We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Bonobo social organization at the seasonal forest‐savanna ecotone of the Lomami national park.
- Authors
Fasbender, David; Yamba, Uyulu; Keuk, Kenneth; Hart, Terese; Hart, John; Furuichi, Takeshi
- Abstract
Examining the relationship between food and primate social organization helps us understand how the environment shaped hominin social evolution. However, there is debate as to whether the social differences between our two closest relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), are due to differences in food availability between their respective habitats or to nonenvironmental factors. The most prominent theory is that bonobo communities have more socially cohesive, stable parties, centered on gregarious females because they evolved in food‐rich habitat where individuals, especially females, are less burdened by competition with groupmates. However, more research on bonobos in habitats with seasonal variation in food is needed. This study measured food availability and bonobo social organization at Luzaka, a new site in a seasonal forest fragment. Fruit abundance and dispersion were recorded for a year at Luzaka with the same methods used at Wamba, a bonobo site in more seasonally stable habitat and terrestrial herbaceous vegetation density was measured. At Luzaka, bonobo parties were also recorded for a year using camera traps. Fruit was more seasonal and dispersed at Luzaka than at Wamba. However, the social organization of Luzaka bonobos resembled social organization of bonobos at less seasonal sites. There were minor effects of fruit clumping on party size without effects on the proportion of females in parties suggesting that at Luzaka, the clumping of fruit slightly affected social cohesiveness but does not disproportionately affect females. Bonobo social cohesiveness and female gregariousness appears consistent and compatible with seasonal habitat. Research highlights: The female‐centered socially cohesive nature of bonobo social organization is thought to have been shaped by low competition in the food‐rich rainforests where bonobos evolved and has only been well‐studied in such habitat.This study confirmed that at the southeastern limit of the bonobo range, ripe fruit is more seasonally scarce and dispersed and investigated whether this food seasonality affected bonobo social cohesiveness and female gregariousness using camera traps.Bonobo social organization is consistent across habitat types: fruit clumping had a small positive effect on party size but fruit availability did not affect female gregariousness.
- Subjects
BONOBO; SOCIAL structure; CHIMPANZEES; NATIONAL parks &; reserves; ECOTONES; SOCIAL evolution; HABITATS
- Publication
American Journal of Primatology, 2022, Vol 84, Issue 12, p1
- ISSN
0275-2565
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ajp.23448