan L, Rattan SK, Kodandaramaiah U, McCowan B. Impact of individual demographic and social factors on human-wildlife interactions: a comparative study of three macaque species. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21991. [PMID: 33319843 PMCID: PMC7738552 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78881-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite increasing conflict at human–wildlife interfaces, there exists little research on how the attributes and behavior of individual wild animals may influence human–wildlife interactions. Adopting a comparative approach, we examined the impact of animals’ life-history and social attributes on interactions between humans and (peri)urban macaques in Asia. For 10 groups of rhesus, long-tailed, and bonnet macaques, we collected social behavior, spatial data, and human–interaction data for 11–20 months on pre-identified individuals. Mixed-model analysis revealed that, across all species, males and spatially peripheral individuals interacted with humans the most, and that high-ranking individuals initiated more interactions with humans than low-rankers. Among bonnet macaques, but not rhesus or long-tailed macaques, individuals who were more well-connected in their grooming network interacted more frequently with humans than less well-connected individuals. From an evolutionary perspective, our results suggest that individuals incurring lower costs related to their life-history (males) and resource-access (high rank; strong social connections within a socially tolerant macaque species), but also higher costs on account of compromising the advantages of being in the core of their group (spatial periphery), are the most likely to take risks by interacting with humans in anthropogenic environments. From a conservation perspective, evaluating individual behavior will better inform efforts to minimize conflict-related costs and zoonotic-risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishna N Balasubramaniam
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| | - Pascal R Marty
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Shelby Samartino
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
| | - Alvaro Sobrino
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Taniya Gill
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India
| | - Mohammed Ismail
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,Primate Conservation Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK
| | - Rajarshi Saha
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61614, Poznan, Poland
| | - Brianne A Beisner
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Stefano S K Kaburu
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,Department of Biomedical Science and Physiology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LY, UK
| | - Eliza Bliss-Moreau
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,Department of Psychology and the California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Malgorzata E Arlet
- Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61614, Poznan, Poland
| | - Nadine Ruppert
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Ahmad Ismail
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia
| | | | - Lalit Mohan
- Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, 171002, India
| | - Sandeep K Rattan
- Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, 171002, India
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Maruthamala P.O., Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram, 695551, India
| | - Brenda McCowan
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.,California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Mielke A, Preis A, Samuni L, Gogarten JF, Wittig RM, Crockford C. Flexible decision-making in grooming partner choice in sooty mangabeys and chimpanzees. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:172143. [PMID: 30109053 PMCID: PMC6083658 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Living in permanent social groups forces animals to make decisions about when, how and with whom to interact, requiring decisions to be made that integrate multiple sources of information. Changing social environments can influence this decision-making process by constraining choice or altering the likelihood of a positive outcome. Here, we conceptualized grooming as a choice situation where an individual chooses one of a number of potential partners. Studying two wild populations of sympatric primate species, sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys atys) and western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus), we tested what properties of potential partners influenced grooming decisions, including their relative value based on available alternatives and the social relationships of potential partners with bystanders who could observe the outcome of the decision. Across 1529 decision events, multiple partner attributes (e.g. dominance ranks, social relationship quality, reproductive state, partner sex) influenced choice. Individuals preferred to initiate grooming with partners of similar global rank, but this effect was driven by a bias towards partners with a high rank compared to other locally available options. Individuals also avoided grooming partners who had strong social relationships with at least one bystander. Results indicated flexible decision-making in grooming interactions in both species, based on a partner's value given the local social environment. Viewing partner choice as a value-based decision-making process allows researchers to compare how different species solve similar social problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Mielke
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Anna Preis
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Liran Samuni
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Jan F. Gogarten
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- P3: ‘Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms’, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Taï Chimpanzee Project, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
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