Gregariousness, foraging effort, and affiliative interactions in lactating bonobos and chimpanzees.

ABSTRACT: Fission-fusion dynamics have evolved in a broad range of animal taxa and are thought to allow individuals to mitigate feeding competition. While this is the principal benefit of fission-fusion, few studies have evaluated its costs. We compared gregariousness, foraging budgets, and social budgets between lactating bonobos and chimpanzees from wild populations to evaluate potential costs. Both species exhibit fission-fusion dynamics, but chimpanzees, particularly in East African populations, appear to experience higher feeding competition than bonobos. We expected lactating chimpanzees to be less gregarious than lactating bonobos; reduced gregariousness should allow lactating chimpanzees to mitigate the costs of higher feeding competition without requiring more foraging effort. However, we e

SUBMITTER: Lee SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7937187 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature