The implementation of fish downstream migration bypass systems is still a major challenge, and there is interest in validating the adequacy of different configurations of bypass devices. In the Amblève River (Belgium), a mobile 3.3-m height dam feeds two principal Francis and one Francis micro-turbine and is equipped with a modern vertical slot fish pass and a downstream bypass. The aim of this study was to test the bypass attraction and efficiency (i.e. percentage of fish that approach the entrance and use the bypass) for Atlantic salmon smolts. During three consecutive years, a total of 1346 smolts were equipped with a radio frequency identification tag and released from March to May upstream of the dam of Lorcé. The entrance of the downstream migration bypass was equipped with a radio frequency identification antenna in order to detect the smolts approaching. In 2014, a capture cage was also placed downstream the bypass to evaluate its efficiency. The mean percentage of detected smolts at the entrance varied from 26.2 to 39.7%. In 2014, 16.5% of the released smolts entered the bypass and were finally caught in the cage, representing 39% of the smolts detected at the entrance. More than 98% of the detections occurred during night (mainly between 9 PM and 3 AM). The searching delay near the bypass entrance varied from less than 5 min to more than 5 days (median 4.3 min). Visual observation indicated a behavioural reluctance before entering the bypass, with a shift from positive to negative rheotaxy. Our results underline the difficulty to install retrofitted bypass system on old existing hydropower plants.

Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), one of humankinds’ closest living relatives, are known to hunt and consume the meat of various animal taxa. Although some researchers have presented indirect evidence that chimpanzees may also prey on tortoises, until now, direct observations of this behaviour did not exist. Here, we provide systematic descriptions of the first observations of chimpanzee predation on tortoises ( Kinixys erosa ). We made these unprecedented observations on newly habituated chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes troglodytes ) of the Rekambo community, living in the Loango National Park, Gabon. The behaviour qualified as customary, that is occurring in most or all adult males, involved a distinct smashing technique, and resulted frequently in food sharing with other group members. Our observations shed new light on the hitherto little understood percussive technology of chimpanzees, and expand our current knowledge on chimpanzees’ dietary and predatory repertoires with respect to reptiles. We also report a case of food storage and discuss it in the context of future-oriented cognition. Our findings suggest the need for more nuanced interpretations of chimpanzees’ cognitive skills in combination with an in-depth understanding of their unique socio-ecological niches. They further emphasize the importance of nonhuman primate field observations to inform theories of hominin evolution.

The predation and consumption of animals are common behaviours in chimpanzees across tropical Africa. To date, however, relatively little is known concerning the hunting behaviour of central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). Here, we provide the first direct observations of hunting behaviour by individuals of the newly habituated Rekambo community in the Loango National Park, Gabon. Over a period of 23 months (May 2017 to March 2019), we observed a total of 61 predation attempts on eight mammal species, including four monkey species. The two most frequently hunted species were two monkey species (Cercocebus torquatus,Cercopithecus nictitans), which are not hunted at other long-term field sites. The majority of predation events observed involved parties of an average of eight individuals, mainly adult males, with hunting success being higher with increasing numbers of participants. Hunting occurred all year round, but hunting rates increased in the dry season, the period of high fruit availability in the Loango National Park. These results are in line with the nutrient surplus hypothesis which explains seasonal variation in hunting behaviour in several populations of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii: e.g., Mahale, Tanzania; Ngogo, Uganda). Finally, with a hunting frequency of 2.65 hunts per month, the Rekambo community had higher hunting rates than other sites (Bossou, Republic of Guinea; Kahuzi-Biega, Democratic Republic of Congo; Budongo, Uganda) where red colobus monkeys are also absent. We discuss these results and compare them to patterns at other long-term sites.

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