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Comparative Primatology - Cooperation in male wild chimpanzees

Male philopatry has been reported only in few species and studies on male bonds (male cooperation, type and mechanisms according to the context) in such species are still needed to elucidate the ultimate and proximate mechanisms of cooperation.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live in multi-male, multi-female communities in which individuals associate in temporary parties that vary in size and in composition. Males are philopatric and more gregarious than females. They often form coalitions within the community, and some male dyads become allies. Alliances can strongly affect agonistic relationships and mating behaviour. Males also practise large group-level alliances in aggressive competition with males of neighbouring communities. Furthermore, male chimpanzees hunt mammalian prey from which meat is shared, and participate in cooperative boundary patrols, whose outcomes can result in lethal conflict. Within the Taï project, 3 communities are followed with very different sizes and demographic effects on male interactions can directly be addressed.

The main goals of this study are:

1. to determine the influence of resources on male cooperation (contest component of competition, effects of dominance)
2. to analyse how community size and composition influence male cooperation-interactions
3. to study how male cooperation can be cemented by social variables, such as kinship, affiliation, short-term and long-term distribution of interactions, and individual success.

For details about our research group and publications, see http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/.

For questions regarding this project, please contact the director of the primatology department Christophe Boesch (boescheva.mpg.de).