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Chapter 6

Chapter 6. Primate Behavior. Chapter Outline. Importance of Primate Study Evolution of Behavior Nonhuman Primate Social Behavior Reproduction and Reproductive Strategies Mothers and Infants Nonhuman Primate Cultural Behavior Primate Cognitive Abilities The Primate Continuum.

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Chapter 6

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  1. Chapter 6 Primate Behavior

  2. Chapter Outline • Importance of Primate Study • Evolution of Behavior • Nonhuman Primate Social Behavior • Reproduction and Reproductive Strategies • Mothers and Infants • Nonhuman Primate Cultural Behavior • Primate Cognitive Abilities • The Primate Continuum

  3. Importance of Primate Studies • Modern African apes and humans last shared a common ancestor between 5 and 8 m.y.a. • Only within the last 4 decades have nonhuman primates been studied. • Many species, such as arboreal monkeys have scarcely been studied at all.

  4. Primate Socioecology • Socioecology studies the relationship between social behavior and the natural environment. • One assumption is that components of ecological systems evolved together. • To understand how one component works, it is necessary to determine the species relationships with their environment.

  5. Environmental Factors • Quality and quantity of foods • Distribution of food resources, water, predators and sleeping sites • Activity patterns (diurnal, nocturnal) • Relationship with other species • Impact of human activities

  6. Socioecology and Predation • Multimale and multifemale groups have an advantage when predation pressure is high. • Adult males may join forces to attack predators. • Savannah baboons have been known to kill domestic dogs and attack leopards and lions. • Solitary foraging may be due to diet and distribution of resources or predator avoidance.

  7. Evolutionary Perspective • Natural selection acts on behavior just as it acts on physical characteristics. • Behavior is a phenotypic expression and genes code for specific behaviors. • Natural selection has a role in shaping primate behavior.

  8. Criticism of the Evolutionary Perspective Little data on: • The social behavior of large groups of animals. • Genetic relatedness through the male line. • Assigning reproductive costs and benefits to particular behaviors. • The genetics of primate social behavior.

  9. Dominance Status • Factors that influence status: • Sex • Age • Aggression • Time in the group • Intelligence • Motivation • Mother’s social position

  10. Communication • Raised body hair is an example of an autonomic response. • Vocalizations and branch shaking are examples of deliberate communication. • Reassurance is communicated through hugging or holding hands. • The fear grin, seen in all primates, indicates fear and submission. • Displays communicate emotional states.

  11. Aggression • Primates might defend a core area within their permanent home. • Jane Goodall witnessed unprovoked, brutal attacks of chimpanzees by other chimpanzees. • Territoriality and acquisition of females are the motives suggested for chimpanzee male aggression.

  12. Affiliative Behaviors Reinforce bonds between individuals and enhance group stability: • Grooming reinforces social bonds. • Hugging, kissing and grooming are all forms used in reconciliation. • Relationships are crucial to nonhuman primates and the bonds between individuals can last a lifetime. • Altruism, behaviors that benefit another while posing risk to oneself, are common in primate species.

  13. Patterns of Reproduction • In most primate societies, sexual behavior is tied to the female’s reproductive cycle. • Permanent bonding is not common among nonhuman primates. • Male and female Bonobos may mate even when the female is not in estrus, a behavior that is not typical of chimpanzees.

  14. Reproductive Strategies • Behavioral patterns that contribute to individual reproductive success. • Primates produce only a few young in whom they invest a tremendous amount of parental care. (k –selected) • Male competition for mates and mate choice in females are both examples of sexual selection.

  15. Mothers and Infants • The basic social unit among all primates is the female and her infants. • Except in species in which monogamy or polyandry occur, males do not participate in rearing offspring. • Monkeys raised without a mother were not able to form lasting affectional ties. • The mother-infant relationship is often maintained throughout life.

  16. Nonhuman Primate Cultural Behavior • Cultural behavior is learned and passed from one generation to the next. • Chimpanzee culture includes tools such as termite fishing sticks and leaf sponges.

  17. Primate Cognitive Abilities • Social interactions and problem-solving abilities demonstrate primate intelligence. • Vervet monkeys have three different vocalizations to indicate types of predators. • The fact that apes can’t speak has more to do with their anatomy and the language related structures of the brain than intelligence.

  18. The Primate Continuum • Human brains are larger than primate brains, but the neurological processes are functionally the same. • That humans are part of an evolutionary continuum is the basis for animal research, yet we cage nonhuman primates without regard for their needs. • Nonhuman primates should be maintained in social groups and introduced to habitat enrichment programs.

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