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Robira B, Benhamou S, Obeki Bayanga E, Breuer T, Masi S. Changes in movement patterns in relation to sun conditions and spatial scales in wild western gorillas. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:37. [PMID: 38684551 PMCID: PMC11058680 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01871-9] [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: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
For most primates living in tropical forests, food resources occur in patchworks of different habitats that vary seasonally in quality and quantity. Efficient navigation (i.e., spatial memory-based orientation) towards profitable food patches should enhance their foraging success. The mechanisms underpinning primate navigating ability remain nonetheless mostly unknown. Using GPS long-term tracking (596 days) of one group of wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), we investigated their ability to navigate at long distances, and tested for how the sun was used to navigate at any scale by improving landmark visibility and/or by acting as a compass. Long episodic movements ending at a distant swamp, a unique place in the home range where gorillas could find mineral-rich aquatic plants, were straighter and faster than their everyday foraging movements relying on spatial memory. This suggests intentional targeting of the swamp based on long-distance navigation skills, which can thus be efficient over a couple of kilometres. Interestingly, for both long-distance movements towards the swamp and everyday foraging movements, gorillas moved straighter under sunlight conditions even under a dense vegetation cover. By contrast, movement straightness was not markedly different when the sun elevation was low (the sun azimuth then being potentially usable as a compass) or high (so providing no directional information) and the sky was clear or overcast. This suggests that gorillas navigate their home range by relying on visual place recognition but do not use the sun azimuth as a compass. Like humans, who rely heavily on vision to navigate, gorillas should benefit from better lighting to help them identify landmarks as they move through shady forests. This study uncovers a neglected aspect of primate navigation. Spatial memory and vision might have played an important role in the evolutionary success of diurnal primate lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Robira
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Université de Montpellier & CNRS, Montpellier, France.
- Eco-Anthropologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de L'Homme, Paris, France.
| | - S Benhamou
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Université de Montpellier & CNRS, Montpellier, France
- Associated to Cogitamus Lab,
| | - E Obeki Bayanga
- Congo Program, Mondika Research Center, Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Wildlife Conservation Society, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - T Breuer
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, New-York, USA
- World Wide Fund for Nature, Berlin, Germany
| | - S Masi
- Eco-Anthropologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de L'Homme, Paris, France
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2
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Potel H, Niatou Singa FS, Cipolletta C, Neba Fuh T, Bardino G, Konyal E, Strampelli P, Henschel P, Masi S. Lethal combats in the forest among wild western gorillas. iScience 2024; 27:109437. [PMID: 38523787 PMCID: PMC10960106 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109437] [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: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Lethal intergroup encounters occur in many species because of sexual selection. While documented in mountain gorillas, they are absent in western gorillas as, instead, it is predicted by their higher feeding (frugivory) and mate competition (single-vs. multi-male groups). We investigate whether the injuries on three dead silverbacks and one adult female from four groups of western gorillas in the Central African Republic, resulted from interactions with gorillas or leopards. We identified two distinct injury patterns caused by gorillas (isolated lacerations, round wounds) and leopards (punctures clustered on head/neck) by analyzing injuries caused by mountain gorillas and leopards to gorillas and non-gorilla species, respectively. The western gorilla injury pattern is similar to that of mountain gorillas suggesting that lethal encounters occur, albeit infrequently, as predicted by sexual selection in a one-male society. While sexual dimorphism and polygynous sociality favored the evolution of violent encounters, multiple males in groups may influence their frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Potel
- Ecoanthropologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
| | | | - Chloé Cipolletta
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, World Wide Fund for Nature, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | - Terence Neba Fuh
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, World Wide Fund for Nature, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | - Giulia Bardino
- Ecoanthropologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- “La Sapienza” University, Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Rome, Italy
| | - Emmanuel Konyal
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, World Wide Fund for Nature, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | | | | | - Shelly Masi
- Ecoanthropologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
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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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Auger C, Cipolletta C, Todd A, Fuh T, Sotto-Mayor A, Pouydebat E, Masi S. Feeling a bit peckish: Seasonal and opportunistic insectivory for wild gorillas. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:210-223. [PMID: 37483018 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Insectivory likely contributed to survival of early humans in diverse conditions and influenced human cognitive evolution through the need to develop harvesting tools. In living primates, insectivory is a widespread behavior and frequently seasonal, although previous studies do not always agree on reasons behind this. Since western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) diet is largely affected by seasonal variation in fruit availability, we aimed to test three non-mutually exclusive hypotheses (habitat use, frugivory and rainfall) to explain seasonality in termite feeding across age/sex classes in three habituated groups (Nindividuals = 27) in Central Africa. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used 4 years of ranging, scan and continuous focal sampling records of gorillas (Nranging days = 883, Nscans = 12,384; Nhours = 891) in addition to 116 transects recording vegetation and termite mound distribution. RESULTS Depending on the age/sex classes, we found support for all three hypotheses. Time spent in termite-rich vegetation positively impacted termite consumption in all age/sex classes, but subadults. Lengthier travels increased termite feeding in females but decreased it in subadults. Frugivory decreased termite consumption in adults. Daily rainfall had a positive effect on termite feeding and foraging in silverbacks and juveniles, but a negative effect in subadults. For females, rainfall had a positive effect on termite feeding, but a negative effect for termite foraging. DISCUSSION In great apes, seasonal insectivory seems to be multifactorial and primarily opportunistic with important differences among age/sex classes. While insectivory has potentials to be traditional, it likely played a crucial role during primate evolution (including ours), allowing diet flexibility in changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Auger
