The overall goal of this project is to investigate male-male interactions in an all-male unit in a complex multilevel society of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) in China.

More specifically, the study is aimed at characterizing the social network of an all-male unit, identifying the factors that influence male-male interactions, and examining the effect of seasonality on male-male social relationships.  

Collaborator:

Prof. Li Ming and Ren Baoping, the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing

Student: Pingfen Zhu

Site: Golden Monkey National Park, Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve, Xiangguqing, Tacheng, Weixi, Yunnan, China

Chimpanzee ranging decisions, along with many aspects of behaviour, are influenced by ecological, social and cultural factors that vary substantially among sites.  

The availability and distribution of food resources is thought to be the primary factor determining chimpanzee space use, but neighbouring groups, topographic variation, access to mates, predation pressure and the location of their prey can also play significant parts in some populations.  

The majority of chimpanzee research to date has been undertaken on a limited number of mid to low elevation populations, so surprisingly little is known about how chimpanzees adapt to survive in low-resource, montane environments.  

Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda supports chimpanzees that occupy the highest altitudinal limit of their species distribution.  This study will investigate how Nyungwe’s relatively low quality and sparsely distributed food resources, extremely rugged terrain and large sympatric group of colobus monkeys (chimpanzees preferred prey) influences the ranging decisions of chimpanzees and development of spatial memory.  

It will also be the first study to use simultaneous focal follow data for sympatric chimpanzees and colobus monkeys to model the spatial-temporal dynamics of predator-prey interaction.  Investigating chimpanzee ranging behaviour in new, unique environments is not only critical for effective conservation of this endangered species, but may expand our knowledge of chimpanzee behavioural diversity and provide insights to possible early hominid foraging strategies in similar environments.  

Collaborators:

Beth Kaplin, University of Rwanda and Antioch University of New England

Student:

Samantha Green, UWA

Chimpanzees are our closest phylogenetic relatives and constitute an important basis for hypotheses about the origin and evolution of human sociality.

Chimpanzees across tropical Africa show extensive amounts of behavioural diversity that is sometimes attributed to variation in local environmental conditions and sometimes thought to represent distinct cultural traditions.

Chimpanzees have been the subject of long-term studies at several sites in Africa, but studies at additional sites are needed to understand the full range of adaptability in this taxon.

The population at Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda is special in that it lives in a relatively marginal high-altitude environment with unique ecological challenges; however, little systematic research has been conducted on this population.

The overarching goal of this study is to elucidate how this particular population has adapted to an unusual montane environment that differs in resource availability from other chimpanzee study sites.

A long-term study on the behavioral ecology of Mayebe community near Uwinka is to be launched which will initially focus on their feeding ecology, grouping patterns, space use and hunting behaviour.

Long-term research projects of this nature are essential for increasing our understanding of the ecological processes that affect behaviour, life history patterns and population dynamics in this taxon, which occur over many years or even decades.

When attempting to conserve species which are under high threat, understanding these parameters is vital for conservation planning.

Collaborators:

Beth Kaplin, Antioch University

Student:

Jaya Matthews, UWA

Maintaining group cohesion is of paramount importance in the face of predation and conspecific threat. Primates have various ‘tools’ at their disposal to ‘cultivate’ social relationships which may contribute to within-group harmony.

It has been argued that social grooming plays an essential role in group cohesion in non-human primates. Spatial proximity has also been traditionally used by primatologists and behavioural scientists as a proxy measures for bond strength. However, there may be alternative mechanisms by which individuals can express affinity in social settings.

Social monitoring (i.e. visual monitoring of conspecifics, particularly fellow group members) could provide a direct measure of social interest and be a valuable indicator of relationship quality of group members, but this is a little explored theme. In humans, social monitoring and fixed gaze is an important sign of romantic engagement and it is to be expected to have a similar function in non-human primates.

This project aims to address the following questions:

1) Do gorillas monitor conspecifics to a) avoid conflicts (e.g. more monitoring of dominant individuals), b) to establish/enhance bonds, or c) to engage in copulations?

2) Do gorillas monitor conspecifics more often than the public?

3) Does the degree of monitoring conspecifics vs. the public differ between age-sex classes?

Collaborator: 

Student:

Natasha Coutts

Angolan colobus monkeys in Rwanda's Nyungwe National Park live in supertroops of several hundred individuals.

However, very little is known about the ecological preconditions (resource abundance and distribution) that allow these primates to live in such extremely large groups and nothing is known about how these supergroups are internally structured.

Our field research is designed to fill this knowledge gap.  

Collaborator: 

Student:

Alex Miller, UWA

Golden snub-nosed monkeys in China form multilevel societies characterized by one-male units embedded within a larger bands.

The functional significance of band formation is not yet fully understood, but it could offer individuals better protection from takeover attempts by bachelor males through safety-in-numbers or collective defence.

The social dynamics of bachelor groups and reproductive groups are being explored in collaboration with researchers in China.

Collaborator: 

Mountain gorillas in Rwanda inhabit an area where there is high overlap among groups’ home ranges and encounters between different groups are relatively frequent.

We study them with the aim of determining the factors that prevent escalation of intergroup conflict, e.g. familiarity and relatedness among members of different groups or resource abundance in their home ranges.

Site:

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Collaborating institution:

Student:

Melanie Mirville, UWA