Leipzig (Germany): A new study has discovered that ordered vocal sequences in wild chimp communication can shed light on the evolution of human language.The study is published in the journal, 'Communications Biology, 2022'Compared to the complex use of human language, the way animals communicate with each other appears quite simple. How our language evolved from such a simple system, remains unclear. Researchers from the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) and for Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI-CBS) in Leipzig, Germany, and the CNRS Institute for Cognitive Sciences in Bron, Lyon, France, recorded thousands of vocalisations from wild chimpanzees in Tai, Ivory Coast.They found that the animals produced hundreds of different vocal sequences containing up to ten different call types. The order of calls in these sequences followed some rules, and calls were associated with each other in a structured manner. The researchers will now investigate if this structure may constitute a step toward human syntax and if chimpanzees use these sequences to communicate a wider range of meanings in their complex social environment.Humans are the only species on earth known to use language. We do this by combining sounds to form words and words to form hierarchically structured sentences. The question, of where this extraordinary capacity originates from, still remains to be answered. In order to retrace the evolutionary origins of human language, researchers often use a comparative approach -- they compare the vocal production of other animals, in particular primates, to those of humans. In contrast to humans, non-human primates often use single calls -referred to as call types -- and rarely combine them with each other to form vocal sequences.Consequently, vocal communication in non-human primates seems much less complex than human communication. However, human language complexity does not arise from the number of sounds we use when we speak, which are typically below 50 different sounds in most languages, but from the way we combine sounds in a structured manner to form words and hierarchically combine these words to form sentences to express an infinite number of meanings. In fact, non-human primates also use up to 38 different calls to communicate, but they rarely combine them with each other. However, since they have so far not been analysed in great detail, we may not have a full picture of the structure and diversity of vocal sequences produced by non-human primates.Researchers at MPI-EVA and MPI-CBS in Leipzig and from the Institute of Cognitive Sciences at the CNRS in Bron, Lyon, France, recorded thousands of vocalisations produced by the members of three groups of wild chimpanzees in the Tai National Park on the Ivory Coast. They identified 12 different call types and assessed how chimpanzees combine them to form vocal sequences. "Observing animals in their natural social and ecological environment reveals a previously undiscovered complexity in the ways they communicate," says first author Cedric Girard-Buttoz. "Syntax is a hallmark of human language and in order to elucidate the origin of this human ability it is crucial to understand how non-human primate vocalisations are structured," adds Emiliano Zaccarella, another lead author of the study.The study shows that chimpanzees communicate with each other using hundreds of different sequences, combining up to ten call types across the whole repertoire. This is the first documentation of such a diversity of vocal production in non-human primates. Furthermore, the researches show that calls -- in combination with specific other calls -- predictably occurred in certain positions in the sequence, following adjacency rules. These adjacency rules applied also to sequences with three call types."Our findings highlight a vocal communication system in chimpanzees that is much more complex and structured than previously thought," says co-author Tatiana Bortolato who recorded the vocalisations in the forest. "This is the first study in a larger project. By studying the rich complexity of the vocal sequences of wild chimpanzees, a socially complex species like humans, we expect to bring fresh insight into understanding where we come from and how our unique language evolved," Catherine Crockford, senior author of the study, pointed out.The authors will now investigate what these complex and structured vocal sequences mean and whether they allow chimpanzees to increase the range of topics they can communicate about. —ANI

 A new study has discovered that ordered vocal sequences in wild chimp communication can shed light on the evolution of human language.

