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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Use of a tool-set by Pan troglodytes troglodytes to obtain termites (Macrotermes) in the periphery of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, southeast Cameroon
American Journal of Primatology, Volume 68, No. 12, Year 2006
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Description
At the northern periphery of the Dja Biosphere Reserve (southeastern Cameroon) we recorded a new use of a tool-set by Pan troglodytes troglodytes to prey on Macrotermes muelleri, M. renouxi, M. lilljeborgi, and M. nobilis. We recovered 79 puncturing sticks and 47 fishing probes at 17 termite nests between 2002 and 2005. The mean length of the puncturing sticks (n = 77) and fishing probes (n = 45) was 52 cm and 56 cm, respectively, and the mean diameter was 9 mm and 4.5 mm, respectively. Sixty-eight percent of 138 chimpanzee fecal samples contained major soldiers of four Macrotermes species. The chimpanzees in southeastern Cameroon appeared to be selective in their choice of plant material to make their tools. The tools found at our study site resemble those from other sites in this region. However, in southeastern Cameroon only one tool-set type was found, whereas two tool-set types have been reported in Congo. Our study suggests that, along with the different vegetation types and the availability of plant material around termite nests, the nest and gallery structure and foraging behavior of the different Macrotermes spp. at all Central African sites must be investigated before we can attribute differences in tool-use behavior to culture. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Deblauwe, Isra
Belgium, Antwerpen
Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp
Belgium, Antwerpen
Universiteit Antwerpen
Guislain, Patrick
United States, Milwaukee
Zoological Society of Milwaukee
Dupain, Jef
Kenya, Nairobi
African Wildlife Foundation
Van Elsacker, Linda
Belgium, Antwerpen
Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp
Belgium, Antwerpen
Universiteit Antwerpen
Statistics
Citations: 42
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/ajp.20318
ISSN:
02752565
e-ISSN:
10982345
Study Locations
Cameroon
Congo