Social interactions and interaction partners in infant orang-utans of two wild populations

Fröhlich, Marlen; Kunz, Julia; Fryns, Caroline; Falkner, Sonja; Rukmana, Evasari; Schuppli, Mélanie; Knief, Ulrich; Atmoko, Sri Suci Utami; Schuppli, Caroline; Noordwijk, Maria A. van

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.008

Cited by 17 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…The environments that captive and wild Sumatran orang-utans inhabit, at least in this study, were characterized by more frequent encounters with conspeci cs and a thus probably a wider set of possible social partners see also 37 . Social interactions with conspeci cs beyond the matriline are rarer in Tuanan than in Suaq 37 , as are unpredictable outcomes of interactions that would require subtler communication from a larger distance. Taken together, our results strikingly demonstrate that orang-utan signallers are able to exibly adjust their signalling to speci c recipients, in line with previous work on African apes e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Although orang-utans tend to have fewer opportunities for social interactions than the African apes outside the mother-offspring bond (but see 62 showing overlap in 'solitariness' between eastern chimpanzee females and North-West-Sumatran orang-utans), they do occur regularly. This is especially true in the populations of North-West Sumatra due to frequent encounters with adult males 26,63 , but also in some Bornean populations for mother-infant pairs of larger matrilineal clusters 36,37 . The environments that captive and wild Sumatran orang-utans inhabit, at least in this study, were characterized by more frequent encounters with conspeci cs and a thus probably a wider set of possible social partners see also 37 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is especially true in the populations of North-West Sumatra due to frequent encounters with adult males 26,63 , but also in some Bornean populations for mother-infant pairs of larger matrilineal clusters 36,37 . The environments that captive and wild Sumatran orang-utans inhabit, at least in this study, were characterized by more frequent encounters with conspeci cs and a thus probably a wider set of possible social partners see also 37 . Social interactions with conspeci cs beyond the matriline are rarer in Tuanan than in Suaq 37 , as are unpredictable outcomes of interactions that would require subtler communication from a larger distance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MF collected data at both study sites ensuring the use of the same criteria during training see also 44 .…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…due to differences in social tolerance and familiarity 30,31 . Although mothers are the most important communication partner of infant orang-utans 10,32,33 , temporary associations during feeding or travelling occur, particularly if food is abundant 34,35 , thus providing opportunities for social interactions beyond the mother-infant unit [36][37][38] . We expect that the reduced familiarity of these dyads, and thus the greater uncertainty of tolerance, would lead them to use more multi-articulator signals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use and Function of Multi-Articulator Versus Multi-Sensory Acts in the Close-Range Communication of Orang-Utans

Fröhlich

Bartolotta

Fryns

et al. 2020

Preprint

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From early infancy, human face-to-face communication is “multimodal”, comprising a plethora of interlinked articulators and sensory modalities. Although there is also growing evidence for this in nonhuman primates, the functions of integrating articulators (i.e. multiplex or multi-articulator acts) and channels (i.e. multimodal or multi-sensory acts) remain poorly understood. Here, we studied close-range social interactions within and beyond mother-infant pairs of Bornean and Sumatran orang-utans living in wild and captive settings, to examine to what extent species, setting and recipient-dependent factors affected the use of and responses to multi-sensory as well as multi-articulator communication. Results showed that both multi-sensory and multi-articulatory acts were more effective at eliciting responses (i.e. “apparently satisfactory outcomes”) than their respective uni-component parts, and generally played a larger role in wild populations. However, only multi-articulator acts were used more when the presumed goal did not match the dominant outcome for a specific communicative act, and were more common among non-mother-infant dyads and Sumatrans across settings. We suggest that communication through multiple sensory channels primarily facilitates effectiveness, whereas a flexible combination of articulators is relevant when social tolerance and interaction outcomes are less predictable. These different functions underscore the importance of distinguishing between these forms of multi-component communication.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MF collected data at both study sites ensuring the use of the same criteria during training see also 44 .…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use and Function of Multi-Articulator Versus Multi-Sensory Acts in the Close-Range Communication of Orang-Utans

Fröhlich

Bartolotta

Fryns

et al. 2020

Preprint

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A systematic review of sex differences in rough and tumble play across non-human mammals

