Chimpanzees Use Tools to Harvest Social Insects at Fongoli, Senegal

McGrew, William C.; Pruetz, Jill D.; Fulton, S.J.

doi:10.1159/000086023

Cited by 37 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Instead, we collected artifacts used in extractive foraging opportunistically while searching for or tracking chimpanzees (cf. McGrew et al 2005). The relative rarity of finds during the wet season might therefore be misleading, as chimpanzee tracking is less easy during the period and because heavy rains quickly disintegrate tool ateliers.…”

Section: Potential Biases In Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ant-dipping wands at Gashaka seem to have the greatest average length (83 cm) reported from any study. Some sites come close (Tenkere, 80 cm; Kalinzu, 79 cm; Fongoli, 79 cm; Mount Nimba, 73 cm; Assirik, 72 cm; Gombe, 66 cm), but other chimpanzees use noticeably shorter sticks (Bossou, 45 cm; Taï, 24 cm; data from reviews in Alp 1993;Hashimoto et al 2000;McGrew et al 2005;Yamakoshi and Myowa-Yamakoshi 2004). A number of ecological factors could explain these differences: 1) Dorylus ant nests in Gashaka may be deeper or more hidden; 2) the ants may be more aggressive or live in larger colonies; 3) we did not recover tools used to prey on migrating or foraging ant trails, either because our direct observations were limited and chance recoveries from tails are less likely, or because the chimpanzees do not fish from trails (Schöning et al 2007).…”

Section: Environmental Explanations For Behavioral Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subsistence Technology of Nigerian Chimpanzees

Fowler

Sommer

2007

Int J Primatol

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A trademark of Homo sapiens is the enormous variation in behavioral patterns across populations. Insight into the development of human cultures can be aided by studies on communities of Pan across Africa that display unique combinations of social behavior and elementary technology. Only cross-population comparisons can reveal whether the diversity reflects differential genetics, environmental constraints, or is a cultural variant. However, the recently recognized and most endangered subspecies, Pan troglodytes vellerosus, remains completely unstudied in this respect. We report first evidence from a new long-term study of Nigerian chimpanzees at Gashaka. Their dietary composition is highly varied and they have to cope with high concentrations of antifeedant defenses of plants against consumption. Gashaka chimpanzees use a varied tool kit for extractive foraging. For example, they harvest insects throughout the year, via digging sticks and probes, to obtain honey from stingless-bee and honeybee nests, dipping wands to prey on army ants, and fishing rods to eat arboreal ants. Tools appeared to be custom-made with a considerable degree of standardization in length, diameter, and preferential use of distal ends. Moreover, compared to the rainy season, tools were longer during the dry season when insects retreat further into their nests. Many of the expressions of subsistence technology seem to be environmentally constrained. Most notably, the absence of termite-eating could reflect a low abundance of mounds. Other traits may represent cultural variation. For example, the chimpanzees did not hammer open 2 types of hard-shelled nuts with tools, unlike what occurs elsewhere in West Africa. The prevalence of elementary technology may indicate that the material culture of Gashaka chimpanzees is most related to core cultural tendencies of Central African populations.

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Section: Potential Biases In Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Explanations For Behavioral Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsistence Technology of Nigerian Chimpanzees

Fowler

Sommer

2007

Int J Primatol

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“…13.7) was not controlled for time spent in the field as many artifacts were collected opportunistically (cf. McGrew et al 2005). The relative rarity of finds during the wet season might therefore be misleading, as chimpanzee tracking is less easy during this period and because ateliers quickly disintegrate in heavy rains.…”

Section: Potential Biases In Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is thus not known if they use the direct-mouthing or pull-through technique. Based on the principle that form reflects function, McGrew et al (2005) predicted that chimpanzees at Fongoli / Senegal employ the two-handed pullthrough technique, given that tools recovered at this site are relatively long. The even greater average length of dipping wands at Gashaka suggests the same.…”

Section: Environmental Explanations For Behavioural Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Panthropology of the Fourth Chimpanzee: A Contribution to Cultural Primatology

Fowler

Pascual‐Garrido²,

Buba³

et al. 2010

Primates of Gashaka

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A trademark of Homo sapiens is the enormous variation in behavioural patterns across populations. Insight into the development of human cultures can be aided by studies of Pan communities across Africa, which display unique combinations of social behaviour and elementary technology. Only cross-population comparisons can reveal whether this diversity reflects differential genetics, environmental constraints, or arbitrary cultural patterns. However, the recently recognised and most endangered subspecies Pan troglodytes vellerosus remains completely unstudied in this respect. We report on the Nigerian chimpanzees at Gashaka. At this site, diet composition is highly varied and the apes have to cope with high concentrations of anti-feedant defenses of plants against consumption. It is not surprising therefore, that Gashaka chimpanzees use a varied tool-kit for extractive foraging. For example, they harvest insects throughout the year, employing digging sticks and probes to obtain honey from nests of stingless bees and honey bees, dipping wands to prey on army ants and fishing rods to eat arboreal ants. Tools appeared to be custom-made with a considerable degree of standardisation and preferential use of distal ends. Many of these expressions of subsistence technology seem to be environmentally constrained. Most notably, the absence of termite eating could reflect a low abundance of mounds. Other traits may represent arbitrary cultural variation. For example, two types of hard-shelled nuts found in the habitat are not opened with tools, unlike what is observed elsewhere in West Africa. The prevalence of elementary technology may indicate that the material culture of Gashaka chimpanzees is most closely related to core cultural tendencies of Central African populations of these apes.

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“…Presence data can also be deduced from papers studying the ecology and/or the behaviour of some ant species (Agbogba 1991;1992;Agbogba & Howse 1992;Gillon et al 1984). Other have reported the participation of ant species in the diet of animals such as Chimpanzees (Bogart & Pruetz 2011;McGrew et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A preliminary checklist of the ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) fauna of Senegal

Diame¹,

Taylor

Blatrix

et al. 2017

J. Insect Biodiversity

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This work presents the first checklist of the ant species of Senegal, based on a review of the literature and on recent thorough sampling in Senegalese orchard agrosystems during rainy and dry seasons. Eighty-nine species belonging to 31 genera and 9 subfamilies of Formicidae are known. The most speciose genera were Monomorium Mayr, 1855, and Camponotus Mayr, 1861, with 13 and 12 species, respectively. The fresh collection yielded 31 species recorded for the first time in Senegal, including two undescribed species. The composition of the ant fauna reflects the fact that Senegal is in intermediate ecozone between North Africa and sub-Saharan areas, with some species previously known only from distant locations, such as Sudan.

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Chimpanzees Use Tools to Harvest Social Insects at Fongoli, Senegal

Cited by 37 publications

References 14 publications

Subsistence Technology of Nigerian Chimpanzees

Subsistence Technology of Nigerian Chimpanzees

Panthropology of the Fourth Chimpanzee: A Contribution to Cultural Primatology

A preliminary checklist of the ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) fauna of Senegal

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