Behavioral Ecology of Pan Paniscus

这笔赠款允许苏斯曼博士和他的同事继续 他们对侏儒黑猩猩（>Pan> >paniscus>）的研究 扎伊尔中部的Lomako森林。该团队之前的工作 由于难以定位和跟踪， 长时间的单独动物。该物种 植被茂密。带有NSF支持无线电项圈 将被放置在焦点动物上。这些项圈 经过安全测试，不要妨碍动物，并在 一个接收器，将允许研究人员精确定位的位置， 个别动物。因此，团队将获得准确的记录 来计算家域面积 评估测距行为。这些变量将被 与资源分配和可用性相关。 动物家域的大小和形状以及空间分布 群体之间的关系往往是 了解社会生态学。家域的大小一直是 在研究体型的适应意义时， 群体规模饮食和社会组织为了了解 家庭范围区域的形状需要长期的数据， 已知个人的活动。如果没有这些数据家庭范围 只能估计。不幸的是，大多数关于森林的研究 灵长类动物依赖于拼凑在一起的测距数据，通常来自 在一个特定的时间段内对一些个体的不连续观察 延长学习时间。该项目将为一个物种， 至少要纠正这种情况。 这项研究很重要，因为它将揭示 人类发展的最早阶段。现存的伟大的 侏儒黑猩猩在体型上最接近早期人类。 因此，它提供了最好的基线， 可以进行比较。这项工作还应有助于 保护这一极其稀有的物种。

This grant permits Dr. Susman and his colleagues to continue their research on the pygmy chimpanzee (>Pan> >paniscus>)>>>> in the Lomako Forest of Central Zaire. Previous work by the team has been hampered because of the difficulty of locating and tracking individual animals for extended periods of time. The species is aboreal and the vegetation thick. With NSF support radio collars will be placed on focal animals. These collars, which have been tested for safety, do not hamper the animals, and with the aid of a receiver, will allow researchers to pinpoint the location of individual animals. Thus the team will acquire an accurate record of individual and group movements to calculate home range areas and assess ranging behavior. These variables will then be correlated with resource distribution and availability. The size and shape of an animal's home range and the spatial relationships between groups are often the starting points for understanding socioecology. Home range size has been a focal variable in studies of the adaptive significance of body size, group size, diet, and social organization. To understand the size and shape of home range areas requires long term data on the movements of known individuals. Without these data home ranges can only be estimated. Unfortunately, most studies of forest primates rely on ranging data that is pieced together, often from discontinuous observations on a number of individuals over an extended study period. This project will, for one species at least, remedy this situation. This research is important because of the light it will shed on the earliest stages of human development. Of the extant great apes, the pygmy chimpanzee is nearest in size to early hominids. Thus it provides the best baseline against which uniquely human triats can be compared. This work should also aid in the protection of this extremely rare species.