Doctoral Dissertation Research: Effects of a Dispersal Barrier on Cultural Similarity in Wild Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii)

博士论文研究：扩散障碍对野生猩猩（Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii）文化相似性的影响

• 批准号: 0452995
• 负责人: Carel van Schaik
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-03-15 至 2007-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0452995&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Effects; Dispersal

This project will contribute broadly to our growing knowledge of great ape behavioral ecology and genetics, while furthering the study of human origins through an investigation of cultural behavior on two sides of a dispersal barrier. The identification of arbitrary signal variation and rudimentary symbol use in orangutans suggests that previous studies may only have scratched the surface of existing cultural variation in this lineage, a phenomenon that is inherently interesting to humans and therefore capable of generating significant interest in orangutan conservation. Because animals cannot cross dispersal boundaries, cultural variants should reflect the history of diffusion from the locations(s) of innovation until blocked by a dispersal barrier. This project will test the ability of a cultural interpretation to account for patterns of behavioral variation exhibited by wild Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) ranging on either side of a 150m-wide river in Central Kalimantan, which currently serves as an effective barrier for orangutan dispersal in the study region, but offers opportunities for gene flow at its more narrow headwaters. The synchronized study of orangutans on opposite sides of a river barrier offers an exceptional opportunity to empirically evaluate the assumptions of a cultural interpretation for behavioral variation (based on opportunities for social learning), while holding both ecological variation and genetic relatedness constant. This project will assess the impact of social learning on the presence of skills required for orangutan survival and local adaptation, which are critical to the success of reintroduction efforts currently underway. It will also give us a greater understanding of the ecological and social contexts that favor cultural solutions for orangutans in particular situations but not in others, which will give us insight into the likely extent of culture in the last common ancestor of the great apes. More broadly, this project will aid conservation initiatives by documenting the extent to which geographic variation in wild orangutan behavior is maintained by social transmission and, therefore, the extent to which reintroduced or translocated animals have difficulty achieving full adaptation to local conditions. This research will provide numerous opportunities for promoting student training and participation in research. Preliminary data were collected with the help of a Duke University undergraduate student as well as several local Indonesian assistants and university students. The proposed research will continue to provide training for Indonesian students and assistants and will promote international collaboration with Indonesian, European, and American counterparts. The orangutan is presently confined to highly fragmented populations in small forest patches on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Despite its formally protected status, the orangutan has become a critically endangered species, the extinction of which is anticipated within the next two decades due to the continuing threat of timber exploitation and human encroachment throughout its range. It is critical that this research be carried out soon, because there is a danger that as habitat devastation continues, individual orangutan populations with unique local traditions will vanish, resulting in lost opportunities to document the full extent of cultural behavior in wild orangutans.

该项目将广泛地促进我们对巨猿行为生态学和遗传学的不断增长的知识，同时通过对扩散屏障两侧的文化行为的调查，进一步研究人类起源。红毛猩猩的任意信号变化和基本符号使用的识别表明，以前的研究可能只触及了这一谱系中现有文化差异的表面，这种现象对人类来说是天生有趣的，因此能够产生对红毛猩猩保护的重大兴趣。由于动物不能跨越扩散边界，文化变体应该反映从创新地点到被扩散障碍阻挡的扩散历史。该项目将测试文化解释的能力，以解释野生婆罗洲猩猩（Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii）在加里曼丹中部150米宽的河流两侧表现出的行为变异模式，该河流目前是研究区域猩猩扩散的有效屏障，但在其更狭窄的源头提供了基因流动的机会。对河流屏障两侧猩猩的同步研究提供了一个难得的机会，可以在保持生态变异和遗传相关性不变的同时，对行为变异的文化解释（基于社会学习的机会）的假设进行经验评估。该项目将评估社会学习对猩猩生存和当地适应所需技能的影响，这对目前正在进行的重新引入工作的成功至关重要。 它还将使我们更好地了解有利于猩猩在特定情况下而不是在其他情况下的文化解决方案的生态和社会背景，这将使我们深入了解大猩猩最后一个共同祖先的文化可能程度。 更广泛地说，该项目将通过记录野生猩猩行为的地理变异在多大程度上受到社会传播的影响，以及重新引入或迁移的动物在多大程度上难以完全适应当地条件，来帮助保护计划。这项研究将为促进学生培训和参与研究提供许多机会。初步数据是在一名杜克大学本科生以及几名当地印度尼西亚助理和大学生的帮助下收集的。拟议的研究将继续为印尼学生和助手提供培训，并将促进与印尼，欧洲和美国同行的国际合作。目前，红毛猩猩只分布在婆罗洲和苏门答腊岛的小块森林中。尽管它的正式保护地位，红毛猩猩已成为一个极度濒危物种，预计在未来二十年内灭绝，由于木材开采和人类入侵的持续威胁。这项研究必须尽快进行，因为随着栖息地破坏的继续，具有独特地方传统的红毛猩猩个体种群可能会消失，从而失去记录野生红毛猩猩文化行为的全部范围的机会。