Abstract
To analyze how the chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, change their grouping pattern, activity budget, travel speed, and travel distance within an annual cycle, I divided 1-year data into four periods. The Mahale chimpanzees have the behavioral flexibility to adapt to various climates and exhibited at least three behavioral seasons. In the early wet season, chimpanzees formed a few, large parties, and spent much time feeding on insects and animal meat. In the early and late dry seasons, chimpanzees maintained party sizes as large as in the early wet season, and traveled distances similar to the early wet season, but spent the most time feeding and traveling within the year. By contrast, in the late wet season chimpanzee parties broke up into more numerous, small groups, and traveled slowly over shorter distances. Although time spent feeding and traveling were the same as that in the early wet season, time spent feeding on terrestrial herbaceous vegetation (THV) was the highest in the year. The results suggest that chimpanzees travel longer, faster, and farther in seasons when they form large parties.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann, J. 1980.Baboon Mothers and Infants. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Baldwin, P. J.;McGrew, W. C.;Tutin, C. E. G. 1982. Wide-ranging chimpanzees at Mt. Assirik, Senegal.Int. J. Primatol., 3: 367–385.
Boesch, C. 1991. The effect of leopard predation on grouping patterns in forest chimpanzees.Behaviour, 117: 220–241.
Boesch, C. 1996. Social grouping in Taï chimpanzees. In:Great Ape Societies,McGrew,W. C.;Marchant,L. F.;Nishida,T. (eds.), Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 101–114.
Boesch, C.;Boesch-Achermann, H. 2000.The Chimpanzees of Tai Forest: Behavioural Ecology and Evolution. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.
Bronson, F. H. 1989. Seasonal regulation of reproduction in mammals. In:The Physiology of Reproduction,Knobil,E.;Neil,J. (eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp. 1831–1870.
Cardinali, D. P. 1984. Pineal and melatonin actions in reproductive endocrinology.Arch. Biol. Med. Exp., 17: 239–247.
Chapman, C. A.;White, F. J.;Wrangham, R. W. 1994. Party size in chimpanzees and bonobos. In:Chimpanzee Cultures,Wrangham,R. W.;McGrew,W. C.;de Waal,F. B. M.;Heltne,P. G. (eds.), Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 41–58.
Chapman, C. A.;Wrangham, R. W.;Chapman, L. J. 1995. Ecological constrains on group size: an analysis of spider monkey and chimpanzee subgroups.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 36: 59–70.
Doran, D. M. 1997. Influence of seasonality on activity patterns, feeding behavior, ranging, and grouping patterns in Taï chimpanzees.Int. J. Primatol., 18: 183–206.
Dunbar, R. I. M. 1983. Structure of gelada baboon reproductive units: IV. Integration at group level.Z. Tierpsychol., 63: 265–282.
Goodall, J. 1986.The Chimpanzees of Gombe. Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Hasegawa, T. 1990. Sex differences in ranging patterns. In:The Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains,Nishida,T. (ed.), Univ. of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 99–114.
Hladik, C. M. 1977. Chimpanzees of Gabon and chimpanzees of Gombe: some comparative data on the diet. In:Primate Ecology,Clutton-Brock,T. H. (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 481–501.
Hosaka, K.;Nishida, T.;Hamai, M.;Matsumoto-Oda, A.;Uehara, S. 2001. Predation of mammals by the chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania. In:All Apes Great and Small, Vol. I. African Apes,Galdikas,B.;Briggs,N.;Sheeran,L.;Shapiro,G.;Goodall,J. (eds.), Kluwer Academic Publ., New York, pp. 107–130.
Isbell, L. A.;Pruetz, J. D.;Mzuma, B. M.;Younf, T. P. 1998. Comparing measures of travel distances in primates: methodological considerations and socioecological implications.Amer. J. Primatol., 48: 87–98.