Marley

Pollard

Barton

et al. 2022

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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It is widely believed that juvenile male mammals typically engage in higher rates of rough and tumble play (RTP) than do females, in preparation for adult roles involving intense physical competition between males. The consistency of this sex difference across diverse mammalian species has, however, not yet been systematically investigated, limiting our current understanding of its possible adaptive function. This review uses narrative synthesis to (i) evaluate the ubiquity of male-biased RTP across non-human mammals, (ii) identify patterns of variation within and between taxonomic groups, and (iii) propose possible predictors of variation in these differences, including methodological and socio-ecological factors, for investigation by future studies. We find that most species studied do exhibit higher rates or RTP in males than females, while female-biased RTP is rare. Sex differences are smaller and less consistent than expected, with many studies finding similar rates of RTP in males and females. We identify multiple potential socio-ecological predictors of variation in sex differences in RTP, such as intrasexual competition and dietary niche. However, variation is not strongly phylogenetically patterned, suggesting that methodological and environmental factors, such as sample size and play partner availability, are important to consider in future comparative analyses. Significance statement Rough and tumble play (RTP) is thought to be vital for developing physical skills necessary for aggressive competition in adulthood, explaining an apparently widespread sex difference in RTP in mammals whereby immature males are more likely to engage in this behaviour than females. However, no prior study has systematically investigated the extent to which a male bias in RTP is consistent across diverse mammalian species. We find that although RTP is commonly male biased, findings were highly variable both within- and between-species, and equal participation in RTP by males and females is more common than widely assumed. Our review suggests several potential predictors of variation in sex differences in RTP, particularly levels of intrasexual competition in both males and females. However, our findings also suggest the importance of considering methodological in addition to socio-ecological factors for future research.

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Wild and captive immature orangutans differ in their non-vocal communication with others, but not with their mothers

Fröhlich,

van Noordwijk,

Mitra Setia

et al. 2024

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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In many group-living species, individuals are required to flexibly modify their communicative behaviour in response to current social challenges. To unravel whether sociality and communication systems co-evolve, research efforts have often targeted the links between social organisation and communicative repertoires. However, it is still unclear which social or interactional factors directly predict communicative complexity. To address this issue, we studied wild and zoo-housed immature orangutans of two species to assess the impact of the socio-ecological setting on the production of non-vocal signal repertoires. Specifically, we compared repertoire size, dyadic repertoire similarity, and number of social goals (i.e. observer’s estimate of the signaller’s intended interaction outcome) for communicative interactions with mothers versus other conspecifics, controlling for critical individual and environmental factors. In this small sample of immature orangutans, wild-captive contrasts were statistically significant only for other-directed repertoires, but not for mother-directed repertoires, and not for the number of social goals that immatures communicated towards. While the repertoires of individuals living in the same research setting were more similar than those living in contrasting settings, this difference was most pronounced for other-directed repertoires of the less socially tolerant orangutan species. These results suggest that the boosted interactional opportunities in captivity rather than mere differences in environmental affordances or communicative needs drive the wild-captive contrast in orangutan communicative repertoires. Overall, this fine-grained analysis of repertoires further underscores that not only a species’ social organisation but also the targeted audience may have a profound impact on communicative behaviour. Significance statement Navigating a dynamic social environment often requires flexible signal use. While it has repeatedly been shown that the social organisation and structure of species predict the complexity of their communication systems, the mechanisms underlying these relationships are largely unknown. Because targeted studies to assess this issue in great apes are difficult, we take an alternative approach here: we compare the same species living in the wild and in artificial habitats in captivity. This contrast allows a direct test of how repertoires respond to the relevant difference in socio-ecological conditions. Our results show that the diversity of interaction partners (i.e. social opportunities), but not the diversity of social goals (i.e. possible interaction outcomes) or the broader physical opportunities (i.e. safe ground use), predict the size and consistency of wild and captive signalling repertoires.

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Social interactions and interaction partners in infant orang-utans of two wild populations

Cited by 17 publications

References 50 publications

Use and Function of Multi-Articulator Versus Multi-Sensory Acts in the Close-Range Communication of Orang-Utans

Use and Function of Multi-Articulator Versus Multi-Sensory Acts in the Close-Range Communication of Orang-Utans

A systematic review of sex differences in rough and tumble play across non-human mammals

Wild and captive immature orangutans differ in their non-vocal communication with others, but not with their mothers

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