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

该奖项将用于继续对中非共和国Dzanga-Ndoki国家公园西部低地大猩猩的长期研究。西部低地大猩猩特别有趣，因为与更多研究的食草型山地大猩猩不同，它们吃大量的水果，这使得人们可以比较研究觅食生态的差异如何影响社会组织。该项目的长期目标是在这个研究地点对大猩猩和黑猩猩进行比较研究。这项研究意义重大，因为它支持一个正在进行的研究中心(蒙迪卡)，研究和保护西部低地大猩猩和黑猩猩。这一点很重要，因为目前还没有关于西部低地大猩猩习惯于人类存在的研究，因此我们对它们知之甚少。了解影响人类近亲非洲猿类社会组织的因素，应该有助于洞察塑造人类最早祖先的社会行为的因素。

This award will be used to continue a long-term study of western lowland gorillas in the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic. Western lowland gorillas are particularly interesting because unlike the more studied herb-eating mountain gorillas, they consume substantial quantities of fruit, and this allows a comparative study of how differences in feeding ecology influence social organization. The long-term aim of the project is to make a comparative study of gorillas and chimpanzees at this study site. This research is significant because it supports an on-going research center (Mondika) for the study and conservation of western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. This is important because there are no current studies where western lowland gorillas are habituated to human presence, and we therefore know little about them. Understanding the factors that influence social organization in African apes, humans closest relatives, should provide insight into factors which shaped social behavior in the earliest human ancestors.