Transfer and Acclimatization Effects on the Behavior of Two Species of African Great Ape (Pan troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Moved to a Novel and Naturalistic Zoo Environment

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Ross ◽  
Katherine E. Wagner ◽  
Steven J. Schapiro ◽  
Jann Hau ◽  
Kristin E. Lukas
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla ◽  
Great Ape ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla

scholarly journals Hardly habitual: chimpanzees and gorillas show flexibility in their motor responses when presented with a causally-clear task

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Jacobson ◽  
Lydia M. Hopper
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Efficient Solution ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla ◽  
Motor Responses ◽  
Causal Understanding ◽  
Action Sequences ◽  
Western Lowland Gorillas

In contrast to reports of wild primates, studies of captive primates’ flexibility often reveal conservatism: individuals are unable to switch to new and more efficient strategies when task demands change. We propose that such conservatism might be a result of task design and hypothesize that conservatism might be linked to primates’ lack of causal understanding in relation to experimental apparatuses. We investigated if chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) would show greater flexibility when presented with a causally-clear task. We presented six chimpanzees and seven gorillas with a clear tube from which they had to remove straws to release a reward. To first evaluate the apes’ causal understanding, we recorded the efficiency with which the apes solved the task (i.e., whether they only removed straws below the reward, ignoring redundant ones above it). To further explore how they solved the task, we also recorded the order in which they removed the straws, which allowed us to determine if habitual action sequences emerged. All apes spontaneously solved the task in their first trial and across repeated trials the majority of their solutions were efficient (median = 90.9%), demonstrating their understanding of the puzzle. There was individual variation in the consistency of straw removal patterns exhibited by the apes, but no ape developed an exclusive habit in the order with which they removed the straws, further indicating their causal understanding of the task. Next, we presented the apes with a new configuration of the same task that required the apes to remove fewer straws to obtain the reward. All apes switched to a more efficient straw removal sequence even though their previously-successful, but now less-efficient, solution remained available. We theorize that because the apes understood the causality of the task, they did not form habits and were not conservative.

scholarly journals Ebola and the decline of gorilla Gorilla gorilla and chimpanzee Pan troglodytes populations in Minkebe Forest, north-eastern Gabon

Oryx ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bas Huijbregts ◽  
Pauwel De Wachter ◽  
Louis Sosthène Ndong Obiang ◽  
Marc Ella Akou
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla ◽  
Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla ◽  
North Eastern
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