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Flexible grouping patterns in a western and eastern chimpanzee community

Koops, Kathelijne; Akankwasa, Walter; Camara, Henry Didier; Fitzgerald, Maegan; Keir, Alex; Mamy, Gnan; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro; Péter, Hella; Vicent, Kizza; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Hobaiter, Catherine (2024). Flexible grouping patterns in a western and eastern chimpanzee community. American Journal of Primatology, 86(4):e23593.

Abstract

Primate social organizations, or grouping patterns, vary significantly across species. Behavioral strategies that allow for flexibility in grouping patterns offer a means to reduce the costs of group living. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have a fission‐fusion social system in which temporary subgroups (“parties”) change in composition because of local socio‐ecological conditions. Notably, western chimpanzees (P. t. verus) are described as showing a higher degree of bisexual bonding and association than eastern chimpanzees, and eastern female chimpanzees (P. t. schweinfurthii) are thought to be more solitary than western female chimpanzees. However, reported comparisons in sociality currently depend on a small number of study groups, particularly in western chimpanzees, and variation in methods. The inclusion of additional communities and direct comparison using the same methods are essential to assess whether reported subspecies differences in sociality hold in this behaviorally heterogeneous species. We explored whether sociality differs between two communities of chimpanzees using the same motion‐triggered camera technology and definitions of social measures. We compare party size and composition (party type, sex ratio) between the western Gahtoy community in the Nimba Mountains (Guinea) and the eastern Waibira community in the Budongo Forest (Uganda). Once potential competition for resources such as food and mating opportunities were controlled for, subspecies did not substantially influence the number of individuals in a party. We found a higher sex‐ratio, indicating more males in a party, in Waibira; this pattern was driven by a greater likelihood in Gahtoy to be in all‐female parties. This finding is the opposite of what was expected for eastern chimpanzees, where female‐only parties are predicted to be more common. Our results highlight the flexibility in chimpanzee sociality, and caution against subspecies level generalizations.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Dewey Decimal Classification:300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Life Sciences > Animal Science and Zoology
Uncontrolled Keywords:Animal Science and Zoology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Language:English
Date:April 2024
Deposited On:01 Mar 2024 13:41
Last Modified:31 Oct 2024 02:38
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
ISSN:0275-2565
OA Status:Hybrid
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23593
PubMed ID:38247391
Project Information:
  • Funder: Newnham College, University of Cambridge
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  • Funder: Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
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  • Funder: Homerton College, University of Cambridge
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  • Funder: Gates Cambridge Trust
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  • Funder: Stichting Lucie Burgers
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  • Language: English
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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