Itoh, N.;Nakamura, M.;Nishida, T. 2000. Fission-fusion pattern of M group chimpanzees of Mahale: fruit food availability and party size.Primate Res., 15: 436. (Abstract)
Kuroda, S.;Nishihara, T.;Suzuki, S.;Oko, R. A. 1996. Sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas in the Ndoki Forest, Congo. In:Great Ape Societies,McGrew,W. C.;Marchant,L. F.;Nishida,T. (eds.), Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 71–81.
Lancaster, J. B.;Lee, R. B. 1965. The annual reproductive cycle in monkeys and apes. In:Primate Behavior: Field Studies of Monkeys and Apes,DeVore,I. (ed.), Holt, Reinhart, & Winston, New York, pp. 486–513.
Malenky, R. 1990. Ecological factors affecting food choice and social organization inPan paniscus, Doctoral diss., SUNY at Stony Brook.
Matsumoto-Oda, A. 1999. Mahale chimpanzees: grouping patterns and cycling females.Amer. J. Primatol., 47: 197–207.
Matsumoto-Oda, A.;Hosaka, K.;Huffman, M. A.;Kawanaka, K. 1998. Factors affecting party size in chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains.Int. J. Primatol., 19: 999–1011.
Matsumoto-Oda, A.;Oda, R. 1998. Changes in the activity budget of cycling female chimpanzees.Amer. J. Primatol., 46: 157–166.
McGrew, W. C. 1992.Chimpanzee Material Culture. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Mitani, J. C.;Watts, D. P. 1999. Demographic influences on the hunting behavior of chimpanzees.Amer. J. Phys. Anthropol., 109: 439–454.
Mitani, J. C.; Watts, D. P.; Lwanga, J. S. in press. Ecological and social correlates of chimpanzee party size and composition. In:Behaviorural Diversity in Chimpanzees and Bonobos,Boesch, C.; Hohmann, G.; Marchant, L. F. (eds.), Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Nakagawa, N. 1989. Bioenergetics of Japanese Monkeys (Macaca fuscata) on Kinkazan Island during winter.Primates, 30: 441–460.
Nishida, T. 1974. Ecology of wild chimpanzees. In:Human Ecology,Ohtsuka,R.;Tanaka,J.;Nishida,T. (eds.), Kyoritsu-shuppan, Tokyo, pp. 15–60. (in Japanese)
Nishida, T. 1979. The social structure of chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains. In:The Great Apes,Hamburg,D. A.;McCown,E. R. (eds.), Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp. 73–121.
Nishida, T. 1990. A quarter century of research. In:The Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains,Nishida,T. (ed.), Univ. of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 3–36.
Nishida, T.;Hiraiwa, M. 1982. Natural history of a tool-using behavior by wild chimpanzees in feeding upon wood-boring ants.J. Human Evol., 11: 73–99.
Nishida, T.;Takasaki, H.;Takahata, Y. 1990. Demography and reproductive profiles. In:The Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains,Nishida,T. (ed.), Univ. of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 63–98.
Nishida, T.;Uehara, S. 1983. Natural diet of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii): long-term record from the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania.Afr. Study Monogr., 3: 109–130.
Riss, D. C.;Busse, C. D. 1977. Fifty-day observation of a free-ranging adult male chimpanzee.Folia Primatol., 28: 283–297.
Sakura, O. 1994. Factors affecting party size and composition of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Bossou, Guinea.Int. J. Primatol., 15: 167–183.
van Schaik, C. P.;van Noordwijk, M. A. 1985. Interannual variability in fruit abundance and reproductive seasonality in Sumatran long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).J. Zool. Lond. A, 206: 533–549.
van Schaik, C. P.;van Noordwijk, M. A.;de Boer, R. J.;den Tonkelaar, I. 1983. The effect of group size on time budgets and social behaviour in wild long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 13: 173–181.
