primate society of great britain winter meetingthis event is sponsored by primate society of great...
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PRIMATE SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN
WINTER MEETING
1st & 2nd December 2020
~ONLINE~
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Dr Ramesh ‘Zimbo’ Boonratana
Affiliation: Mahidol University, Thailand.
Asian Primates & Asian Primatology: Status, Issues, Constraints, Gaps, and
Options
Globally, we now recognized more than 700 extant non-human primate species and
subspecies. This is about 100 taxa (species and subspecies) more than what we
recognised in 2000. Also, we can still expect new taxa to be continually described. The
increasing number of taxa also means that we are required to re-visit what we already
know about their distribution, ecology and behaviour. In addition, despite the
excitement and importance of describing new taxa (and discovering new
subpopulations), many non-human primate taxa are increasingly threatened with
extinction. Hence, we are also required to re-analyse their conservation status and re-
think our conservation strategies and approaches if we wish to ensure their continued
persistence. In Asia, despite having made tremendous advances in our body of
knowledge on and conservation efforts for the non-human primates, they have been
often patchy. Moreover, developments in the field of primatology in Asia are often
wrought with numerous issues, constraints and challenges. Hence, in this plenary talk, I
shall provide a broad overview of the status of Asian primates and Asian primatology. I
shall also share a glimpse into a conservation practitioner’s perspectives on some of the
issues, constraints and gaps plaguing Asian primatology. Finally, I shall propose some
options and encourage a discussion on additional ones to address these obstacles.
Plenary Speakers
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Professor Jo Setchell
Affiliation: Durham University, UK.
Decolonising Primatology
The legacies of colonialism continue to influence every aspect of our lives, including
our work as primatologists. We live and work in structurally racist societies and our
acceptance of existing power imbalances affects who we listen to, who we trust,
whose work we value, and whose understandings we prioritise. To decolonise
primatology, we must acknowledge and confront the colonial history of research in
the tropics and the continuing influence of colonialism on the systems and societies
we work in. We must reflect on our own biases, question dominant discourses, and
interrogate the influence of dominant groups on our discipline. We must examine how
our policies, procedures and practices discriminate against, marginalise and exploit
people, and use the privilege we have to help dismantle systems of oppression. Not
doing so perpetuates inequities, impoverishes our discipline and leads to conservation
failure. Doing so will benefit primatologists by improving the experience of individuals,
primatology because attention to diverse perspectives, expertise and experience
enriches our knowledge and understanding; and primates because inclusive practice
is essential to successful conservation.
Plenary Speakers
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Napier Award
Dr Robin Morrison
Inter-group relationships influence territorial defence in mountain gorillas
Authors: Robin E Morrison1,2, Jean Paul Hirwa1, Jean Pierre S Mucyo1, Tara S Stoinski1,
Veronica Vecellio1, Winnie Eckardt1
Affiliations: ¹Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. ²Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour,
University of Exeter.
Many species show territoriality, in which territory owners have exclusive or priority use of a region
and space is defended against neighbours. In humans, tolerance of others within our space also
depends greatly on our social relationships with them. This has been hypothesised as one
potential driver of the evolution of long-term, inter-group friendships, through enabling shared
access of resources and easing disputes over space. However, extremely little is known about
the importance of social relationships between neighbouring groups in non-humans for how
space is used and shared. Using 16 years of data on the movement and interaction patterns of
17 mountain gorilla groups (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda,
we investigated how the likelihood of aggression and affiliation during 170 inter-group
encounters was influenced by both their social and spatial context. We found evidence of
territorial defence, with rates of aggression increasing towards the centre of home ranges.
Groups which had previously split from each other showed higher levels of affiliation during
encounters with each other and experienced lower levels of aggression when within the other's
peripheral home range. However, encounters within core areas of the home range consistently
elicited higher aggression, regardless of the groups' history. Our findings indicate that not only
are social relationships between individuals maintained after a group splits, but that these
relationships enable groups to access certain areas with a reduced risk of aggression. This
suggests that reduced aggression when accessing areas within neighbours' home ranges may
be an advantage for the maintenance of inter-group relationships and a potential driver in the
evolution of long-term, post-dispersal relationships and complex multi-level societies.
