How Do Resource Abundance and Distribution Affect the Social Structure of Primate Societies

“In their natural homes in the wild, chimpanzees humans’ closest living genetic relatives”, who are more like us than they’re like gorillas are never separated from their families and troops . “Profoundly social beings, they spend every day together exploring, crafting and using tools to solve problems, foraging, playing, grooming each other, and making soft nests for sleeping each night” . They care deeply for their families and forge lifelong friendships . Chimpanzee mothers are loving and protective, nursing their infants and sharing their nests with them for four to six years . They have excellent memories and share cultural traditions with their children and peers . They empathize with one another and console their friends when they’re upset . They help others, even at a personal cost to themselves . When one of another

Primates are one of the most interesting mammals on earth, not only because of their complex social structures, but because they hold so many similar characteristics to humans. Primates are often cited as our closest living relatives and on two separate occasions I observed four separate species of primates at the San Diego Zoo that can justify their use of their physical characteristics and behaviors that may be similar as well as different to the other primates and ours.

With only two hundred and fifty to three hundred left, the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla roams the African forests while on the brink of extinction (Save Our Species). Africa has many populations of primates that are at the least endangered, and the Cross River Gorilla is the closest to extinction and the least studied due to the rarity of observing them. (Save Our Species). These gorillas are confined to small, mountainous areas that have been separated over and over again by fragmentation, furthermore ruining the needed social aspect of the groups and need for vast land (Imong, I., & Robbins, M.), (Save Our Species) The increased hunting and fragmentation of these Gorilla’s habitats has caused a large problem with how the

Within this essay, we will study more in depth the behavioral as well as physical traits of two primates at a zoo from their interaction with their peers to their place in the group. This observation would enable us to further understand the possible existing correlation between humans and primates. First, I studied a female chimpanzee with her baby, and then, a dominant male gorilla, in San Francisco Zoo at about noon, on May 23, 2015, for an hour each. Even though they share some similarities such as having a large brain, living for a long time, and being bored in their enclosure, they are still different; when gorillas are the largest, chimpanzees are the smartest. In fact, chimps use tools to catch food, they would not be able to reach

Primate conservation has long been a topic of debate, reliant most heavily on the struggle to provide the necessary resources to combat the declining rate of population growth among various species. Orangutans in particular, both Sumatran and Bornean, have experienced a rapid drop in their free-living populations. With an estimate of only 27,000 left in the wild, questions have been raised over what selective pressures are impacting the steady decline of these animals existence. While hunting and poaching have been identified as contributing factors, habitat loss primarily takes center stage in their demise. Conservation efforts have been made and continue to be somewhat successful, however, challenges and set backs continue to threaten

Therefore some non-human animals do not show signs of ToM. Evolutionary science suggests that the higher primates are distant relatives of human beings, having similar physiology may mean that higher primates are more capable of intelligence. Social relationships refer to an animal's ability to form bonds with others of its species. This relationship formation may be affected by the animal's status or role in the community. In

Non human primates’ social organization can provide useful information how human social evolution occurs. We will go over main points of how similar and different non human primates such as chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas’ society are compared to ours, humans.

     It is common in monkeys, apes and humans that behavior and social organization aren’t necessarily programmed into the genes. There have been several cases where an entire troop has learned from the experiences of just a few. In a group of Japanese macaques, for example, a three-year-old female female developed the habit of washing dirt of of sweet potatoes before she

During my research of Orangutans and Mandrills I observed them in captivity at the San Diego Zoo. My observations included a 20 minute observation of each primate as it cohabitated with other Primates and with other members of its own species. My findings will support the research of Orangutans and Mandrills through firsthand observations.

Due to the higher degree of intelligence, different types of primates engage in different complex social groups. The three main ways to group primate societies are monogamous, polygynous and multi male multi female groups.

Addressing the various mating systems of primates and its relation to sexual size dimorphism and behavior contributes to understanding evolutionary processes and patterns. The different methods of mating are significant to study because they demonstrate the outcomes of natural selection on mate choice. These varying mating methods also aide in understanding the origin of

Research by Yamamoto, Humle and Tanaka in 2009 concluded that chimpanzees show altruism only when prompted or pressured rather than voluntarily [5]. This particular empirical research challenges the evidence proposed by prior researchers and tests the limits of chimpanzee’s altruistic nature. Using colour-coded tokens, one of which allowed for a partner to share the reward with the test subject and one of which gave the test subject all of the reward, several chimps were tested as to their response. Results showed a tendency for the chimpanzee to take the prosocial option in situations both with and without peer pressure. Abnormally results showed that pressure or harassment from partners reduced the chimpanzee’s inclination to take the prosocial option. Although these results challenge prior research [5] they are limited as they are not conclusive and raise questions of their own to reach a complete understanding. These research results are significant in challenging an already established understanding of chimpanzee’s altruistic traits and acts as a good contrast to other references. This resource stands out as it does not make conclusive statements out of abnormal results but rather opens up a reader’s opinion and presents issues further

It may seem odd for non-human forms of life to form groups or cliques seeing to as it is a human trait,but some species of animals actually do form cliques instinctively.Baboons and fish form social groups between each other.Experiments were tested to prove that “baboon clique” idea was accurate.The test began by setting out food likes bread rolls and hard boiled eggs on the edge of trails the animals frequently journeyed to.The researchers kept up with time it took different animals to explore close enough to check out the new foods and another for ones that had the courage to taste them. As expected, the curious set of baboons all belonged to the same group. What caught the eye of the scientists is that gender was not a factor. The monkeys

Social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups, this organization dictates many aspects of species life. It creates specific roles within the population and creates a sense of structure. Any number of factors can determine this organization including hierarchy in the sexes, age, and size. The structure provided by this organization allows for unity within the population because of the understanding of each members place in the organization. An example of the importance of social organization can be seen in baboons. Baboons are primates that can be found in open savannah, open woodland and hills across Africa. They are omnivores but there diet consists mostly of plant life from foraging.

However, while previous studies have focused on how the position within a social network affects an individual’s fitness, few have explored the relationship between species sociality and network structure. citet{Faust2002} compared 42 networks across human, animal and bird species and found network similarity to be dependent on the interaction type rather than the taxonomic classification. A follow-up study that compared 51 human and non-human social networks pointed out the difficulties in comparing network structures across taxa, as most of the global network properties are constrained by network size and edge density citep{Faust2006}. Comparative studies of primate social networks have shown an association between neocortex size, which is linked to higher social ability, with network density, connectivity, and global network efficiency citep{Kudo2001, Lehmann2009, Pasquaretta2014}. citet{Lusseau2004} compared the structure of dolphin social networks with known features of human social networks (positive degree homophily, preferential association by age), but no formal statistical comparisons were made. Other recent attempts have been limited to closely related species (e.g., comparison of grevy’s zebra,