Stanford, C. B.;Wallis, J.;Matama, H.;Goodall, J. 1994. Patterns of predation by chimpanzees on red colobus monkeys in Gombe National Park, 1982–1991.Amer. J. Phys. Anthropol., 94: 213–228.
Strusaker, T. T. 1997.Ecology of an African Rain Forest. The Univ. Press of Florida, Florida.
Sugiyama, Y.;Koman, J. 1987. A preliminary list of chimpanzees’ alimentation at Bossu, Guinea.Primates, 28: 133–147.
Takahata, Y.;Hasegawa, T.;Nishida, T. 1984. Chimpanzee predation in the Mahale Mountains from August 1979 to May 1982.Int. J. Primatol., 5: 213–233.
Takasaki, H.;Nishida, T.;Uehara, S.;Norikoshi, K.;Kawanaka, K.;Takahata, Y.;Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M.;Hasegawa, T.;Hayaki, H.;Masui, K.;Huffman, M. A. 1990. Summary of meteorological data at Mahale research camps, 1973–1988. In:The Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountain,Nishida,T. (ed.), Univ. of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 291–300.
Terborgh, J. 1983.Five New World Primates. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton.
Tsukahara, T. 1993. Lions eat chimpanzees.Amer. J. Primatol., 29: 1–11.
Tutin, C. E. G.;McGrew, W. C.;Baldwin, P. J. 1983. Social organization of savanna-dwelling chimpanzees,Pan troglodytes verus, at Mt. Assirik, Senegal.Primates, 24: 154–173.
Uehara, S. 1997. Predation of mammals by the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).Primates, 38: 193–214.
Wallis, J. 1995. Seasonal influence on reproduction in chimpanzees of Gombe National Park.Int. J.Primatol., 16: 435–451.
Wallis, J. in press. Seasonal aspects of socio-sexual behavior in two chimpanzee populations: a comparison of Gombe (Tanzania) and Budongo (Uganda). In:Behaviorural Diversity in Chimpanzees and Bonobos,Boesch, C.; Hohmann, G.; Marchant, L. F. (eds.), Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
White, F. J.;Wrangham, R. W. 1988. Feeding competition and patch size in the chimpanzees speciesPan paniscus andPan troglodytes.Behaviour, 105: 148–164.
Wrangham, R. W. 1977. Feeding behavioral ecology of chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. In:Primate Ecology,Clutton-Brock,T. H. (ed.), Academic Press, London, pp. 352–378.
Wrangham, R. W. 1979. Sex differences in chimpanzee dispersion. In:The Great Apes,Hamburg,D. A.;McCown,E. R. (eds.), Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp. 481–489.
Wrangham, R. W.;Chapman, C. A.;Clark-Arcadi, A. P.;Isabirye-Basuta, G. 1996. Social ecology of Kanyawara chimpanzees: implications for understanding the costs of great ape groups. In:Great Ape Societies,McGrew,W. C.;Marchant,L. F.;Nishida,T. (eds.), Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 45–57.
Wrangham, R. W.;Clark, A. P.;Isabirye-Basuta, G. 1992. Female social relationships and social organization of Kibale forest chimpanzees. In:Topics in Primatology, Vol. 1,Nishida, T.;McGrew, W, C.;Marler, P.;Pickford, M.;de Waal, F. B. M. (eds.), Univ. of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 81–98.
Wrangham, R. W.;Conklin, N. L.;Chapman, C. A.;Hunt, K. D. 1991. The significance of fibrous foods for Kibale Forest chimpanzees.Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B 334: 171–178.
Wrangham, R. W.;Smuts, B. B. 1980. Sex differences in the behavioural ecology of chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania.J. Reprod. Fertil., 28: 13–31.
Yamakoshi, G. 1998. Dietary responses to fruit scarcity of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea: possible implications for ecological importance of tool use.Amer. J. Phys. Antholpol., 106: 283–295.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Matsumoto-Oda, A. Behavioral seasonality in mahale chimpanzees. Primates 43, 103–117 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02629670
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02629670