Socioecological Studies on Coexistence and Coevolution of the Great Apes and Humans

我们的项目旨在阐明非洲大猩猩（大猩猩和黑猩猩）和人类（狩猎采集者）的共存和共同进化，通过比较它们在热带森林相同环境条件下的社会生态特征。自2000年以来，我们监测了温度和降雨量的季节性变化在两个研究地点（穆卡拉巴国家公园，加蓬和卡胡齐-比埃加国家公园，刚果民主共和国），这两个都被认为是在过去的冰川期避难所森林。大猩猩和黑猩猩吃水果的语音数据每月收集两次，大猩猩和黑猩猩群体已经习惯于收集行为数据。还通过直接观察和访谈收集了关于Babongo狩猎采集者的生存和移动模式的数据。今年，我们分析了迄今为止收集到的数据，并得到了重要的结果，显示了类人猿和人类在食物选择、觅食行为和与食物的社会互动方面的明显差异。特别是，在水果稀缺期间，生态位分化变得显着：大猩猩倾向于减少日行程长度，并将其饮食从水果转向植物性食物;黑猩猩倾向于增加持续寻找水果的日程。这两种猿类的社会特征支持它们的觅食策略。过去，狩猎采集者为了避免与同域类人猿竞争，可能发展出了更多的分散觅食和食物共享以及流动的社会系统。未来的分析和更详细的研究，猿和人类的饮食和生存生态学可能会澄清他们在同一生境的热带森林的共同进化。

Our project aims to clarify the coexistence and coevolution of the African great apes (gorillas and chimpanzees) and humans (hunter-gatherers), through comparison of their socioecological features under the same environmental conditions of tropical forests. Since 2000 we have monitored seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall in two study sites (Moukalaba National Park, Gabon and Kahuzi-Biega National Park, DRC), both of which are regarded as refuge forests during the past glacial periods. Phonological data on fruits eaten by gorillas and chimpanzees have been collected twice per month, and groups of gorillas and chimpanzees have been habituated to, collect behavioral data. Data on subsistence and movement patterns of Babongo hunter-gatherers were also collected by direct observation and interviews. This year we have analyzed the data collected until now, and have gotten important results showing distinct differences in food choice, foraging behavior and social interactions with foods among the great apes and humans. Especially, during the period of fruit scarcity, niche differentiation becomes significant: Gorillas tend to decrease day journey length and shift their diet from fruit to vegetative food ; and chimpanzees tend to increase day range seeking fruit persistently. Social features of both apes support their foraging strategies. More dispersal foraging with food sharing and fluid social system of hunter-gatherers ma have developed to avoid competition with the sympatric apes in the past. Future analysis and more elaborate researches on diet and subsistence ecology of apes and humans may clarify their coevolution in the same habitat of tropical forests.