Communication styles in bonobos and chimpanzees: Same same but different?

Comparative studies in relation to language origins have mainly focused on our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Direct comparisons however are still lacking and/or concerned individuals living in captive environments only. Here, we carried out a systematic, quantitative comparison of communicative abilities of bonobos and chimpanzees living in four different communities in the wild with a special focus on within- and between-species variability. The analyses focused on communicative exchanges between mother-infant dyads to initiate joint travel. The communicative behavior of twelve bonobo (LuiKotale, Wamba; DRC) and thirteen chimpanzee mother-infant dyads (Taï South, Côte d’Ivoire; Kanyawara, Uganda) was filmed during a total of 1033 (bonobos) and 1189 (chimpanzees) hours of observation. We analyzed ‘signal-response’ structures (e.g. response waiting, gestural sequences, temporal relationships) in 316 bonobo and 415 chimpanzee carry initiations, while taking into account dyadic role, infant age and site. Differences in behavior could not be attributed to within-species variability. Bonobos solicited carries more frequently from shorter distances and via coordinated responses. Chimpanzees used a higher frequency of response waiting and sequences, showing overall more persistence. Our findings suggest that interactional intelligence paved the way to language with communication styles being influenced by social matrices.

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Supplemental Material for Spontaneous Triadic Engagement in Bonobos (Pan paniscus) and Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Journal of Comparative Psychology ◽

10.1037/a0030935.supp ◽

2013 ◽

Keyword(s):

Pan Troglodytes ◽

Pan Paniscus

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Spontaneous triadic engagement in bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Journal of Comparative Psychology ◽

10.1037/a0030935 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 127 (3) ◽

pp. 245-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Evan MacLean ◽

Brian Hare

Keyword(s):

Pan Troglodytes ◽

Pan Paniscus

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Token transfers among great apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan paniscus, and Pan troglodytes): Species differences, gestural requests, and reciprocal exchange.

Journal of Comparative Psychology ◽

10.1037/a0017253 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 123 (4) ◽

pp. 375-384 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Marie Pelé ◽

Valérie Dufour ◽

Bernard Thierry ◽

Josep Call

Keyword(s):

Pan Troglodytes ◽

Species Differences ◽

Pan Paniscus ◽

Great Apes ◽

Gorilla Gorilla ◽

Pongo Pygmaeus ◽

Reciprocal Exchange

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Colour preferences in relation to diet in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), and mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)

Folia Primatologica ◽

10.1159/000520487 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M. Carmen Hernández ◽

Sandra González-Campos ◽

Isabel Barja

Keyword(s):

Color Vision ◽

Pan Troglodytes ◽

Gorilla Gorilla ◽

Black And White ◽

Mandrillus Sphinx ◽

In The Wild ◽

Sampling Intervals ◽

Colour Preferences ◽

Two Phases ◽

Zero Group

Although trichromatic color vision has been extensively studied as it grants significant advantages for Old World primates, it is unknown which selective pressures were behind trait’s evolution. The leading hypothesis would be that colour vision arose as a foraging adaptation because it allowed individuals to spot food more efficiently. To test this, we exposed three chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), five gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and three mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) to colour cardboard plates to assess if colours related to diet were the most preferred. Experimental setting was divided in two phases. During the first one, animals were provided with colour cardboard plates of only one colour per data collection session. The order of colour presentation was randomly determined: white, black, yellow, green and red. In phase two, primates were simultaneously provided with cardboard plates of all colours. Behavioural interactions with plates were measured using a one-zero group focal sampling (10 s sampling intervals and 20 m observation periods). Results showed that when animals were exposed to only one colour at a time, they exhibited different colour preferences depending on the species considered. Chimpanzees preferred red and yellow, the colours linked to fruits, while gorillas selected red and white. Mandrills exhibited fewer differences between colours preference, being red the most selected. Furthermore, when all colours were simultaneously provided, individuals chose colours related to diet over black and white. Although there were clear individual differences, our results support that trichromatic color vision is an advantage in detecting and selecting red items. In the wild, it could be important in the detection of reddish fruits and leaves.

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SYMBOL ACQUISITION AND USE BY PAN TROGLODYTES, PAN PANISCUS, HOMO SAPIENS

Understanding Chimpanzees ◽

10.4159/harvard.9780674183858.c31 ◽

1989 ◽

pp. 266-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Keyword(s):

Pan Troglodytes ◽

Pan Paniscus ◽

Homo Sapiens

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Vitamin-D-Binding Protein or Group-Specific Component in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes and Pan paniscus)

Folia Primatologica ◽

10.1159/000156590 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 232-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hartwig Cleve ◽

Jacques Constans ◽

Wolfgang Scheffrahn

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Pan Troglodytes ◽

Pan Paniscus ◽

Binding Protein ◽

Vitamin D Binding Protein ◽

Specific Component ◽

Group Specific Component

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A comparative assessment of handedness and its potential neuroanatomical correlates in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003204 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 152 (3-4) ◽

pp. 461-492 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

William D. Hopkins ◽

Jennifer Schaeffer ◽

Jamie L. Russell ◽

Stephanie L. Bogart ◽

Adrien Meguerditchian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tool Use ◽

Vocal Communication ◽

Pan Paniscus ◽

Population Level ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Human Right ◽

Evolutionary Origins ◽

Bimanual Actions ◽

In The Wild ◽

Hand Area

The evolutionary origins of human right-handedness remain poorly understood. Some have hypothesized that tool use served as an important preadaptation for the eventual evolution of population-level right-handedness. In contrast, others have suggested that complex gestural and vocal communication served as prerequisite for the evolution of human right-handedness. In this study, we tested these competing hypotheses by comparing the handedness of bonobos and chimpanzees, two closely related species of Pan, on three different measures of hand use including simple reaching, manual gestures and coordinated bimanual actions. Chimpanzees are well known for their tool using abilities whereas bonobos rarely use tools in the wild. In contrast, many have suggested that bonobos have a more flexible gestural and vocal communication system than chimpanzees. The overall results showed that chimpanzees were significantly more right-handed than bonobos for all three measures suggesting that adaptations for tool use rather than communication may have led to the emergence of human right-handedness. We further show that species differences in handedness may be linked to variation in the size and asymmetry of the motor-hand area of the precentral gyrus. The results are discussed within the context of evolutionary theories of handedness, as well as some limitations in the approach to handedness measurement in nonhuman primates.

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