- Éco-Anthropologie, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: UMR7206, Paris, France
- Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: UMR7179, Paris, France
| | - Chloé Cipolletta
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, World Wide Fund for Nature, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | - Angelique Todd
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, World Wide Fund for Nature, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | - Terence Fuh
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, World Wide Fund for Nature, Bangui, Central African Republic
| | - Andrea Sotto-Mayor
- Éco-Anthropologie, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: UMR7206, Paris, France
| | - Emmanuelle Pouydebat
- Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: UMR7179, Paris, France
| | - Shelly Masi
- Éco-Anthropologie, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: UMR7206, Paris, France
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Robbins MM, Akantorana M, Arinaitwe J, Breuer T, Manguette M, McFarlin S, Meder A, Parnell R, Richardson JL, Stephan C, Stokes EJ, Stoinski TS, Vecellio V, Robbins AM. Comparative life history patterns of female gorillas. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 181:564-574. [PMID: 37345324 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Several theories have been proposed to explain the impact of ecological conditions on differences in life history variables within and between species. Here we compare female life history parameters of one western lowland gorilla population (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and two mountain gorilla populations (Gorilla beringei beringei). MATERIALS AND METHODS We compared the age of natal dispersal, age of first birth, interbirth interval, and birth rates using long-term demographic datasets from Mbeli Bai (western gorillas), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Virunga Massif (mountain gorillas). RESULTS The Mbeli western gorillas had the latest age at first birth, longest interbirth interval, and slowest surviving birth rate compared to the Virunga mountain gorillas. Bwindi mountain gorillas were intermediate in their life history patterns. DISCUSSION These patterns are consistent with differences in feeding ecology across sites. However, it is not possible to determine the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for these differences, whether a consequence of genetic adaptation to fluctuating food supplies ("ecological risk aversion hypothesis") or phenotypic plasticity in response to the abundance of food ("energy balance hypothesis"). Our results do not seem consistent with the extrinsic mortality risks at each site, but current conditions for mountain gorillas are unlikely to match their evolutionary history. Not all traits fell along the expected fast-slow continuum, which illustrates that they can vary independently from each other ("modularity model"). Thus, the life history traits of each gorilla population may reflect a complex interplay of multiple ecological influences that are operating through both genetic adaptations and phenotypic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha M Robbins
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Moses Akantorana
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Breuer
- Mbeli Bai Study, Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- World Wide Fund for Nature, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marie Manguette
- Mbeli Bai Study, Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Shannon McFarlin
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Angela Meder
- Berggorilla Regenwald Direkthilfe, Hoevelhof, Germany
| | - Richard Parnell
- Mbeli Bai Study, Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Jack L Richardson
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Claudia Stephan
- Mbeli Bai Study, Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Emma J Stokes
- Mbeli Bai Study, Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Tara S Stoinski
- Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | | | - Andrew M Robbins
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Durand‐Bessart C, Cordeiro NJ, Chapman CA, Abernethy K, Forget P, Fontaine C, Bretagnolle F. Trait matching and sampling effort shape the structure of the frugivory network in Afrotropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1446-1462. [PMID: 36377098 PMCID: PMC10108259 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Frugivory in tropical forests is a major ecological process as most tree species rely on frugivores to disperse their seeds. However, the underlying mechanisms driving frugivore-plant networks remain understudied. Here, we evaluate the data available on the Afrotropical frugivory network to identify structural properties, as well as assess knowledge gaps. We assembled a database of frugivory interactions from the literature with > 10 000 links, between 807 tree and 285 frugivore species. We analysed the network structure using a block model that groups species with similar interaction patterns and estimates interaction probabilities among them. We investigated the species traits related to this grouping structure. This frugivory network was simplified into 14 tree and 14 frugivore blocks. The block structure depended on the sampling effort among species: Large mammals were better-studied, while smaller frugivores were the least studied. Species traits related to frugivory were strong predictors of the species composition of blocks and interactions among them. Fruits from larger trees were consumed by most frugivores, and large frugivores had higher probabilities to consume larger fruits. To conclude, this large-scale frugivory network was mainly structured by species traits involved in frugivory, and as expected by the distribution areas of species, while still being limited by sampling incompleteness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clémentine Durand‐Bessart
- Biogeosciences, UMR 6282Université Bourgogne Franche Comte‐CNRS21000DijonFrance
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la ConservationCESCO, UMR 7204, MNHN‐CNRS‐SU75005ParisFrance
| | - Norbert J. Cordeiro
- Department of Biology (mc WB 816)Roosevelt University430 S. Michigan AvenueChicagoIL60605USA
- Science & EducationThe Field Museum1400 S. Lake Shore DriveChicagoIL60605USA
| | - Colin A. Chapman
- Wilson Center1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashingtonDC20004USA
- Department of AnthropologyCenter for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington UniversityWashingtonDC20037USA
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalScottsville3201PietermaritzburgSouth Africa
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal ConservationNorthwest University710069Xi'anChina
| | - Katharine Abernethy
- African Forest Ecology Group, School of Natural SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingFK9 4LAUK
- Institut de Recherches en Ecologie TropicaleCENARESTGros Bouquet2144LibrevilleGabon
