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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
The influence of ecology on chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) cultural behavior: A case study of five ugandan chimpanzee communities
Journal of Comparative Psychology, Volume 126, No. 4, Year 2012
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Description
The influence of ecology on the development of behavioral traditions in animals is controversial, particularly for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), for which it is difficult to rule out environmental influences as a cause of widely observed community-specific behavioral differences. Here, we investigated 3 potential scenarios that could explain the natural variation in a key extractive tool behavior, "fluid-dip," among several communities of chimpanzees of the Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii subspecies in Uganda. We compared data from previous behavioral ecological studies, field experiments, and long-term records of chimpanzee tool-using behavior. We focused on the quality of the available food, dietary preferences, and tool sets of 5 different communities, and carried out a standardized field experiment to test systematically for the presence of fluid-dip in 4 of these communities. Our results revealed major differences in habitat, available diet, and tool use behavior between geographically close communities. However, these differences in ecology and feeding behavior failed to explain the differences in tool use across communities. We conclude that ecological variables may lead both to innovation and loss of behavioral traditions, while contributing little to their transmission within the community. Instead, as soon as a behavioral tradition is established, sociocognitive factors likely play a key maintenance role as long as the ecological conditions do not change sufficiently for the tradition to be abandoned. © 2012 American Psychological Association.
Authors & Co-Authors
Gruber, Thibaud
United Kingdom, St Andrews
University of st Andrews
Uganda, Masindi
Budongo Conservation Field Station
Potts, Kevin B.
United States, Minneapolis
Augsburg University
Krupenye, Christopher
United States, New London
Connecticut College
United States, Durham
Duke University
Byrne, Maisie Rose
United Kingdom, Cambridge
Jesus College
Mackworth-Young, Constance
United Kingdom, Cambridge
Jesus College
McGrew, William C.
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Reynolds, Vernon
Uganda, Masindi
Budongo Conservation Field Station
United Kingdom, Oxford
Magdalen College
Zuberbühler, Klaus
United Kingdom, St Andrews
University of st Andrews
Uganda, Masindi
Budongo Conservation Field Station
Statistics
Citations: 41
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 8
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1037/a0028702
ISSN:
07357036
Research Areas
Food Security
Study Design
Case Study
Study Approach
Qualitative
Quantitative
Study Locations
Uganda