Award & Medal
Winners
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Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Osman Hill Memorial Lecture
Professor Leslie C. Aiello, FBA
President Emerita, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research,
Professor Emerita, University College London
Reflections on the Expensive Tissue Hypothesis
2020 is the 25th anniversary of the publication of the Expensive Tissue Hypothesis (EHT).
In this Osman Hill Memorial lecture I reflect on the development of the ETH as well as on
its fate over the years. Twenty-five years ago, interest in the early stages of human
evolution centered on the plethora of fossil material coming out of eastern Africa as well
as on the use of primate models to provide insight into the remarkable evolution of the
human brain. The ETH took a different approach. Building a then nascent interest in the
application of human biology and physiology to human evolution, it aimed to explain
how we could support a large brain, not why it evolved. An attraction of the hypothesis
was the clear energy trade-off in humans of the large brain size and small gut size.
Because a smaller gut requires high quality food such as an increased reliance on
animal-based resources, it fit well with what was then known from the archaeological
record and with the more human-like Homo erectus body form. Over the years, the
most contentious part of the ETH has been its general application beyond human
evolution. Tests of the hypothesis have focused on animals as disparate as fish, frogs,
bats and birds, where a brain/gut trade-off is frequently found in cold-blooded animals
while trade-offs with other energetically expensive organs or activities are more
common in warm blooded animals. The main lesson is that a simple organ trade-off is
only part of a much more complicated system of energetic balance. Perhaps the most
lasting significance of the ETH is that it helped to generate interest in the role of
energetics in evolution, which has produced significant advances in our understanding
of the course of human biological and behavioural evolution.
Award & Medal
Winners
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Workshop One: Use of technology to analyse video footage.
The workshop will start with a short presentation (~15 minutes) on the various
automated methods that can be used to analyse video footage of
primates including animal detection, individual recognition and tracking.
This will be followed by a practical on using a particular piece of free
software deeplabcut (http://www.mousemotorlab.org/deeplabcut) to try
finding landmarks such as eyes, nose and ears in your own videos using
preexisting primate, cat or dog models. Attendees will need access to
google chrome and one or more videos of primates, cats or dogs (or similar
animals).
Workshop Two: Careers in Primatology and Beyond.
The workshop allows participants to discuss and explore careers in
primatology or where starting a career in primatology can lead to! Joining
the workshop will be: Ben Garrod discussing public engagement/science
TV; Zanna Clay discussing academic research; Simon Husson founder of
Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project; Director of Borneo Nature
Foundation; Andrea Dempsey discussing captive care and conservation
work and Lewis Dean discussing research policy.
Workshops
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Intercommunity interactions and killings in central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes
troglodytes) from Loango National Park, Gabon
Laura Martínez-Íñigo
Authors: Laura Martínez-Íñigo, Pauline Baas, Harmonie Klein, Simone Pika, Tobias Deschner
Affiliations: At the time of research, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6,
04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Intercommunity competition in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) has been widely studied
in eastern (P.t.schweinfurthii) and western (P.t.verus) communities. Both subspecies show
hostility towards neighbouring communities but differ in rates of lethal attacks and
female involvement. However, relatively little is known about the territorial behaviour of
central chimpanzees (P.t.troglodytes). Here, we present the first insights into
intercommunity interactions of individuals of a community of central chimpanzees,
Rekambo, living in the Loango National Park in Gabon. The presence of individuals of
neighbouring communities in the Rekambo home range was assessed using 27 camera-
traps and compiling information on intergroup interactions recorded before (2005-2016,
N=4) and after (January 2017-June 2019, N=21) the habituation of the community.
Individuals from neighbouring communities repeatedly entered the core area, where
intercommunity encounters were frequent. Males were the main participants in
territorial patrols and intercommunity aggressions. Nevertheless, female participation in
patrols was often observed, with females frequently accompanied by dependent
offspring, and actively participating in intercommunity aggression. While the
intercommunity encounter rate was lower than that reported across most other long-
term chimpanzee sites, the annual intercommunity killing rate was the highest. These
results suggest that the frequency of lethal attacks at Loango is comparable to that
reported for the eastern subspecies. In contrast, the frequency of female involvement
mirrors those of the western subspecies.