| | - Pierre‐Michel Forget
- Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleUMR 7179 MECADEV CNRS‐MNHN1 Avenue du Petit Château91800BrunoyFrance
| | - Colin Fontaine
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la ConservationCESCO, UMR 7204, MNHN‐CNRS‐SU75005ParisFrance
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Famished Frugivores or Choosy Consumers: A Generalist Frugivore (Wild Bornean Orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) Leaves Available Fruit for Nonfruit Foods. INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00347-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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8
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Ramírez-Torres CE, Espinosa-Gómez FC, Morales-Mávil JE, Reynoso-Cruz JE, Laska M, Hernández-Salazar LT. Influence of tannic acid concentration on the physicochemical characteristics of saliva of spider monkeys ( Ateles geoffroyi). PeerJ 2022; 10:e14402. [PMID: 36452077 PMCID: PMC9703984 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14402] [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: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Tannins are a chemical defense mechanism of plants consumed by herbivores. Variations in salivary physicochemical characteristics such as pH, total protein concentration (TP), and presence of proline-rich proteins (PRPs) in animals have been reported as a mechanism to protect the oral cavity when consuming food with variations in pH and tannins. Variations in salivary physiochemistry as adaptations for consuming tannin-rich foods have been found in omnivorous and folivorous primates, but have not yet been reported in frugivorous species such as spider monkeys. We therefore assessed changes in pH using test strips, TP concentration by measuring absorbance at 595 nm in a spectrophotometer and salivary PRPs using the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis technique in the saliva of nine captive spider monkeys in response to the consumption of solutions with different concentrations of tannic acid. The results showed variations in pH, TP concentration and the presence and variation of possible salivary PRPs associated with tannic acid concentration. These findings suggest that spider monkeys may tailor their salivary physicochemical characteristics in response to the ingestion of potentially toxic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabiola Carolina Espinosa-Gómez
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Popular Autonóma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), Puebla, Puebla, México
| | | | | | - Matthias Laska
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, Sweden
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Masi S, Pouydebat E, San-Galli A, Meulman E, Breuer T, Reeves J, Tennie C. Free hand hitting of stone-like objects in wild gorillas. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11981. [PMID: 35840637 PMCID: PMC9287431 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15542-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The earliest stone tool types, sharp flakes knapped from stone cores, are assumed to have played a crucial role in human cognitive evolution. Flaked stone tools have been observed to be accidentally produced when wild monkeys use handheld stones as tools. Holding a stone core in hand and hitting it with another in the absence of flaking, free hand hitting, has been considered a requirement for producing sharp stone flakes by hitting stone on stone, free hand percussion. We report on five observations of free hand hitting behavior in two wild western gorillas, using stone-like objects (pieces of termite mound). Gorillas are therefore the second non-human lineage primate showing free-hand hitting behavior in the wild, and ours is the first report for free hand hitting behavior in wild apes. This study helps to shed light on the morphofunctional and cognitive requirements for the emergence of stone tool production as it shows that a prerequisite for free hand percussion (namely, free hand hitting) is part of the spontaneous behavioral repertoire of one of humans' closest relatives (gorillas). However, the ability to combine free hand hitting with the force, precision, and accuracy needed to facilitate conchoidal fracture in free hand percussion may still have been a critical watershed for hominin evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Masi
- Eco-Anthropologie (EA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France. .,World Wide Fund for Nature - Germany, Reinhardstrasse 18, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Emmanuelle Pouydebat
- Department Adaptations du Vivant, UMR7179 MECADEV CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, Paris, France
| | - Aurore San-Galli
- Eco-Anthropologie (EA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Ellen Meulman
- Eco-Anthropologie (EA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY, 10460, USA.,World Wide Fund for Nature - Germany, Reinhardstrasse 18, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonathan Reeves
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
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10
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Fuh T, Todd A, Feistner A, Donati G, Masi S. Group differences in feeding and diet composition of wild western gorillas. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9569. [PMID: 35688872 PMCID: PMC9187766 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13728-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The ecological-constraints model posits that living in larger groups is associated to higher travel costs and reduced nutritional intake due to within-group feeding competition setting upper group size limits. While this is critical for frugivorous mammals, the model is less ubiquitous for folivores who feed on more abundant and evenly distributed food. The seasonally frugivorous diet of western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) provides the opportunity to study the ecological-constraints model in the largest primate species. We investigated how two groups of western gorillas of differing sizes (N = 9, N = 15) in Central African Republic, responded to seasonal variation in fruit availability in terms of activity and diet. We used continuous focal animal sampling during periods of high (July–August 2011) and low (October 2011–January 2012) fruit availability, measured by monthly phenological scores. While diet diversity, resting and moving time did not differ between groups, overall the smaller group spent more time feeding than the larger group although this became less evident when fruit was more available. The smaller group was more frugivorous than the larger group. However, the larger group increased more steeply fruit consumption when fruit was more available, and incorporated more insects, young leaves and bark when fruit was less available, when compared to the smaller group. Up to a certain limit, the flexibility of large, seasonal frugivores to survive on a more folivorous diet may buffer the upper limit group size, suggesting deviation from the ecological-constraints model as in some folivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terence Fuh
- Departement of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK. .,Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Bangui, Central African Republic. .,WWF Central African Republic Country Programme Office, B.P. 1053, Bangui, Central African Republic.
