Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity

Ammie K. Kalan; Lars Kulik; Mimi Arandjelovic; Christophe Boesch; Fabian Haas; Paula Dieguez; Christopher D. Barratt; Ekwoge E. Abwe; Anthony Agbor; Samuel Angedakin; Floris Aubert; Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin; Emma Bailey; Mattia Bessone; Gregory Brazzola; Valentine Ebua Buh; Rebecca Chancellor; Heather Cohen; Charlotte Coupland; Bryan Curran; Emmanuel Danquah; Tobias Deschner; Dervla Dowd; Manasseh Eno-Nku; J. Michael Fay; Annemarie Goedmakers; Anne Céline Granjon; Josephine Head; Daniela Hedwig; Veerle Hermans; Kathryn J. Jeffery; Sorrel Jones; Jessica Junker; Parag Kadam; Mohamed Kambi; Ivonne Kienast; Deo Kujirakwinja; Kevin E. Langergraber; Juan Lapuente; Bradley Larson; Kevin C. Lee; Vera Leinert; Manuel Llana; Sergio Marrocoli; Amelia C. Meier; Bethan Morgan; David Morgan; Emily Neil; Sonia Nicholl; Emmanuelle Normand; Lucy Jayne Ormsby; Liliana Pacheco; Alex Piel; Jodie Preece; Martha M. Robbins; Aaron Rundus; Crickette Sanz; Volker Sommer; Fiona Stewart; Nikki Tagg; Claudio Tennie; Virginie Vergnes; Adam Welsh; Erin G. Wessling; Jacob Willie; Roman M. Wittig; Yisa Ginath Yuh; Klaus Zuberbühler; Hjalmar S. Kühl

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3

Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity

Ammie K. Kalan^*, Lars Kulik, Mimi Arandjelovic, Christophe Boesch, Fabian Haas, Paula Dieguez, Christopher D. Barratt, Ekwoge E. Abwe, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Floris Aubert, Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin, Emma Bailey, Mattia Bessone, Gregory Brazzola, Valentine Ebua Buh, Rebecca Chancellor, Heather Cohen, Charlotte Coupland, Bryan CurranEmmanuel Danquah, Tobias Deschner, Dervla Dowd, Manasseh Eno-Nku, J. Michael Fay, Annemarie Goedmakers, Anne Céline Granjon, Josephine Head, Daniela Hedwig, Veerle Hermans, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Sorrel Jones, Jessica Junker, Parag Kadam, Mohamed Kambi, Ivonne Kienast, Deo Kujirakwinja, Kevin E. Langergraber, Juan Lapuente, Bradley Larson, Kevin C. Lee, Vera Leinert, Manuel Llana, Sergio Marrocoli, Amelia C. Meier, Bethan Morgan, David Morgan, Emily Neil, Sonia Nicholl, Emmanuelle Normand, Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Liliana Pacheco, Alex Piel, Jodie Preece, Martha M. Robbins, Aaron Rundus, Crickette Sanz, Volker Sommer, Fiona Stewart, Nikki Tagg, Claudio Tennie, Virginie Vergnes, Adam Welsh, Erin G. Wessling, Jacob Willie, Roman M. Wittig, Yisa Ginath Yuh, Klaus Zuberbühler, Hjalmar S. Kühl

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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.

Original language	English
Article number	4451
Number of pages	10
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3
Publication status	Published - 15 Sept 2020

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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., ... Kühl, H. S. (2020). Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity. Nature Communications, 11, Article 4451. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3

@article{685f96fde82b499ebc6cc076d2bc3fb7,

title = "Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity",

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.",

author = "Kalan, {Ammie K.} and Lars Kulik and Mimi Arandjelovic and Christophe Boesch and Fabian Haas and Paula Dieguez and Barratt, {Christopher D.} and Abwe, {Ekwoge E.} and Anthony Agbor and Samuel Angedakin and Floris Aubert and Ayimisin, {Emmanuel Ayuk} and Emma Bailey and Mattia Bessone and Gregory Brazzola and Buh, {Valentine Ebua} and Rebecca Chancellor and Heather Cohen and Charlotte Coupland and Bryan Curran and Emmanuel Danquah and Tobias Deschner and Dervla Dowd and Manasseh Eno-Nku and {Michael Fay}, J. and Annemarie Goedmakers and Granjon, {Anne C{\'e}line} and Josephine Head and Daniela Hedwig and Veerle Hermans and Jeffery, {Kathryn J.} and Sorrel Jones and Jessica Junker and Parag Kadam and Mohamed Kambi and Ivonne Kienast and Deo Kujirakwinja and Langergraber, {Kevin E.} and Juan Lapuente and Bradley Larson and Lee, {Kevin C.} and Vera Leinert and Manuel Llana and Sergio Marrocoli and Meier, {Amelia C.} and Bethan Morgan and David Morgan and Emily Neil and Sonia Nicholl and Emmanuelle Normand and Ormsby, {Lucy Jayne} and Liliana Pacheco and Alex Piel and Jodie Preece and Robbins, {Martha M.} and Aaron Rundus and Crickette Sanz and Volker Sommer and Fiona Stewart and Nikki Tagg and Claudio Tennie and Virginie Vergnes and Adam Welsh and Wessling, {Erin G.} and Jacob Willie and Wittig, {Roman M.} and Yuh, {Yisa Ginath} and Klaus Zuberb{\"u}hler and K{\"u}hl, {Hjalmar S.}",

