Primates Human Behavior

Plenty of observations and studies have been done over the years on different primates and their behavior or cognition. We have studied their every move and we are always making calculations about their intellegence, or lack thier of and comparisons of how similar or different they are not only from each other but also how similar or different they are from us, the human race. One of these many studies that I have found to be very intriguing is whether or not certain primates have the capability to plan ahead for things. In capativity numerous studies have been produced to test chimpanzees on whether or not they can make plans for the future ori f they plan step by step. Some chimpanzees have even been observed in captivity, such as Santino,

I feel that this deity is a very fitting name of the bonobo species because they are known as a very loving and generous species. “These great apes are complex beings with profound intelligence, emotional expression, and sensitivity. In contrast to the competitive, male-dominated culture of chimpanzees, bonobo society is peaceful, matriarchal, and more egalitarian.” http://www.bonobo.org/bonobos/what-is-a-bonobo/ They are one of very few other species known to have sex for reasons other than reproduction and will often times do so in a face to face position in order to promote bonding. Because of their caring and compassionate society, bonobos serve as a powerful symbol of peace and cooperation. It has been studied through genetic analyses that the Bonobo is the most closely related to humans of all the primates; Bonobos share roughly 98.4 % of our genetic identity. Even the stages of growth are similar to that of humans with them losing teeth between five and seven, hitting puberty between nine and eleven, and the females having a “cycle” very similar to that of human women. https://msu.edu/~bondemil/bonobo.htm All of the these striking similarities between the human race and the fact that these are benevolent and gentle creatures have been what has driven my interest in studying them throughout the

In this study we will investigate bonobo decision making regaurding nesting sites depending on fruit availability in the forest-savannah mosaic of western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We will need to count the nesting sites and night grouping patterns and analyze them in regards to the fruit availability. We will also need to model bonobo population density at the site in order to investigate yearly variation. This will test for the ability of bonobos to adapt their ranging patterns to fruit availability changes. I believe that fruit availability at the nesting sites will indicate that bonobos favor spots rich in food as sleeping sites. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3973572/

Within the span of one year, we will record data on fruiting trees within 31 plots (14 plots in the Nkala Forest and 17 plots in the Mpelu Forest). We will have to randomly choose plot locations placed along the transects in order to facilitate our access to them. Every two weeks, we will have to visit each of the plots and record which trees are fruiting by inspecting them and counting fruits on the ground. Beside this, we will have to make a model to record variation in fruit availability in order to investigate possible seasonal