| | - Angelique Todd
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Bangui, Central African Republic.,Fauna & Flora International, Cambridge, UK
| | - Anna Feistner
- Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Bangui, Central African Republic.,Gabon Biodiversity Program, Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Gamba, Gabon
| | - Giuseppe Donati
- Departement of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
| | - Shelly Masi
- Unité Eco-Anthropologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France
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11
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Lacroux C, Robira B, Kane-Maguire N, Guma N, Krief S. Between forest and croplands: Nocturnal behavior in wild chimpanzees of Sebitoli, Kibale National Park, Uganda. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0268132. [PMID: 35522693 PMCID: PMC9075648 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Some animal species have been presumed to be purely diurnal. Yet, they show flexibility in their activity rhythm, and can occasionally be active at night. Recently, it has been suggested that chimpanzees may rarely engage in nocturnal activities in savannah forests, in contrast to the frequent nocturnal feeding of crops observed at Sebitoli, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Here we thus aimed to explore the factors that might trigger such intense nocturnal activity (e.g. harsher weather conditions during daytime, low wild food availability or higher diurnal foraging risk) in this area. We used camera-traps set over 18 km2 operating for 15 months. We report activities and group composition from records obtained either within the forest or at the forest interface with maize fields, the unique crop consumed. Maize is an attractive and accessible food source, although actively guarded by farmers, particularly during daytime. Out of the 19 156 clips collected, 1808 recorded chimpanzees. Of these, night recordings accounted for 3.3% of forest location clips, compared to 41.8% in the maize fields. Most nocturnal clips were obtained after hot days, and most often during maize season for field clips. At night within the forest, chimpanzees were travelling around twilight hours, while when at the border of the fields they were foraging on crops mostly after twilight and in smaller parties. These results suggest that chimpanzees change their activity rhythm to access cultivated resources when human presence and surveillance is lower. This survey provides evidence of behavioral plasticity in chimpanzees in response to neighboring human farming activities, and emphasizes the urgent need to work with local communities to mitigate human-wildlife conflict related to crop-feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Lacroux
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Great Ape Conservation Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
- UMR 7179 CNRS/MNHN, Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Benjamin Robira
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- CEFE, CNRS, Université Montpellier, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Nicole Kane-Maguire
- Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Great Ape Conservation Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | | | - Sabrina Krief
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Great Ape Conservation Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
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12
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Watkins B, de Guinea M, Poindexter SA, Ganzhorn JU, Donati G, Eppley TM. Routes matter: the effect of seasonality on bamboo lemur navigational strategies. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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13
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Mouele AM, Brogan S, Stephan C. Allo‐ and autocoprophagy events in wild western lowland gorillas (
Gorilla gorilla gorilla
). Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.13003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sean Brogan
- Wildlife Conservation Society – Congo Program Brazzaville Congo
- Goualougo Triangle Ape Project Brazzaville Congo
| | - Claudia Stephan
- Nouabalé ‐Ndoki Foundation Bomassa Congo
- Wildlife Conservation Society – Congo Program Brazzaville Congo
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14
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Kraft TS, Venkataraman VV, Wallace IJ, Crittenden AN, Holowka NB, Stieglitz J, Harris J, Raichlen DA, Wood B, Gurven M, Pontzer H. The energetics of uniquely human subsistence strategies. Science 2021; 374:eabf0130. [PMID: 34941390 DOI: 10.1126/science.abf0130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas S Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Vivek V Venkataraman
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France.,Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ian J Wallace
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jacob Harris
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - David A Raichlen
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Brian Wood
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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15
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Uwimbabazi M, Raubenheimer D, Tweheyo M, Basuta GI, Conklin-Brittain NL, Wrangham RW, Rothman JM. Nutritional geometry of female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23269. [PMID: 34002861 PMCID: PMC8225573 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Primate foraging is influenced by the spatial and temporal distribution of foods, which may facilitate or constrain optimal nutrient intakes. Chimpanzees are frugivorous primates that mainly subsist on ripe fruit that is typically low in available protein (AP) and high in easily digestible carbohydrates. Because chimpanzees prefer ripe fruit and often eat it in large quantities compared with other foods, we hypothesized that protein intake would be tightly regulated while non-protein energy (NPE) would vary with fruit intake. To test this hypothesis, we conducted all-day follows on female chimpanzees, recorded all types of food consumed (i.e., drupes, figs, and non-fruit foods), estimated the nutritional contributions of these foods to daily NPE and AP intake and investigated how the ratio of NPE to AP varied due to changes in the types of foods consumed. Although the proportions of drupes, figs, and non-fruit foods varied in their diets, female chimpanzees maintained a relatively stable intake of AP while intake of NPE varied depending on the daily diet, demonstrating that like other frugivorous primates studied to date, chimpanzees prioritize protein. The mean daily ratio of NPE to AP was 7:1, which is similar to that of other frugivorous primates studied. Our results support the hypothesis that frugivorous animals may generally prioritize AP, while maximizing NPE intake within that constraint, and could shed light on aspects of human dietary evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moreen Uwimbabazi
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University
- National Forestry Resources Research Institute, Mukono, Uganda
| | - David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mnason Tweheyo
- Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University
| | - Gilbert I. Basuta
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University
| | | | | | - Jessica M. Rothman
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York
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16
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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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17
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Miglietta S, Bardino G, Sotto-Mayor A, Galli AS, Meulman E, Breuer T, Fuh T, Masi S. Absence of specific individuals and high food abundance elicit food calls in wild western gorillas. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03027-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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18
