Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-15-2020
Abstract
Large brains and behavioural innovation are positively correlated, species-specific traits, associated with the behavioural flexibility animals need for adapting to seasonal and unpredictable habitats. Similar ecological challenges would have been important drivers throughout human evolution. However, studies examining the influence of environmental variability on within-species behavioural diversity are lacking despite the critical assumption that population diversification precedes genetic divergence and speciation. Here, using a dataset of 144 wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) communities, we show that chimpanzees exhibit greater behavioural diversity in environments with more variability - in both recent and historical timescales. Notably, distance from Pleistocene forest refugia is associated with the presence of a larger number of behavioural traits, including both tool and non-tool use behaviours. Since more than half of the behaviours investigated are also likely to be cultural, we suggest that environmental variability was a critical evolutionary force promoting the behavioural, as well as cultural diversification of great apes.
Publication Title
Nature Communications
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Research
Volume
11
Issue
1
First Page
1
Last Page
10
DOI
10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3
Recommended Citation
Kalan, A. K., Kulik, L., Arandjelovic, M., Boesch, C., Haas, F., Dieguez, P., Barratt, C. D., Abwe, E. E., Agbor, A., Angedakin, S., Aubert, F., Ayimisin, E. A., Bailey, E., Bessone, M., Brazzola, G., Buh, V. E., Chancellor, R., Cohen, H., Coupland, C., Curran, B., Danquah, E., Deschner, T., Dowd, D., Eno-Nku, M., Fay, J. M., Goedmakers, A., Granjon, A., Head, J., Hedwig, D., Hermans, V., Jeffery, K. J., Jones, S., Junker, J., Kadam, P., Kambi, M., Kienast, I., Kujirakwinja, D., Langergraber, K. E., Lapuente, J., Larson, B., Lee, K. C., Leinert, V., Llana, M., Marrocoli, S., Meier, A. C., Morgan, B., Morgan, D., Neil, E., Nicholl, S., Normand, E., Ormsby, L. J., Pacheco, L., Piel, A., Preece, J., Robbins, M. M., Rundus, A. S., Sanz, C., Sommer, V., Stewart, F., Tagg, N., Tennie, C., Vergnes, V., Welsh, A., Wessling, E. G., Willie, J., Wittig, R. M., Yuh, Y. G., Zuberbuhler, K., & Kuehl, H. S. (2020). Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3
Comments
Article Number: 4451