Presentations
Session One
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Integration of semi-automated methods for welfare assessments in group-housed
rhesus macaques used in neuroscience research.
Rhyanne Heppenstall
Authors: R Heppenstall¹, S Minano², A Fisk¹, M de Vos³, R Austin¹, M Bonsall², CE Bergmann⁴
Affiliations: ¹Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. ²Department of Zoology,
University of Oxford. ³Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. ⁴Department of Biomedical
Services, University of Oxford.
Assessing welfare in rhesus macaques used in neuroscience research relies on obtaining
physiological and behavioural measures to optimise and implement the 3Rs: Replacement,
Reduction and Refinement. Through effective welfare assessment, potential refinements to
laboratory practices may be highlighted. Measuring behaviour and physical activity can offer key
insight into animal welfare. Traditional methods of behavioural assessment are limited by resources
and observer influence. We aim to quantify activity and behaviour using compact, uniaxial
accelerometers. Accelerometers are placed inside individually designed soft, microfiber neck
collars. This provides non-invasive, continuous measurements of activity in freely moving, group-
housed, research macaques. Data has been collected intermittently over 5 years, when opportunity
allowed, from a total of 47 individual macaques enrolled in long-term neuroscience studies at the
University of Oxford. Non-invasive collar fitting and continuous data collection, in parallel with
ongoing neuroscience protocols, provides opportunities to explore changes in macaque activity
throughout their neuroscience careers. Accelerometers collect data before and after potentially
welfare compromising events, e.g. neuroscientific procedures. We investigate multiple analyses of
this data to explore activity and behaviour. Preliminary analysis shows individual variation in activity
budget; factors such as age, weight and social structure appear to contribute to individual activity
patterns. Additionally, preliminary results show change in macaque activity in response to significant
events. Numerous methods are explored to assess behaviour using this data. One approach, a
knowledge-based method, classifies behaviour by comparing accelerometer and expert-scored
video data (n; 4 different animals, 2-4 hours of video analysis per animal). This method differentiates
between behavioural categories such as resting, foraging and locomotion. Other methods also
explored, including logistic regression and Hidden Markov models, use exclusively accelerometer
data. Accelerometery is a powerful method, providing a non-intrusive, convenient measure of
animal welfare in order to keep advancing the 3Rs.
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Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Impact of forest protection on the ecology of red-collared brown lemur (Eulemur
collaris) in the littoral forests of southeast Madagascar
Elena Račevska
Authors: Elena Račevska¹, Catherine M. Hill¹,², Giuseppe Donati¹
Affiliations: ¹Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Gypsy Lane, OX3 0BP Oxford, UK.
²Centre for Anthropology, Geography and Environment (CAGE), Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
Protected areas are an essential conservation strategy of many developing countries,
so it is important to investigate their effects on the wildlife they are expected to protect.
Before protected areas were established in the early 2000s historic anthropogenic
pressures had led to a heavy degradation of many of the littoral forest fragments in
southeast Madagascar. Previous studies showed a large discrepancy of red-collared
brown lemur (Eulemur collaris) habitat use between the more degraded and the more
intact areas. As littoral forests on sandy soils regenerate slowly, we examined whether
two decades of protection were enough to see a similarity in the ecology of brown
lemurs inhabiting two areas of different past levels of forest use: the historically more
degraded Mandena, and the more intact Sainte Luce. We hypothesised that lemur
home range sizes and diet will now be more similar between the two areas. We
collected data on feeding and ranging behaviour focusing on three lemur groups
during all-day and all-night follows conducted between August 2017 and August 2018.