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Costantini D, Masi S, Rachid L, Beltrame M, Rohmer M, Krief S. Mind the food: rapid changes in antioxidant content of diet affect oxidative status of chimpanzees. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2021; 320:R728-R734. [PMID: 33729041 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00003.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The link between dietary antioxidants and oxidative status has been studied extensively in humans. Surprisingly, comparative data are not available from closely related species, such as chimpanzees, which evolved in environments characterized by strong fluctuations in the availability and quality of vegetable food sources. We tested the hypothesis that an abrupt decrease in dietary antioxidants would increase oxidative damages in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), while a rapid increase in antioxidant intake would decrease oxidative damages accrued while on the low-antioxidant diet. An abrupt decline of dietary antioxidants increased urinary levels of lipid peroxides and of oxidative DNA damage but not of 8-isoprostanes. In contrast, an increased intake of dietary antioxidants did not affect the oxidative status. Chimpanzees that were both older and with a higher dominance rank had lower urinary levels of lipid peroxides and of DNA damage as compared with younger chimpanzees. Neither individual sex nor proportion of time being groomed explained any variation in all three markers of oxidative status. Finally, we found significant within-individual repeatability of all markers of oxidative status over the course of the experiment, suggesting a significant contribution of individual history to molding oxidative status. Our results show that antioxidant intake plays a nonnegligible role in the regulation of oxidative status homeostasis in our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. Our work also suggests that rapid short-term increases in antioxidant intake might not have the desired immediate impact on oxidative status, such as in the case of clinical interventions or training programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Costantini
- Unité Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation, UMR 7221 Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Shelly Masi
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-Anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France
| | | | | | - Mélanie Rohmer
- Réserve Africaine de Sigean, Sigean, France.,École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Sabrina Krief
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-Anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France
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19
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Traditional Human Populations and Nonhuman Primates Show Parallel Gut Microbiome Adaptations to Analogous Ecological Conditions. mSystems 2020; 5:5/6/e00815-20. [PMID: 33361321 PMCID: PMC7762792 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00815-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The results of this study highlight parallel gut microbiome traits in human and nonhuman primates, depending on subsistence strategy. Although these similarities have been reported before, the functional and ecological bases of this convergence are not fully understood. Compared with urban-industrial populations, small-scale human communities worldwide share a significant number of gut microbiome traits with nonhuman primates. This overlap is thought to be driven by analogous dietary triggers; however, the ecological and functional bases of this similarity are not fully understood. To start addressing this issue, fecal metagenomes of BaAka hunter-gatherers and traditional Bantu agriculturalists from the Central African Republic were profiled and compared with those of a sympatric western lowland gorilla group (Gorillagorilla gorilla) across two seasons of variable dietary intake. Results show that gorilla gut microbiomes shared similar functional traits with each human group, depending on seasonal dietary behavior. Specifically, parallel microbiome traits were observed between hunter-gatherers and gorillas when the latter consumed more structural polysaccharides during dry seasons, while small-scale agriculturalist and gorilla microbiomes showed significant functional overlap when gorillas consumed more seasonal ripe fruit during wet seasons. Notably, dominance of microbial transporters, transduction systems, and gut xenobiotic metabolism was observed in association with traditional agriculture and energy-dense diets in gorillas at the expense of a functional microbiome repertoire capable of metabolizing more complex polysaccharides. Differential abundance of bacterial taxa that typically distinguish traditional from industrialized human populations (e.g., Prevotella spp.) was also recapitulated in the human and gorilla groups studied, possibly reflecting the degree of polysaccharide complexity included in each group’s dietary niche. These results show conserved functional gut microbiome adaptations to analogous diets in small-scale human populations and nonhuman primates, highlighting the role of plant dietary polysaccharides and diverse environmental exposures in this convergence. IMPORTANCE The results of this study highlight parallel gut microbiome traits in human and nonhuman primates, depending on subsistence strategy. Although these similarities have been reported before, the functional and ecological bases of this convergence are not fully understood. Here, we show that this parallelism is, in part, likely modulated by the complexity of plant carbohydrates consumed and by exposures to diverse xenobiotics of natural and artificial origin. Furthermore, we discuss how divergence from these parallel microbiome traits is typically associated with adverse health outcomes in human populations living under culturally westernized subsistence patterns. This is important information as we trace the specific dietary and environmental triggers associated with the loss and gain of microbial functions as humans adapt to various dietary niches.
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20
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Narat V, Amato KR, Ranger N, Salmona M, Mercier-Delarue S, Rupp S, Ambata P, Njouom R, Simon F, Giles-Vernick T, LeGoff J. A multi-disciplinary comparison of great ape gut microbiota in a central African forest and European zoo. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19107. [PMID: 33154444 PMCID: PMC7645722 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75847-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparisons of mammalian gut microbiota across different environmental conditions shed light on the diversity and composition of gut bacteriome and suggest consequences for human and animal health. Gut bacteriome comparisons across different environments diverge in their results, showing no generalizable patterns linking habitat and dietary degradation with bacterial diversity. The challenge in drawing general conclusions from such studies lies in the broad terms describing diverse habitats ("wild", "captive", "pristine"). We conducted 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing to characterize intestinal microbiota of free-ranging sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas in southeastern Cameroon and sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas in a European zoo. We conducted participant-observation and semi-structured interviews among people living near these great apes to understand better their feeding habits and habitats. Unexpectedly, bacterial diversity (ASV, Faith PD and Shannon) was higher among zoo gorillas than among those in the Cameroonian forest, but zoo and Cameroonian chimpanzees showed no difference. Phylogeny was a strong driver of species-specific microbial composition. Surprisingly, zoo gorilla microbiota more closely resembled that of zoo chimpanzees than of Cameroonian gorillas. Zoo living conditions and dietary similarities may explain these results. We encourage multidisciplinary approach integrating environmental sampling and anthropological evaluation to characterize better diverse environmental conditions of such investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Narat
- Eco-anthropologie, UMR7206 CNRS/MNHN/Université de Paris, Site du Musée de L'Homme, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Anthropology and Ecology of Disease Emergence Unit, Paris, France
| | - Katherine R Amato
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA
- Humans and the Microbiome, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada
| | - Noémie Ranger
- Université de Paris, Equipe INSIGHT, Inserm U976, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Maud Salmona
- Université de Paris, Equipe INSIGHT, Inserm U976, 75010, Paris, France
- Département des Agents Infectieux, Virologie et Greffes, AP-HP, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | | | - Stephanie Rupp
- Department of Anthropology, City University of New York - Lehman College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Philippe Ambata
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | | | - François Simon
- Université de Paris, Equipe INSIGHT, Inserm U976, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Tamara Giles-Vernick
- Institut Pasteur, Anthropology and Ecology of Disease Emergence Unit, Paris, France.
