Female chimpanzees avoid humans

Date:
March 2, 2022
Source:
University of Exeter
Summary:
Female chimpanzees are less likely than males to go near villages
and farmland used by humans, new research shows.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Female chimpanzees are less likely than males to go near villages and
farmland used by humans, new research shows.


========================================================================== Scientists observed chimpanzees in their natural forest habitat, and
when they approached villages and cropland.

Gatherings of chimpanzees -- our closest living relatives -- got smaller
near areas used by humans, mostly because fewer females ventured into
these places.

The study -- by the University of Exeter and the Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Uganda -- is the first to examine how a landscape
dominated by humans affects the social lives of chimpanzees.

"Wild animals are being forced to modify their behaviour due to the risks
of living alongside humans," said lead author Zoe Satsias, a Conservation
and Biodiversity Masters student at the University of Exeter.

"These chimpanzees encounter people, domestic dogs and other livestock
daily, when foraging on crops such as jackfruit, and this frequently
leads to conflict.



========================================================================== "Croplands pose a further risk to chimpanzees due to the occasional
presence of snares or traps, and proximity to roads -- including a
main tarmacked road that divides their home range." Dr Matt McLennan,
who runs the Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, added: "Male
chimpanzees seem unperturbed by the prospect of running into people,
and are even willing to engage in confrontations with villagers.

"But females -- especially those with dependent offspring -- tend to avoid contact with people, which explains why subgroups were smaller outside
the forest." The researchers measured social connections among group
members by observing which chimpanzees were frequently close together.

"While males and females were equally central in their social networks
inside the forest, in more risky croplands and village areas the core of
the social network was dominated exclusively by males," said Dr Kimberley Hockings, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter's Penryn
Campus in Cornwall.

"Our study highlights how male and female chimpanzees are adapting
differently to human encroachment, and points to a difference in
risk perception between the sexes." This sex difference could have far-reaching consequences affecting the survival of chimpanzees in fast-changing habitats.

"The avoidance of certain areas by females -- resulting in them being
in the periphery of their social networks -- could disrupt the spread
of information and reduce social learning opportunities for younger chimpanzees, potentially supressing the learning of new behaviours that
could help them survive," Dr Hockings said.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Exeter. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Zoe M. Satsias, Matthew J. Silk, Kimberley J. Hockings, Marie Cibot,
Jacqueline Rohen, Matthew R. McLennan. Sex-specific responses
to anthropogenic risk shape wild chimpanzee social networks in a
human- impacted landscape. Animal Behaviour, 2022; 186: 29 DOI:
10.1016/ j.anbehav.2022.01.016 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220302100152.htm

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