Human impact erodes chimpanzee behavioral diversity
Abstract
Chimpanzees possess a large number of behavioral and cultural traits among non-human species. The ‘disturbance hypothesis’ predicts that human impact depletes resources and disrupts social learning processes necessary for behavioral and cultural transmission. We used an unprecedented data set of 144 chimpanzee communities, with information on 31 behaviors, to show that chimpanzees inhabiting areas with high human impact have a mean probability of occurrence reduced by 88%, across all behaviors, compared to low impact areas. This behavioral diversity loss was evident irrespective of the grouping or categorization of behaviors. Therefore, human impact may not only be associated with the loss of populations and genetic diversity, but also affects how animals behave. Our results support the view that ‘culturally significant units’ should be integrated into wildlife conservation.
Citation
Kühl , H S , Boesch , C , Kulik , L , Haas , F , Arandjelovic , M , Dieguez , P , Bocksberger , G , McElreath , M B , Agbor , A , Angedakin , S , Ayimisin , E A , Bailey , E , Barubiyo , D , Bessone , M , Brazzola , G , Chancellor , R , Cohen , H , Coupland , C , Danquah , E , Deschner , T , Dowd , D , Dunn , A , Egbe , V E , Eshuis , H , Goedmakers , A , Granjon , A C , Head , J , Hedwig , D , Hermans , V , Imong , I , Jeffery , K J , Jones , S , Junker , J , Kadam , P , Kambere , M , Kambi , M , Kienast , I , Kujirakwinja , D , Langergraber , K , Lapuente , J , Larson , B , Lee , K , Leinert , V , Llana , M , Maretti , G , Marrocoli , S , Martin , R , Mbi , T J , Meier , A C , Morgan , B , Morgan , D , Mulindahabi , F , Murai , M , Neil , E , Niyigaba , P , Ormsby , L J , Orume , R , Pacheco , L , Piel , A , Preece , J , Regnaut , S , Rundus , A , Sanz , C , Schijndel , J V , Sommer , V , Stewart , F , Tagg , N , Vendras , E , Vergnes , V , Welsh , A , Wessling , E G , Willie , J , Wittig , R M , Yuh , Y G , Yurkiw , K , Zuberbuehler , K & Kalan , A K 2019 , ' Human impact erodes chimpanzee behavioral diversity ' , Science , vol. 363 , no. 6434 , pp. 1453-1455 . https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau4532
Publication
Science
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0036-8075Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works http://www.sciencemag.org/about/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau4532
Description
Funding: Generous funding for the Pan African Programme was provided by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Society Innovation Fund, Krekeler Foundation, Robert Bosch Foundation, Chimbo Foundation and UCSD-SALK Institute Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA).Collections
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