- Humans and the Microbiome, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada.
| | - Jérôme LeGoff
- Université de Paris, Equipe INSIGHT, Inserm U976, 75010, Paris, France.
- Département des Agents Infectieux, Virologie et Greffes, AP-HP, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France.
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21
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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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22
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Salmi R, Presotto A, Scarry CJ, Hawman P, Doran-Sheehy DM. Spatial cognition in western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla): an analysis of distance, linearity, and speed of travel routes. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:545-557. [PMID: 32060749 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01358-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Spatial memory allows animals to retain information regarding the location, distribution, and quality of feeding sites to optimize foraging decisions. Western gorillas inhabit a complex environment with spatiotemporal fluctuations of resource availability, prefer fruits when available, and travel long distances to reach them. Here, we examined movement patterns-such as linearity, distance, and speed of traveling-to assess whether gorillas optimize travel when reaching out-of-sight valued resources. Our results show that gorillas travel patterns are affected by the activity they perform next, the type of food they feed on, and their preference level to specific fruits, suggesting they are able to optimize foraging based on spatial knowledge of their resources. Additionally, gorillas left in the direction of the next resource as soon as they started traveling and decelerated before approaching food resources, as evidence that they have a representation of their exact locations. Moreover, home range familiarity did not influence gorillas' movement patterns, as travel linearity in the core and periphery did not differ, suggesting that they may not depend wholly on a network of paths to navigate their habitat. These results show some overlap with chimpanzees' spatial abilities. Differences between the two ape species exist, however, potentially reflecting more their differences in diet (degree of frugivory) rather than their cognitive abilities. Further studies should focus on determining whether gorillas are able to use shortcuts and/or approach the same goal from multiple directions to better identify the spatial abilities used by this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Salmi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA. .,Department of Geography, Center for Geospatial Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | - Andrea Presotto
- Department of Geography and Geosciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD, USA
| | - Clara J Scarry
- Department of Anthropology, California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Peter Hawman
- Department of Geography, Center for Geospatial Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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23
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Uwimbabazi M, Rothman JM, Basuta GI, Machanda ZP, Conklin‐Brittain NL, Wrangham RW. INFLUENCE OF FRUIT AVAILABILITY ON MACRONUTRIENT AND ENERGY INTAKE BY FEMALE CHIMPANZEES. Afr J Ecol 2019; 57:454-465. [PMID: 32863473 DOI: 10.1111/aje.12636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Daily energy intake of adult female mammals is influenced by environmental conditions and physiological requirements, including reproduction. We examined the effects of fruit availability on macronutrient and metabolisable energy intake by adult female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda from January 2014 through June 2015. Drupe fruits were abundant for four months, whereas the other fourteen months were dominated by fig fruits. The mean daily intake of food (dry matter) and metabolisable energy, did not differ between drupe-months and fig-months. However, foraging costs were higher during fig-months, as indicated by a 20% increase in feeding time. Furthermore, during drupe-months female chimpanzees ingested more water-soluble carbohydrates and lipids, and less available protein and neutral detergent fibre. Although metabolisable energy intake did not differ consistently between drupe-months and fig-months, they consumed more on days when ripe fruit dominated the diet than when leaves and pithy stems dominated the diet. Our data suggest that differences in diet quality between drupes and figs can have important effects on frugivore foraging, and that they influence net energy gain more by their effects on macronutrient composition or foraging cost than by their direct impact on energy intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moreen Uwimbabazi
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences Makerere University Kampala Uganda
| | - Jessica M. Rothman
- Department of Anthropology Hunter College of the City University of New York New York New York
| | - Gilbert I. Basuta
- Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences, College of Natural Sciences Makerere University Kampala Uganda
| | | | | | - Richard W. Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts
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Lodwick JL, Salmi R. Nutritional composition of the diet of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla): Interspecific variation in diet quality. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e23044. [PMID: 31463957 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 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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25
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Masi S. Reaction to allospecific death and to an unanimated gorilla infant in wild western gorillas: insights into death recognition and prolonged maternal carrying. Primates 2019; 61:83-92. [PMID: 31444648 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00745-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
It is still unclear to what extent animals possess knowledge of death. Primates display a large variety and often contradictory behaviors toward conspecific corpses, particularly those of infants (e.g., prolonged carrying and care). This study reports on reactions in a wild, habituated western gorilla group (Gorilla gorilla, 11-13 individuals) in the Central African Republic to an unanimated conspecific infant, and to an allospecific corpse. Individuals' reactions were compared to their usual behavior using both continuous focal animal sampling and 10-min instantaneous scan sampling. In the first observation, an infant gorilla fell out of a tree and looked dead. The mother retrieved it and remained unusually close to another adult female, until the infant started to move again, almost 1 h later. Cases of infants regaining consciousness after almost-fatal accidents may act as positive reinforcement for continued carrying by mothers, which might be socially learned. In the second case, three immature gorillas reacted to a dead red river hog. For 20 min they stared at the corpse from tree branches above, while chest beating, defecating, and urinating several times. They showed fear and did not approach the corpse. These observations show that non-predatory species, such as gorillas, may be able to acquire and develop some knowledge about death even though they do not kill other vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Masi
- UMR 7206 Eco-anthropologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Musée de l'Homme, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France.
