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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) change their activity patterns in response to frugivory
American Journal of Primatology, Volume 71, No. 2, Year 2009
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Description
The most important environmental factor explaining interspecies variation in ecology and sociality of the great apes is likely to be variation in resource availability. Relatively little is known about the activity patterns of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), which inhabit a dramatically different environment from the well-studied mountain gorillas (G. beringei beringei). This study aims to provide a detailed quantification of western lowland gorillas' activity budgets using direct observations on one habituated group in Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. We examined how activity patterns of both sexes are shaped by seasonal frugivory. Activity was recorded with 5-min instantaneous sampling between December 2004 and December 2005. During the high-frugivory period the gorillas spent less time feeding and more time traveling than during the low-frugivory period. The silverback spent less time feeding but more time resting than both females and immatures, which likely results from a combination of social and physiological factors. When compared with mountain gorillas, western lowland gorillas spend more time feeding (67 vs. 55%) and traveling (12 vs. 6.5%), but less time resting (21 vs. 34%) and engaging in social/other activities (0.5 vs. 3.6%). This disparity in activity budgets of western lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas may be explained by the more frugivorous diet and the greater dispersion of food resources experienced by western lowland gorillas. Like other apes, western lowland gorillas change their activity patterns in response to changes in the diet. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Masi, Shelly
Italy, Rome
Sapienza Università Di Roma
Germany, Leipzig
Max-planck-institut Für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
France, Paris
Museum National D'histoire Naturelle
Cipolletta, Chloé
Central African Republic
Wwf
Robbins, Martha M.
Germany, Leipzig
Max-planck-institut Für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Statistics
Citations: 128
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/ajp.20629
ISSN:
02752565
e-ISSN:
10982345
Research Areas
Food Security
Study Locations
Central African Republic
Participants Gender
Female