We used focal-animal instantaneous sampling during the day, and auditory group
sampling at night, both at five-minute intervals. We collected spatial data every 30
minutes using a handheld GPS unit. We found that Mandena lemurs’ home ranges were
similar in size to those of Sainte Luce lemurs, as well as less fragmented than previously
reported. Lemurs remained predominantly frugivorous year-round in both Sainte Luce
and Mandena, but their fruit consumption and dietary diversity were higher in the period
of abundance. While their activity budgets were similar in both areas, lemurs spent more
time feeding in the lean period. Our results show that two decades of forest protection
allowed a degraded forest to recover enough to sustain the largest lemur species in the
littoral forest habitat
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Authors: Miarisoa L. Ramilison1, Bertrand Andriatsitohaina2,3, Coral Chell 4, Romule Rakotondravony 1,
Ute Radespiel 3, Malcolm S. Ramsay3,5*
Affiliation: 1Faculté des Sciences, de Technologies et de l’Environnement, Université de Mahajanga,
Mahajanga, Boeny, Madagascar. 2Ecole Doctorale sur les Ecosystèmes Naturels EDEN, Université de
Mahajanga, Mahajanga, 12 Boeny, Madagascar.3 Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary
Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Lower-Saxony, Germany. 4 University Centre, Bishop Burton College,
United Kingdom. 5 Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Habitat loss and fragmentation affect species occurrence and distribution in rapidly changing
ecosystems. These issues are especially relevant on the island of Madagascar where modern
deforestation has been widespread and is ongoing. Here we investigated the occurrence of the
Critically Endangered Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) in an anthropogenically modified
landscape: the Mariarano region of Northwestern Madagascar to fill in gaps in species knowledge.
We surveyed four large forest sites from 500 to 5,000 ha and 16 forest fragments ranging from 1.5 to
19.2 ha in size, across two consecutive field seasons in 2017 and 2018. We recorded various
attributes of the sites such as area, distance to nearest large forest, and anthropogenic
disturbance, which was quantified by measuring various signs, including cut trees, maciba (wild
yam) holes, old/new paths and zebu carts. Overall, we encountered sifakas in 10 of 16 fragments
and in all large forest sites, with most encounters occurring in habitat edge zones. Furthermore, we
encountered 19 sifakas in the matrix such as in villages and fields. Finding that neither human
disturbance, area, nor distance to a large forest predicted the presence of sifaka in the Mariarano
region. Results suggest that Coquerel’s sifaka are able to persist in highly degraded and small
forests fragments, however further research is needed in order to assess the long-term viability of
this species in anthropogenically modified landscapes. The Mariarano area also presents an
intriguing example of location-specific conservation, showing remarkably different patterns in
biogeographical distribution when compared to Ankarafantsika National Park, where Coquerel’s
sifaka can also be found. Mariarano also presents many cultural and socioeconomical differences,
including the strict adherence to local fady. Further research should also look to investigate the
factors leading to the adherence of this fady and its link to the presence of Coquerel’s sifaka within
the area.
Distribution of the Critically Endangered Coquerel’s Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)
across a fragmented landscape in NW Madagascar.
Coral Chell
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Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Call combinations in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)
Maël Leroux
Authors: Mae ̈l Leroux¹ ² ³, Katie E. Slocombe⁴, Anne M. Schelَ⁵, Klaus Zuberbühler² ³ ⁶ ⁷,
Simon W. Townsend¹ ³ ⁸
Affiliations: ¹Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
²Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda. ³Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of
Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. ⁴Department of Psychology, University
of York, York, UK. ⁵Animal Ecology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands. ⁶Department of Comparative
Cognition, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. ⁷School of Psychology and Neuroscience,
University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK. ⁸Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK
A key feature of language argued to distinguish it from other animal communication systems is
its compositionality: meaningful words are combined into larger structures with a derived
meaning (Hurford, 2011). By searching for core features of language in the communication
systems of our closest-living relatives, particularly the apes, it is possible to elucidate whether
these are de novo-evolved traits in humans or whether they have their origins rooted in the
primate lineage. Using a high-density data approach, we are currently investigating candidate
compositional structures in chimpanzees. Preliminary data collected in the Budongo forest,
Uganda, indicate combinations of pant-hoots (long-distance contact call) with food calls might
represent a potential relevant candidate with compositional-like structure. Ongoing analyses
are exploring this call combination further by investigating its underlying structure and the socio-
ecological contexts accompanying its production. Moreover, predator presentations suggest
chimpanzees combine calls (alarm-hoos + waa-barks) when encountering snakes, specifically
when other individuals are present, potentially to recruit group members in a dangerous
situation. Ongoing playback experiments aim to further investigate the meaning and function
of this call combination and test whether chimpanzees process it as a compositional-like
structure. Preliminary analyses of playback responses suggest the alarm-hoo-waa-bark
combination is meaningful to receivers and, critically, is related to the individual meaning of the
comprising calls. Ultimately, this work will help clarify whether one of the core building-blocks of
language, compositionality, also exists in the communication systems of our closest relative and
therefore is evolutionarily more ancient.
