The Relationship of Foraging Strategy and Social Organization in Western Lowland Gorillas and Chimpanzees

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

There is no consensus on the underlying cause of the evolution of a particular type of social system. One popular hypothesis is that the differences in great ape social organization, in particular, are primarily the result of differences in foraging behavior; that differences in the quantity and distribution of food (both spatially and temporally) result in differing levels of within-group feeding competition, which in turn is the underlying cause for differences in social organization. The African apes differ considerably in their social organizations, with mountain gorilla groups being cohesive, and chimpanzee and bonobo groups being non-cohesive. There are also considerable differences in in their diets. Mountain gorillas are leaf-eaters because of their habitat, while chimpanzees and bonobos are primarily fruit eaters, and their resources are distributed unevenly in time and space. This therefore appears compatible with the hypothesis just described. However, while a great deal is known about mountain gorilla behavior, little is known about the habits of western lowland gorillas, even though they are the more numerous. More interestingly, the diet of the western lowland gorilla is less well documented, but looks to be considerably more frugivorous than that of the mountain gorilla, and may be very close to that of the chimpanzee. This research project, to be conducted by a young and committed scientist, will establish study conditions (habituation) with lowland mountain gorillas and study this and other important questions in ape sociality and behavior. This is essential if we are ever to isolate the factors that explain the diverse array of social organizations in our close relatives, and ultimately, if we are to identify the factors which shaped early human social organization.