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The Relationship Between Tool Use and Prey Availability in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Northern Democratic Republic of Congo
International Journal of Primatology ( IF 2.5 ) Pub Date : 2020-05-14 , DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00149-4
Thurston C. Hicks , Hjalmar S. Kühl , Christophe Boesch , Steph B. J. Menken , John Hart , Peter Roessingh , Corneille Ewango , Roger Mundry

A key feature of human behavioral diversity is that it can be constrained by cultural preference (“cultural override”); that is, population-specific preferences can override resource availability. Here we investigate whether a similar phenomenon can be found in one of our closest relatives, as well as the potential impacts of ecological differences on feeding behavior. Our study subjects were different subpopulations of Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) occupying two very different habitats, moist tropical lowland forests vs. moist tropical forest–savanna mosaic on opposite sides of a major river. Given differences in encounter rates of different kinds of tool sites on both sides of the Uele River, we predicted that these subpopulations would differ in their likelihood of using tools to prey on two insect species despite similar availability. In surveys conducted over a 9-year period at 19 different survey regions in northern Democratic Republic of Congo (10 in lowland forest and 9 in mosaic), we collected and analyzed data on chimpanzee tool-assisted exploitation of insects. To determine the availability of insect species eaten by the chimpanzees, we counted insects and their mounds on transects and recces at 12 of these sites. For stick tools used to harvest epigaeic Dorylus and ponerine ants, we evaluated seasonal, geographical, and prey-availability factors that might influence their occurrence, using nest encounter rate as a proxy to control for chimpanzee abundance. Across the 19 survey regions spanning both sides of the Uele, we found little difference in the availability of epigaeic Dorylus and ponerine ants. Despite this, tool encounter rates for epigaeic Dorylus, but not ponerine, ants were significantly higher in the mosaic to the north of the Uele. Furthermore, we found no evidence for termite fishing anywhere, despite the availability of Macrotermes mounds throughout the region and the fact that chimpanzees at a number of other study sites use tools to harvest these termites. Instead, the chimpanzees of this region used a novel percussive technique to harvest two other types of termites, Cubitermes sp. and Thoracotermes macrothorax. This mismatch between prey availability and predation is consistent with cultural override, but given the different habitats on the two sides of the Uele River, we cannot fully rule out the influence of ecological factors. Comparing our findings with those of similar studies of other chimpanzee populations promises to contribute to our understanding of the evolution of behavioral diversity in humans and our closest cousins.

中文翻译:

刚果民主共和国北部黑猩猩(Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)的工具使用与猎物可用性之间的关系

人类行为多样性的一个关键特征是它会受到文化偏好(“文化覆盖”)的限制;也就是说,特定人群的偏好可以覆盖资源可用性。在这里,我们调查是否可以在我们的近亲之一中发现类似的现象,以及生态差异对摄食行为的潜在影响。我们的研究对象是东部黑猩猩 (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) 的不同亚群,它们占据两种截然不同的栖息地,潮湿的热带低地森林与主要河流两侧的潮湿热带森林 - 热带稀树草原马赛克。考虑到于勒河两岸不同类型工具点的遭遇率差异,我们预测,尽管可用性相似,但这些亚群使用工具捕食两种昆虫的可能性会有所不同。在为期 9 年的调查中,我们在刚果民主共和国北部的 19 个不同调查区域(10 个在低地森林中,9 个在马赛克中)收集并分析了有关黑猩猩工具辅助开发昆虫的数据。为了确定黑猩猩食用的昆虫种类的可用性,我们对其中 12 个地点的横断面和 recces 上的昆虫及其土墩进行了计数。对于用于收获 Epigaeic Dorylus 和 ponerine 蚂蚁的棍棒工具,我们评估了可能影响它们发生的季节性、地理和猎物可用性因素,使用巢遇到率作为控制黑猩猩丰度的代理。跨越 Uele 两岸的 19 个调查区域,我们发现后生 Dorylus 和 ponine 蚂蚁的可用性几乎没有差异。尽管如此,在 Uele 以北的马赛克中,epigaeic Dorylus 的工具遇到率,但不是 ponerine,蚂蚁明显更高。此外,我们没有发现任何地方都有捕杀白蚁的证据,尽管整个地区都有大白蚁丘,而且许多其他研究地点的黑猩猩也使用工具捕捞这些白蚁。相反,该地区的黑猩猩使用一种新颖的敲击技术来收获另外两种类型的白蚁,Cubitermes sp。和胸白蚁。这种猎物可用性和捕食性之间的不匹配符合文化超越,但考虑到于勒河两岸的不同栖息地,我们不能完全排除生态因素的影响。
更新日期:2020-05-14
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