Presentations
Session Two
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Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Twenty-five monkeys from DR Congo confiscated in Zimbabwe, with the aim of
reintroduction
Gregg Tully
Affiliation: Pan African Sanctuary Alliance
There is increasing evidence of trade in African primates through South Africa, including
18 chimpanzees that were exported to China in 2019, representing a significant threat
to the conservation of Africa primates. In September 2020, 25 monkeys that were
recently poached from the wild in the Democratice Republic of Congo (reported as
two lesulas (Cercopithecus lomamiensis), 12 golden bellied mangabeys (Cercocebus
chrysogaster), two L’Hoest’s monkeys (Allochrocebus lhoesti), two grey-cheeked
mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena), five putty-nosed monkeys (Cercopithecus
nictitans), and two Allen’s swamp monkeys (Allenopithecus nigroviridis)) were
confiscated in Zimbabwe en route to South Africa, likely to be exported from there. This
is the largest primate confiscation known to PASA. After the monkeys spent two months
in cages at a border checkpoint, JACK (a PASA member sanctuary in Lubumbashi, DR
Congo) obtained approval to accept them, with the intent to reintroduce as many as
possible. This rescue was pivotal for disrupting wildlife trafficking between DR Congo and
South Africa. If the monkeys had not been transferred to JACK, they were expected to
go to a tourist attraction or be sold back into the international wildlife trade, with no
opportunity to be reintroduced. PASA has formed a working group of primatologists with
experience rehabilitating and reintroducing related species of monkeys, who will work
with the leaders of JACK. The presentation will describe the process of negotiating with
government agencies in Zimbabwe and DR Congo, providing veterinary care,
establishing social groups for the monkeys at JACK, identifying release sites for each
species, and beginning to assess each monkey for suitability of being reintroduced.
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This event is sponsored by
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Winter Meeting
2020
Road crossing and roadkill in the Zanzibar red colobus (Piliocolobus kirkii)
Harry Olgun
Authors: Harry Olgun¹ ², Zoe E. Melvin¹ ², Mzee Khamis Mohammed³, Abbas Juma Mzee³, M.E. Landry
Green² ⁴, Graeme Shannon¹, Tim R. B. Davenport⁵ & Alexander V. Georgiev¹ ²
Affiliations: ¹School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK. ²Zanzibar Red Colobus Project.
³Department of Forestry and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar,
Zanzibar, Tanzania. ⁴Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of
Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. ⁵Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Zanzibar, Tanzania
Roads intersecting primate habitat are thought to be a significant source of mortality for
some primates. However, few studies have quantified the risk posed by vehicles or the
behavioural counterstrategies that primates may use in response. We examined 5 months
of direct behavioural observations of three Zanzibar red colobus groups and a four-year
opportunistic dataset on roadkill along a road intersecting Jozani-Chwaka Bay National
Park, Zanzibar. We hypothesised that (1) colobus can assess road risks and adjust their
behaviour to minimise this risk and (2) age-sex classes will be killed at different rates from
their availability in the population. Our five-month behavioural study documented 46 group
crossing events, with 473 individual crossings within them. We found male colobus crossed
roads slower and sat on the road more often compared to females. Females with infants
hesitated more often before crossing, compared to females without infants. Over the four-
year study, we recorded 29 colobus killed on the road. Although more female colobus were
found dead on the road than any other age-sex class, they were not killed more often than
expected, based on their representation in the local population. We estimate roadkill-
related mortality in this population could be as high as 3% annually. Historical data suggest
speed reduction measures on this road, specifically speedbumps, reduce the risk of roadkill
for this species, but current estimates of mortality show colobus could benefit from a
combination of additional speedbumps and other mitigation. Mortality from vehicle
collisions at Jozani, where the only potential predators are dogs and humans, were within
the range of mortality experienced by other primates from natural predation. However,
unlike natural predators, vehicles do not ‘selectively’ target their ‘prey’. The long-term
implications of this ‘predation regime’ remain to be established.