note = "This research was generously funded by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Society{\textquoteright}s Innovation Fund, and the Heinz L. Krekeler Foundation. Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL.",

year = "2020",

month = sep,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Nature publishing group",

}

Kalan, AK, Kulik, L, Arandjelovic, M, Boesch, C, Haas, F, Dieguez, P, Barratt, CD, Abwe, EE, Agbor, A, Angedakin, S, Aubert, F, Ayimisin, EA, Bailey, E, Bessone, M, Brazzola, G, Buh, VE, Chancellor, R, Cohen, H, Coupland, C, Curran, B, Danquah, E, Deschner, T, Dowd, D, Eno-Nku, M, Michael Fay, J, Goedmakers, A, Granjon, AC, Head, J, Hedwig, D, Hermans, V, Jeffery, KJ, Jones, S, Junker, J, Kadam, P, Kambi, M, Kienast, I, Kujirakwinja, D, Langergraber, KE, Lapuente, J, Larson, B, Lee, KC, Leinert, V, Llana, M, Marrocoli, S, Meier, AC, Morgan, B, Morgan, D, Neil, E, Nicholl, S, Normand, E, Ormsby, LJ, Pacheco, L, Piel, A, Preece, J, Robbins, MM, Rundus, A, Sanz, C, Sommer, V, Stewart, F, Tagg, N, Tennie, C, Vergnes, V, Welsh, A, Wessling, EG, Willie, J, Wittig, RM, Yuh, YG, Zuberbühler, K & Kühl, HS 2020, 'Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity', Nature Communications, vol. 11, 4451. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3

TY - JOUR

T1 - Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity

AU - Kalan, Ammie K.

AU - Kulik, Lars

AU - Arandjelovic, Mimi

AU - Boesch, Christophe

AU - Haas, Fabian

AU - Dieguez, Paula

AU - Barratt, Christopher D.

AU - Abwe, Ekwoge E.

AU - Agbor, Anthony

AU - Angedakin, Samuel

AU - Aubert, Floris

AU - Ayimisin, Emmanuel Ayuk

AU - Bailey, Emma

AU - Bessone, Mattia

AU - Brazzola, Gregory

AU - Buh, Valentine Ebua

AU - Chancellor, Rebecca

AU - Cohen, Heather

AU - Coupland, Charlotte

AU - Curran, Bryan

AU - Danquah, Emmanuel

AU - Deschner, Tobias

AU - Dowd, Dervla

AU - Eno-Nku, Manasseh

AU - Michael Fay, J.

AU - Goedmakers, Annemarie

AU - Granjon, Anne Céline

AU - Head, Josephine

AU - Hedwig, Daniela

AU - Hermans, Veerle

AU - Jeffery, Kathryn J.

AU - Jones, Sorrel

AU - Junker, Jessica

AU - Kadam, Parag

AU - Kambi, Mohamed

AU - Kienast, Ivonne

AU - Kujirakwinja, Deo

AU - Langergraber, Kevin E.

AU - Lapuente, Juan

AU - Larson, Bradley

AU - Lee, Kevin C.

AU - Leinert, Vera

AU - Llana, Manuel

AU - Marrocoli, Sergio

AU - Meier, Amelia C.

AU - Morgan, Bethan

AU - Morgan, David

AU - Neil, Emily

AU - Nicholl, Sonia

AU - Normand, Emmanuelle

AU - Ormsby, Lucy Jayne

AU - Pacheco, Liliana

AU - Piel, Alex

AU - Preece, Jodie

AU - Robbins, Martha M.

AU - Rundus, Aaron

AU - Sanz, Crickette

AU - Sommer, Volker

AU - Stewart, Fiona

AU - Tagg, Nikki

AU - Tennie, Claudio

AU - Vergnes, Virginie

AU - Welsh, Adam

AU - Wessling, Erin G.

AU - Willie, Jacob

AU - Wittig, Roman M.

AU - Yuh, Yisa Ginath

AU - Zuberbühler, Klaus

AU - Kühl, Hjalmar S.

N1 - This research was generously funded by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Society’s Innovation Fund, and the Heinz L. Krekeler Foundation. Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL.

PY - 2020/9/15

Y1 - 2020/9/15

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21010-z

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3

DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-18176-3

M3 - Article

C2 - 32934202

AN - SCOPUS:85091051897

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 11

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 4451

ER -

Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity

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