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26
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Casteren A, Wright E, Kupczik K, Robbins MM. Unexpected hard‐object feeding in Western lowland gorillas. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 170:433-438. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam Casteren
- Department of AnthropologyWashington University in St. Louis St. Louis Missouri
- Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and AnthropologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Edward Wright
- Department of PrimatologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Kornelius Kupczik
- Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and AnthropologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Martha M. Robbins
- Department of PrimatologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
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27
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Tédonzong LRD, Willie J, Tagg N, Tchamba MN, Angwafo TE, Keuko AMP, Kuenbou JK, Petre C, Lens L. The distribution of plant consumption traits across habitat types and the patterns of fruit availability suggest a mechanism of coexistence of two sympatric frugivorous mammals. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:4473-4494. [PMID: 31031921 PMCID: PMC6476771 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms governing the coexistence of organisms is an important question in ecology, and providing potential solutions contributes to conservation science. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of several mechanisms to the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores, using western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in a tropical rainforest of southeast Cameroon as a model system. We collected great ape fecal samples to determine and classify fruit species consumed; we conducted great ape nest surveys to evaluate seasonal patterns of habitat use; and we collected botanical data to investigate the distribution of plant species across habitat types in relation to their "consumption traits" (which indicate whether plants are preferred or fallback for either gorilla, chimpanzee, or both). We found that patterns of habitat use varied seasonally for both gorillas and chimpanzees and that gorilla and chimpanzee preferred and fallback fruits differed. Also, the distribution of plant consumption traits was influenced by habitat type and matched accordingly with the patterns of habitat use by gorillas and chimpanzees. We show that neither habitat selection nor fruit preference alone can explain the coexistence of gorillas and chimpanzees, but that considering together the distribution of plant consumption traits of fruiting woody plants across habitats as well as the pattern of fruit availability may contribute to explaining coexistence. This supports the assumptions of niche theory with dominant and subordinate species in heterogeneous landscapes, whereby a species may prefer nesting in habitats where it is less subject to competitive exclusion and where food availability is higher. To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the contribution of plant consumption traits, seasonality, and habitat heterogeneity to enabling the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores. OPEN RESEARCH BADGES This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally-shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.ms65f29.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc Roscelin Dongmo Tédonzong
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Jacob Willie
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
| | | | - Tsi Evaristus Angwafo
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
- Department of Fundamental SciencesThe University of Bamenda, HTTTCBambiliCameroon
| | - Ada Myriane Patipe Keuko
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Jacques Keumo Kuenbou
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Charles‐Albert Petre
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Laboratory of Tropical ForestryUniversity of LiègeGembloux Agro‐Bio TechLiègeBelgium
- Conservation Biology Unit, Directorate Natural EnvironmentRoyal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesBrusselsBelgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
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28
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Robbins MM, Robbins AM. Variation in the social organization of gorillas: Life history and socioecological perspectives. Evol Anthropol 2018; 27:218-233. [PMID: 30325554 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
A focus of socioecological research is to understand how ecological, social, and life history factors influence the variability of social organization within and between species. The genus Gorilla exhibits variability in social organization with western gorilla groups being almost exclusively one-male, yet approximately 40% of mountain gorilla groups are multimale. We review five ultimate causes for the variability in social organization within and among gorilla populations: human disturbance, ecological constraints on group size, risk of infanticide, life history patterns, and population density. We find the most evidence for the ecological constraints and life history hypotheses, but an over-riding explanation remains elusive. The variability may hinge on variation in female dispersal patterns, as females seek a group of optimal size and with a good protector male. Our review illustrates the challenges of understanding why the social organization of closely related species may deviate from predictions based on socioecological and life history theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha M Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Andrew M Robbins
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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29
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Trapanese C, Meunier H, Masi S. What, where and when: spatial foraging decisions in primates. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:483-502. [PMID: 30211971 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
When exploiting the environment, animals have to discriminate, track, and integrate salient spatial cues to navigate and identify goal sites. Actually, they have to know what can be found (e.g. what fruit), where (e.g. on which tree) and when (in what season or moment of the year). This is very relevant for primate species as they often live in seasonal and relatively unpredictable environments such as tropical forests. Here, we review and compare different approaches used to investigate primate spatial foraging strategies: from direct observations of wild primates to predictions from statistical simulations, including experimental approaches on both captive and wild primates, and experiments in captivity using virtual reality technology. Within this framework, most of these studies converge to show that many primate species can (i) remember the location of most of food resources well, and (ii) often seem to have a goal-oriented path towards spatially permanent resources. Overall, primates likely use mental maps to plan different foraging strategies to enhance their fitness. The majority of studies suggest that they may organise spatial information on food resources into topological maps: they use landmarks to navigate and encode local spatial information with regard to direction and distance. Even though these studies were able to show that primates can remember food quality (what) and its location (where), still very little is known on how they incorporate the temporal knowledge of available food (when). Future studies should attempt to increase our understanding of the potential of primates to learn temporal patterns and how both socio-ecological differences among species and their cognitive abilities influence such behavioural strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cinzia Trapanese
