Publicaties

In several group-living species, individuals' social preferences are thought to be influenced by cooperation. For some societies with fission-fusion dynamics, sex-specific association patterns reflect sex differences in cooperation in within-and between-group contexts. In our study, we investigated this hypothesis further by comparing sex-specific association patterns in two closely related species, chimpanzees and bonobos, which differ in the ...

This report describes bonobo (Pan paniscus, Hominidae) behavioral flexibility and inter-community differences with high tannin level fruit processing. In fruiting plants, tannin should discourage certain seed dispersers (direct deterrence hypothesis) such as primates. Based on data deriving from five study sites; LuiKotale, Lomako, Wamba, Malebo and Manzano, we compare consumption and dispersal of fruit species rich in tannins: Parinari and ...

Characterization of the ecology of endangered timber species is a crucial step in
any forest management strategy. In this study, we described the animal communities involved in seed dispersal and predation of a high-value timber species Guibourtia tessmannii (Fabaceae; Detarioideae), which is newly listed on Appendix II of CITES. We compared the animal communities between two forest sites (Bambidie in Gabon and Ma’an in Cameroon). A total ...

This study aimed to inform the National Action Plan for Conservation of the Central Atlantic Forest Mammals, by investigating how rural people are using wildlife in protected areas in southern Bahia, with a focus on threatened mammals. We conducted 351 interviews with rural residents living in three protected areas and a buffer zone. Thirty seven percent of respondents stated that they had captured an animal opportunistically, 16% hunted ...

Common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) experienced a selective sweep, probably caused by a SIV-like virus, which targeted their MHC class I repertoire. Based on MHC class I intron 2 data analyses, this selective sweep took place about 23 million years ago. As a consequence, common chimpanzees have a skewed MHC class I repertoire that is enriched for allotypes that are able to recognise conserved regions of the SIV proteome. The bonobo (Pan ...

The two closest living relatives of humans, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), share many traits that are common in humans but rare in other mammals, including societies with high fission?fusion dynamics, male philopatry, female dispersal and extensive social bonding among unrelated individuals [1]. The major difference between these two species is that male aggression is more frequent and intense in male-dominated ...