102 research outputs found
Animal behavior: Monkeys use tools for diet quality, not quantity
Full text linkAn enduring question in the study of human evolution is why tool use evolved. A new study has found that stone tools improve diet quality in wild capuchin monkeys. Tools may have similarly increased the nutritional security in ancestral hominins
Appropriate knowledge of wild chimpanzee behavior (‘know-what’) and field experimental protocols (‘know-how’) are essential prerequisites for testing the origins and spread of technological behavior. Response to “Unmotivated subjects cannot provide interpretable data and tasks with sensitive learning periods require appropriately aged subjects” by C. Tennie and J. Call
Full text linkWe respond to the commentary by Tennie and Call (2023) on the article by Koops et al. (2022) in Nature Human Behaviour titled ‘Field experiments find no evidence that chimpanzee nut cracking can be independently innovated.’ Koops et al. (2022) showed that chimpanzee nut cracking is not a so-called ‘latent solution.’ Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Nimba Mountains (Guinea) did not crack nuts when presented with nuts and stones in ecologically valid field experiments. In their Commentary, Tennie and Call (2023) argued that the experiments were inconclusive for two reasons: 1) the chimpanzees were not motivated to treat the nuts as food, and 2) the chimpanzees were not within the appropriate ‘sensitive learning period.’ In our response, we argue that Tennie and Call (2023) incorrectly use the term ‘motivation’ to mean ‘willingness to eat the nut’, which requires existing knowledge of the edibility of the nuts. We also point out that it is unnatural and uninformative to inject nuts with honey to motivate the chimpanzees to eat them, as suggested by Tennie and Call (2023). Finally, we highlight that Koops et al. (2022) tested appropriately aged subjects (N=32 immatures). Moreover, we argue that there is no evidence to suggest that there is a strictly sensitive learning period restricted to juvenility. Finally, we emphasize the need for researchers doing experiments in captivity to visit their study species in the wild, and for field researchers to be involved in efforts to design ecologically valid experiments in captivity
Concerted conservation actions to support chimpanzee cultures
No full textChimpanzees were among the first animals recognized to have culture, and our understanding of the breadth of their cultural repertoire has grown significantly since the 1960s. Throughout their range, chimpanzee populations have come under increasing pressure, with their endangered status necessitating immediate and long-term conservation interventions. Recognizing the importance of diverse behavioural repertoires for chimpanzees’ survival, there has been a recent focus of conservation efforts on preserving their culturally transmitted behaviours and the environments in which they are exhibited. This article evaluates the practicality of developing conservation measures focused on chimpanzee culture. We highlight innovative conservation strategies aimed at integrating chimpanzee cultural behaviours into conservation policies. We review synergistic conservation initiatives led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and other international and local groups that share the goal of preserving chimpanzee populations and their cultural diversity. We underline how successful conservation implementation requires engagement and collaboration with a diverse group of interested or affected people. Finally, we provide recommendations aimed at guiding future efforts to incorporate animal cultures into conservation strategies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Animal culture: conservation in a changing world’.Born Free FoundationDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001711Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000026
Progress and Prospects in Primate Tool Use and Cognition
Full text linkWe review the main ecological and socio-cognitive hypotheses explaining the origin and evolution of tool use in primates. Whereas it is clear that recent studies have deepened our understanding of tool use in several domains, a more integrated approach will be necessary to further advance the field and place this information into a broader evolutionary context. We suggest a combined Comparative Socio-ecological and Developmental Approach (CSDA), which incorporates phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives with the ecological and socio-cognitive drivers of tool use as a means to clarify the integrated mechanisms that promote the emergence and maintenance of tool-using skills in primates, including human
Progress and Prospects in Primate Tool Use and Cognition
No full textWe review the main ecological and socio-cognitive hypotheses explaining the origin and evolution of tool use in primates. Whereas it is clear that recent studies have deepened our understanding of tool use in several domains, a more integrated approach will be necessary to further advance the field and place this information into a broader evolutionary context. We suggest a combined Comparative Socio-ecological and Developmental Approach (CSDA), which incorporates phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives with the ecological and socio-cognitive drivers of tool use as a means to clarify the integrated mechanisms that promote the emergence and maintenance of tool-using skills in primates, including humans
Chimpanzee termite fishing etiquette
Full text linkHuman culture is unique. Or is it? A new study reveals unexpected cultural diversity in the fine-grained details of chimpanzee termite fishing behaviour. These novel findings shed light on the richness of chimpanzee cultural diversity and reveal a narrower gap between the cultures of humans and other apes
The Puzzle of Pan Tool Use: Why Are Bonobos So Different from Chimpanzees in Their Use of Tools?
No full textChimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) are humans’ closest living relatives. The two sister species shared a common evolutionary history until about one million years ago. Yet, despite their evolutionary closeness, chimpanzees and bonobos differ in a number of important ways. One of the most striking differences is the discrepancy in the reliance on tool use in wild populations of Pan. Chimpanzees are renowned for their extensive use of tools in a wide variety of contexts, including feeding, self-maintenance, and social contexts. Bonobos, on the other hand, use surprisingly few tools in the wild, and none in feeding. The tool use difference between the two species of Pan remains one of the most challenging topics in the study of our closest living relatives. In this chapter, I will provide an overview of what we know about bonobo tool use in the wild, and specifically how tool use at the study site of Wamba in the Democratic Republic of Congo compares to other long-term bonobo study sites. Moreover, I will summarize a number of comparative studies on wild bonobos and chimpanzees, which have aimed to elucidate the drivers of the tool use dichotomy between the two species. Lastly, I will discuss future research directions in the study of tool use in our ape relatives
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