- École Doctorale Frontières du Vivant (FdV) - Programme Bettencourt, Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, Tour Maine Montparnasse, Paris, 75015, France.,Centre de Primatologie de l'Université de Strasbourg, Fort Foch, Niederhausbergen, 67207, France.,Faculté de psychologie Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS et Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67000, France.,Département Hommes et Environnements Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, UMR 7206-CNRS/MNHN, Paris, 75116, France
| | - Hélène Meunier
- Centre de Primatologie de l'Université de Strasbourg, Fort Foch, Niederhausbergen, 67207, France.,Faculté de psychologie Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS et Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67000, France
| | - Shelly Masi
- Département Hommes et Environnements Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, UMR 7206-CNRS/MNHN, Paris, 75116, France
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30
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Masi S, Breuer T. Dialium seed coprophagy in wild western gorillas: Multiple nutritional benefits and toxicity reduction hypotheses. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22752. [PMID: 29664132 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Unraveling the relationship between the unusual feeding behaviors and the nutritional intake of endangered species may provide crucial information for understanding species response to habitat unpredictable changes. Primates occasionally re-ingest fruit seeds alongside ingestion of feces, a behavior called coprophagy. The nutritional benefit is one of the several non-mutual exclusive hypotheses proposed to explain this behavior. We investigated the ecological correlates of coprophagy in wild western gorillas. We tested whether coprophagy occurred during periods of lower fruit availability and whether it led to higher nutrient intake in comparison to the other food. Data integrated phenological, fecal and nutritional analyses of gorilla food with behavioral observations collected at two sites in Central Africa (Mbeli Bai: ad libitum observations on 15 groups/solitary males, October 2002-November 2005; Bai Hokou: 5-min scan on a habituated group, December 2004-December 2005). Coprophagy occurred at the end of the high-fruiting season in association of two Dialium species. Coprophagy correlated positively with the occurrence of Dialium spp. fruit in gorilla feces and in the feeding scans, and showed a positive trend with Dialium availability but not with total fruit availability. Nutritional comparison of Dialium seeds with other important gorilla food showed higher fat and mineral content, particularly of Mg, but also of phenols and tannins in Dialium seeds. We discuss how the effect of gut processing and gut heat via coprophagy may act as cooking-like effect: increasing the ability to maximize nutrient intake by concurrently softening fibers and decreasing the toxic effect of antifeedants, like in human traditional cooking. Our results support both the multiple nutritional benefit hypothesis and the toxicity reduction hypothesis. Since Dialium is precious timber, the importance of this tree for the critically endangered western gorillas should be taken with high consideration when planning controlled logging of degraded forests or in face of habitat changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Masi
- Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Breuer
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York
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31
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Breuer T, Manguette M, Groenenberg M. Gorilla
Gorilla
spp conservation – from zoos to the field and back: examples from the Mbeli Bai Study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/izy.12181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- T. Breuer
- Global Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society 2300 Southern Boulevard Bronx New York 10460 USA
| | - M. Manguette
- Department of Primatology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Deutscher Platz 6 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Mbeli Bai Study Nouabalé‐Ndoki National Park Wildlife Conservation Society B.P. 14537 Brazzaville Congo
| | - M. Groenenberg
- Mbeli Bai Study Nouabalé‐Ndoki National Park Wildlife Conservation Society B.P. 14537 Brazzaville Congo
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32
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Behavioral Variation in Gorillas: Evidence of Potential Cultural Traits. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0160483. [PMID: 27603668 PMCID: PMC5014408 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The question of whether any species except humans exhibits culture has generated much debate, partially due to the difficulty of providing conclusive evidence from observational studies in the wild. A starting point for demonstrating the existence of culture that has been used for many species including chimpanzees and orangutans is to show that there is geographic variation in the occurrence of particular behavioral traits inferred to be a result of social learning and not ecological or genetic influences. Gorillas live in a wide variety of habitats across Africa and they exhibit flexibility in diet, behavior, and social structure. Here we apply the ‘method of exclusion’ to look for the presence/absence of behaviors that could be considered potential cultural traits in well-habituated groups from five study sites of the two species of gorillas. Of the 41 behaviors considered, 23 met the criteria of potential cultural traits, of which one was foraging related, nine were environment related, seven involved social interactions, five were gestures, and one was communication related. There was a strong positive correlation between behavioral dissimilarity and geographic distance among gorilla study sites. Roughly half of all variation in potential cultural traits was intraspecific differences (i.e. variability among sites within a species) and the other 50% of potential cultural traits were differences between western and eastern gorillas. Further research is needed to investigate if the occurrence of these traits is influenced by social learning. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating cultural traits in African apes and other species to shed light on the origin of human culture.
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Emikpe BO, Morenikeji OA, Jarikre TA. Zoo animals' disease pattern in a university zoological garden, Ibadan, Nigeria. ASIAN PACIFIC JOURNAL OF TROPICAL DISEASE 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/s2222-1808(15)60991-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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