current research and future directions

SFRH/BPD/38595/2007 PPCDT/ANT/57434/2004 PEst-OE/SADG/UI4038/2011Increasing human populations and the rapid conversion of forest to agricultural land increase the likelihood of interactions and conflict between humans and nonhuman primates. Understanding such interactions requires a broad cross-disciplinary approach that assesses the implications of sympatry for primate conservation and human social, cultural and economic needs. Although chimpanzees were declared extinct in Guinea-Bissau in 1988, recent reports estimate that between 600 and 1,000 individuals are currently present, with the largest population occupying the Cantanhez National Park (105,700 ha; northeast limit: 11°22′58″N,14°46′12″W; southwest limit: 11°2′18″N,15°15′58″W). These heavily fragmented coastal forests have been identified as one of seven priority areas in West Africa for urgent chimpanzee conservation efforts (Kormos et al. 2003. West African Chimpanzees. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland. 2003). Here we set the context for human-chimpanzee sympatry in Guinea-Bissau, and provide a platform from which further studies can expand. We review past findings that might affect current and future sympatric relationships, and integrate preliminary data on resource competition from one hitherto unstudied chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) community inhabiting a forested-agricultural matrix in Caiquene and Cadique, central Cantanhez National Park. While local human cultural traditions provide a degree of tolerance and protection to chimpanzees in Cantanhez National Park, which is beneficial for long-term conservation initiatives, human-chimpanzee interactions have the potential to grow increasingly negative in character, especially as human populations expand and further pressure is exerted on the land.publishersversionpublishe

Kinship and intragroup social dynamics in two sympatric African Colobus species

SFRH/BPD/87396/2012 UID/ANT/04038/2013Kinship has been described as a major factor shaping primates’ social dynamics, with individuals biasing their affiliative interactions to their related counterparts. However, it has also been demonstrated that, under certain circumstances, social bonding can be established in the absence of kin. The fact that Colobus polykomos (western black-and-white colobus) and Procolobus badius temminckii (Temminck’s red colobus) often live in sympatry (subject to the same ecological/anthropogenic pressures) but exhibit contrasting social systems makes them good models to test which factors shape their social systems. We investigated the influence of kinship on intragroup social dynamics of one focal group of each species present in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau. Between October 2008 and June 2009 we used focal sampling to collect information on the individuals’ nearest neighbors and ad libitum sampling to collect data on intragroup social interactions. We estimated pairwise relatedness using fecal DNA from 9 individuals of Colobus polykomos and 15 individuals of Procolobus badius temminckii genotyped at 15 microsatellite loci. We found that, in the focal group of Colobus polykomos, individuals showed no preference to interact or be spatially closer to related partners. Moreover, mainly unrelated females and related males composed the focal group of Procolobus badius temminckii but grooming was most frequent among female dyads and only rarely involved male dyads. We conclude that kinship is not an important factor determining the social bonding in either study species, suggesting that other factors, e.g., anthropogenic, ecological, may be at play shaping these groups’ social bonding.authorsversionpublishe

using a systematic literature review to highlight the next conservation steps

UID/ANT/04038/2013; EXPL/IVC-ANT/0997/2013Background West African landscapes are largely characterised by complex agroforest mosaics. Although the West African forests are considered a nonhuman primate hotspot, knowledge on the distribution of many species is often lacking and out-of-date. Considering the fast-changing nature of the landscapes in this region, up-to-date information on primate occurrence is urgently needed, particularly of taxa such as colobines, which may be more sensitive to habitat modification than others. Understanding wildlife occurrence and mechanisms of persistence in these human-dominated landscapes is fundamental for developing effective conservation strategies. Methods In this paper, we aim to review current knowledge on the distribution of three threatened primates in Guinea-Bissau and neighbouring regions, highlighting research gaps and identifying priority research and conservation action. We conducted a systematic literature review of primate studies from 1976 to 2016 in Guinea-Bissau, southern Senegal and western Guinea (Boké Region). We mapped historical observation records of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), Temminck’s red colobus (Pilicolobus badius temminckii) and king colobus (Colobus polykomos), including our preliminary survey data from Dulombi, a newly established National Park (NP) in Guinea-Bissau. Results We found 151 documents, including 87 journal articles, that contained field data on primates in this region. In Guinea-Bissau, nearly all studies focussed south of the Corubal River, including mainly Cantanhez, Cufada, and Boé NP’s. In Senegal, most of the data came from Fongoli and Niokolo-Koba NP. In Boké (Guinea) studies are few, with the most recent data coming from Sangarédi. In Dulombi NP we recorded eight primate species, including chimpanzees, red colobus and king colobus. Across the selected region, chimpanzees, red colobus and king colobus were reported in eleven, twelve and seven protected areas, respectively. Discussion Our study demonstrates large geographical research gaps particularly for the two colobines. For the first time after more than two decades, we confirm the presence of red colobus and king colobus north of the Corubal River in Guinea-Bissau. The little information available from large parts of the red colobus range raises questions regarding levels of population fragmentation in this species, particularly in Casamance and across northern Guinea-Bissau. There are still no records demonstrating the occurrence of king colobus in Senegal, and the presence of a viable population in north-eastern Guinea-Bissau remains uncertain. While the occurrence of chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal is well documented, data from Boké (Guinea) are sparse and out-of-date. Our approach—the mapping of data gathered from a systematic literature review—allows us to provide recommendations for selecting future geographical survey locations and planning further research and conservation strategies in this region.publishersversionpublishe

Individual memory and the emergence of cooperation

UID/ANT/04038/2013 PEst-OE/SADG/UI4038/2011The social brain hypothesis states that selection pressures associated with complex social relationships have driven the evolution of sophisticated cognitive processes in primates. We investigated how the size of cooperative primate communities depends on the memory of each of its members and on the pressure exerted by natural selection. To this end we devised an evolutionary game theoretical model in which social interactions are modelled in terms of a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma played by individuals who may exhibit a different memory capacity. Here, memory is greatly simplified and mapped onto a single parameter m describing the number of conspecifics whose previous action each individual can remember. We show that increasing m enables cooperation to emerge and be maintained in groups of increasing sizes. Furthermore, harsher social dilemmas lead to the need for a higher m in order to ensure high levels of cooperation. Finally, we show how the interplay between the dilemma individuals face and their memory capacity m allows us to define a critical group size below which cooperation may thrive, and how this value depends sensitively on the strength of natural selection.authorsversionpublishe