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

我们的项目旨在通过比较非洲大猩猩(大猩猩和黑猩猩)和人类(狩猎-采集)在相同热带森林环境条件下的社会生态特征，阐明它们之间的共存和共同进化。自2000年以来，我们监测了两个研究地点(加蓬的Moukalaba国家公园和刚果民主共和国的Kahuzi-Biega国家公园)的温度和降雨量的季节性变化，这两个国家在过去的冰川时期都被视为避难林。大猩猩和黑猩猩吃的水果的物候学数据每月收集两次，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巴布戈狩猎-采集者的生存和运动模式的数据。今年，我们分析了到目前为止收集到的数据，并获得了重要的结果，显示出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存在明显差异。特别是在水果稀缺的时期，生态位分化变得显著：大猩猩倾向于减少白天的旅行时间，并将食物从水果转向营养食物；而黑猩猩倾向于持续增加寻找水果的日数。这两种类人猿的社会特征支持它们的觅食策略。更分散的觅食与食物共享和流动的狩猎-采集社会制度已经发展起来，以避免过去与同域类人猿的竞争。未来对类人猿和人类的饮食和生存生态学的分析和更详细的研究可能会澄清它们在同一热带森林栖息地的共同进化。

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.