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Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Sharing habitats: the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on Geoffroy’s spider
monkeys in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico
Anja Hutschenreiter
Authors: Anja Hutschenreiter¹ ², Ammie Kalan³, Martha Bonilla Moheno⁴, Jorge E. Morales Mavil¹, Salvador
Mandujano Rodriguez⁴, Margarita Briseño Jaramillo¹ ², Filippo Aureli ¹ ² ⁵
Affiliations:¹Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
²ConMonoMaya A.C., Chemax, Yucatan, Mexico. ³Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology,
Former Department of Primatology, Leipzig, Germany. ⁴Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de
Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. ⁵Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and
Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 3AF, United Kingdom
Shared habitats between human and non-human primates have become a major
conservation challenge in the 21st century, demanding solutions for a successful co-
existence. Accurate determination of species distributions and monitoring of
populations are important requirements for successful conservation. In this study, we
evaluated the effects of different types of anthropogenic disturbance on the
abundance of Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in a growing tourist hotspot
and priority conservation area in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Over the course of 18
months, 49 survey locations were sampled repeatedly to assess the presence of spider
monkeys, for a total of 98 hours of point-count sampling and 7,632 hours of passive
acoustic monitoring. Combining data from both survey methods, we used Royle-Nichols
models to test the predictions that human settlements, recreational areas, forest loss
and human noise pollution would negatively affect the abundance of Geoffroy’s spider
monkeys. Contrary to our predictions, our results show a higher monkey abundance in
locations with a higher degree of anthropogenic disturbance. Forest loss, recreational
areas with high tourist abundance and the distance to the nearest human settlement
were the main factors influencing monkey abundance. We discuss the surprising results,
derive appropriate conservation strategies for spider monkeys in human-modified
habitats and recommend passive auditory monitoring as a new approach for
conservation research on spider monkeys in challenging environments.
Presentations
Session Three
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Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Meaning and context in bonobo (Pan paniscus) gestures
Kirsty E. Graham
Authors: Kirsty E. Graham¹, Takeshi Furuichi², Richard W. Byrne¹
Affiliations: ¹School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK. ²Primate Research
Institute, Kyoto University, Japan
In most languages, individual words can be ambiguous across several different
meanings, but through syntax and context the intended meaning of an ambiguous
word usually becomes apparent. Many nonhuman great ape gestures also have
ambiguous meanings, which poses the problem of how individuals can interpret the
signaller’s intended meaning in specific instances. Nonhuman great apes deploy a set
of over 60 gestures to communicate, and these gestures can be used flexibly for
different meanings and in different contexts. However, past studies have tended to
focus on either meaning or context, without examining them together. Here, we present
research on the gestural repertoire and meanings of two groups (E1 group, n=39; P
group, n=30) of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba, Democratic Republic of the
Congo. We tested the effects of sequence-order syntax and situational context on
gesture meanings. We found no effect on a gesture’s meaning from its presence and
position in sequence. However, two aspects of social context did affect meaning:
behaviour of the signaller immediately prior to gesturing, and relative age/sex of
signaller and recipient. The intended meaning of ambiguous gestures was almost
completely disambiguated by means of these aspects of context. Our findings suggest
that the use of contextual information to interpret ambiguous signals predates the
uniquely-human lineage and is not specific to language.
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Primates’ reactions to death: why do mothers carry the corpses of their dead infants?
Elisa Fernández-Fueyo
Authors: Elisa Fernández-Fueyo and Alecia Carter
Affiliations: University College London (UCL)
Infants’ corpses carrying by non-human primate mothers (ICC) is the most reported
response to the death of a conspecific. Despite its prevalence, quantitative analyses of
this behaviour is scarce and inconclusive. Drawing on published records, we compiled
the largest database of cases of primate mothers’ responses to their infants’ deaths to
test hypotheses proposed to explain between- and within-species variation in the
duration of the ICC behaviour. We used Bayesian phylogenetic regressions to analyse
416 cases across 50 different primate species. Five factors were found to influence ICC
occurrence: the age of the mother, the cause of death, the encephalization quotient
(EQ), the climate type and the habitat condition. Two factors were found to influence
ICC duration for those corpses that were carried: habitat condition and infant age. The
latter result may provide support for the mother-infant bond strength hypothesis to
explain ICC, which suggests that the behaviour is a by-product of the strong mother-
infant bond in mammals. Additionally, some causes of death possibly promote mothers’
detachment from the infants’ corpses or faster death detection. Finally, ICC is more likely
to occur in populations provisioned with food than in wild populations, suggesting that
ICC is an energetically costly behaviour. The results are discussed in the context of the
evolution of emotion and the awareness of death
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This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
The IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section for Human-Primate Interactions: Working
toward inclusive and effective conservation practice
Sian Waters
Authors: Sian Waters¹ ² & Susan M Cheyne¹ ³
Affiliations: ¹IUCN Primate Specialist Group, Co-Vice Chair, Section for Human-Primate Interactions
https://human-primate-interactions.org/. ²Durham University, UK. ³Oxford Brookes University
The IUCN SSC PSG Section for Human-Primate Interactions (SHPI) was initiated in 2016.
One of our first tasks was to address the, often negative, issues arising from the
prevalence of images of a primate in contact with a human on social media. As
primatologists we take photos of our study animals, both in the wild and in captivity (zoos
and rescue/rehabilitation centres). We use these photos and videos across social media
(personal and public accounts), on websites and give them to TV and film crews, often
with the best intentions of highlighting the important conservation work being done.
Additionally, primatologists participate in films where we are often in close proximity to
primates. To assist primatologists to decide whether to publish such images SHPI is
working on Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Non-Human Primates. This
document will be accompanied by a pledge to refrain from publishing photos of
ourselves and other humans in close proximity to primates. We are confident we have
a document that can be adopted by primatologists globally and also be accessible to
non-primatologists to present a united and unambiguous approach to the issues around
primate imagery. In order to facilitate engagement and capacity building, our other
main focus has been the organisation of inclusive webinars about various aspects of
human-primate interactions. We ensure that invited early career primatologists are able
to showcase their work and our webinars are very accessible due to being livestreamed
via Zoom to our Facebook page. We present the results of these webinars in viewing
figures and qualitative feedback from viewers and participants which demonstrate the
efficacy of our inclusive approach.
https://human-primate-interactions.org/
-
This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
Kelly Desruelle Ontogeny of social grooming in wild infant
chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)
at Ngogo, Uganda
Naomi L Mansell Human-primate interactions with Panamanian
white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus
imitator)
Rebecca Sweet Enclosure Use and Social Relationships of
Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla
gorilla gorilla): The Influence of Sex, Age and
Hierarchal Position
Sergio Díaz Chimpanzee lateralization across multiple
behaviours
Anna Watkins Initial Evidence for Mimicry of the Cobra (Naja
spp.) in the Javan Slow Loris (Nycticebus
javanicus)
Brook Aldrich The Asia for Animals Macaque Coalition
João d’Oliveira
Coelho
Using fossil evidence to improve our
understanding of divergence estimates for the
Panini and Hominini lineages
Leslie Paige Evolution of a dispersed pair living social system
in the Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus)
Please visit www.psgb.org for poster viewing. Posters will be displayed until 4th January
2021. Contact details for any questions are available.
Poster
Presentations
http://www.psgb.org/
-
This event is sponsored by
Primate Society of Great Britain
Winter Meeting
2020
DAY ONE DAY TWO
10.00-
10.15
Welcome by PSGB President 10.00-
10.15
Welcome by PSGB
Secretary
10.15-
11.00
Plenary
Asian Primates & Asian
Primatology: Status, Issues,
Constraints, Gaps, and
Options
Speaker: Dr Ramesh ‘Zimbo’
Boonratana
10.15-
11.00
Plenary
Decolonising Primatology
Speaker: Professor Jo
Setchell
11.00 Coffee 11.00 Coffee
11.20 Napier Award
Dr Robin Morrison
11.20
Presentation Session Two 11.40 Q&A for Plenary & Napier
12.00 LUNCH 12.20 Poster Session
13.00
Presentation Session One 13.00 LUNCH
14.00
Osman Hill Lecture
Professor Leslie Aiello
14.20 Coffee
14.45 AGM
15.30 Workshop One: Use of
technology to analyse
video footage.
OR
Workshop Two: Careers in
primatology and beyond.
15.00 Coffee
15.20
Presentation Session Three
16.40 Closing remarks
16.45 Finish 16.45 Finish
17.30 Social: Quiz