Study: Chimpanzees Blend Their Sounds To Create Variety Of Vocal Patterns

Washington: The first evidence of lasting social relationships between chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild has been found during a long-term study led by primatologist Crickette Sanz at Washington University in St. Louis.
Drawn from more than 20 years of observations at Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, researchers documented social ties between individual chimpanzees and gorillas that persisted over years and across different contexts. The research was conducted by scientists from Washington University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) and Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago) and is reported in the journal iScience.
"There are few (if any) studies of interactions between primate species that have been able to take the identity of individuals into account," said Sanz, a professor of biological anthropology in Arts &amp; Sciences. "It has long been known that these apes can recognize individual members of their own species and form long-term relationships, but we had not known that this extended to other species. "An example of what we found might be one individual travelling through a group of the other species to seek out another particular individual," she said. "We were also able to document such interactions over time and in different contexts in this study."
Most people do not realize that the majority of remaining gorillas and chimpanzees reside together.
The large tracts of forest in the Congo Basin are a conservation stronghold not only for these two kinds of endangered great apes but also for forest elephants, leopards and many other species. The government of the Republic of Congo and the Wildlife Conservation Society have worked together for nearly three decades to save wild places that sustain the local people, protect natural resources and buffer global climate change.
In a review of published reports combined with a synthesis of previously unpublished data about the daily follows of chimpanzees and gorillas from 1999 to 2020 in the Goualougo Triangle, scientists documented ape species engaging in a wide range of social interactions, ranging from play to aggression. Researchers investigated several possible benefits of these interspecies rendezvous, including protection from predation, improved foraging options and other social benefits from information sharing.
What they learned shows us that no ape is an island. "Rather than thinking about chimpanzees alone, we should be thinking about them within diverse and dynamic habitats where they are actively engaging with other species and play an integral role in the persistence of the unique ecosystems in which they exist," said co-author David Morgan, research fellow at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Why interact at all
One of the key theories that has been suggested for why apes might choose to associate with members of different species is to avoid predators. But information gathered in this study suggests these social interactions can't be chalked up to threat reduction. The scientists found little support for the idea that chimpanzees or gorillas are associated to decrease leopard, snake or raptor predation attempts. "Predation is certainly a threat in this region, as we have cases in which chimpanzees have been killed by leopards," Sanz said. "However, the number of chimpanzees in daily subgroups remains relatively small, and gorillas within groups venture far from the silverback who is thought to be a protector from predation."
Instead, enhanced foraging opportunities seem to be more important. The researchers found that co-feeding at the same tree represented 34 per cent of the interspecific associations that they documented, with another 18 per cent of observations involving apes foraging in close spatial proximity but on different foods.
At least 20 different plant species were targeted by apes during co-feeding events in this study, greatly expanding researchers' knowledge of the diversity of resources that chimpanzees and gorillas are willing to gather together to share. In addition to a greater diversity of interactions than previously documented among sympatric apes, this study revealed social relationships between members of different species that persisted over years. For example, study authors noted that on several occasions at food sources, they observed young gorillas and chimpanzees seeking out particular partners to engage in bouts of play. These types of interactions may afford unique development opportunities that extend the individual's social, physical and cognitive competencies.
"No longer can we assume that an individual ape's social landscape is entirely occupied by members of their own species," said co-author Jake Funkhouser, a doctoral candidate of biological anthropology at Washington University. "The strength and persistence of social relationships that we observed between apes indicate a depth of social awareness and myriad social transmission pathways that had not previously been imagined. Such insights are critical given these interspecies social relationships have the potential to serve as transmission pathways for both beneficial socially learned cultural behaviors and harmful infectious disease."
Concerns about disease transmission
Certainly, social exchanges between apes have their risks. One is the potential for disease transmission. While poaching and habitat loss still represent the largest threats to apes, infectious disease has recently emerged as a threat of similar magnitude.
Because chimpanzees and gorillas are closely related, many pathogens can be transmitted between them. Ebola, for example, is a highly transmissible virus that has had a devastating impact on ape populations in central Africa. Just over 20 years ago, Ebola emerged in wild ape populations and then spread to humans. By some estimates, that wave of the Ebola virus wiped out one-third of the world's chimpanzees and gorillas.
"While we continue to be concerned about many disease risks, we now know much more about the origin of many of these pathogens and routes of their transmission within and between species, including humans," Sanz said.
In this study, "the surprise to us was the extent of overlap and interaction that occurred between these apes that was previously not recognized or reported," she said. "Based on the literature, we had anticipated that the apes would avoid one another ... and in some cases, it seemed to be the opposite."
Co-existing comfortably
Studying co-existing great apes may inform us about interactions between some early hominins, study authors said.
There has been a long history in paleoanthropology of assuming that early hominins would competitively exclude each other from using the same resources in the same areas. But if modern-day observations with non-human apes are informative about the behaviour of early modern humans, then this study suggests these interactions would have most likely occurred in tolerant social contexts. Sanz emphasizes the continuing importance of longitudinal studies to understand chimpanzee and gorilla behavior and ecology -- but also to protect these apes and their habitats. "Despite more than 60 years of chimpanzee and gorilla research, there is still much to be learned about these fascinating apes -- the main challenge at this time is to ensure the conservation of these endangered species so that such opportunities exist for future generations," she said. —ANI

The first evidence of lasting social relationships between chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild has been found during a long-term study led by primatologist Crickette Sanz at Washington University in St. Louis.

Evidence Of Social Relationships Between Chimpanzees, Gorillas Found During Study

New York: Apes recognise photos of groupmates they haven’t seen for more than 25 years and respond even more enthusiastically to pictures of their friends, a new study finds. The study demonstrates the longest-lasting social memory ever documented outside of humans, and underscores how human culture evolved from the common ancestors we share with apes, our closest relatives. "Chimpanzees and bonobos recognise individuals even though they haven’t seen them for multiple decades," said Christopher Krupenye, an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University who studies animal cognition. "And then there’s this small but significant pattern of greater attention toward individuals with whom they had more positive relationships. It suggests that this is more than just familiarity, that they’re keeping track of aspects of the quality of these social relationships," he added. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead author Laura Lewis, a biological anthropologist and comparative psychologist at University of California, Berkeley, said: "We tend to think about great apes as quite different from ourselves but we have really seen these animals as possessing cognitive mechanisms that are very similar to our own, including memory. And I think that is what’s so exciting about this study." The research team was inspired to pursue the question of how long apes remember their peers because of their own experiences working with apes -- the sense that the animals recognised them when they’d visit, even if they’d been away for a long while. The team worked with chimpanzees and bonobos at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, Planckendael Zoo in Belgium, and Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan. The researchers collected photographs of apes that had either left the zoos or died, individuals that participants hadn’t seen for at least nine months and in some cases for as long as 26 years. The team invited apes to participate in the experiment by offering them juice, and while they sipped it, the apes where shown two side-by-side photographs -- apes they’d once known and total strangers. Using a non-invasive eye-tracking device, the team measured where the apes looked and for how long, speculating they’d look longer at apes they recognised. The apes looked significantly longer at former groupmates, no matter how long they’d been apart. And they looked longer still at their former friends, those they’d had more positive interactions with. In the most extreme case during the experiment, bonobo Louise had not seen her sister Loretta nor nephew Erin for more than 26 years at the time of testing. She showed a strikingly robust looking bias toward both of them over eight trials. The results suggest great ape social memory could last beyond 26 years, the majority of their 40 to 60-year average lifespan, and could be comparable to that of humans, which begins to decline after 15 years but can persist as long as 48 years after separation. Such long-lasting social memory in both humans and our closest relatives suggests that this kind of memory was likely already present millions of years ago in our common evolutionary ancestors. This memory likely forged a foundation for the evolution of human culture and enabled the emergence of uniquely-human forms of interaction such as intergroup trade where relationships are maintained over many years of separation, the team said. —IANS

Apes recognise photos of groupmates they haven’t seen for more than 25 years and respond even more enthusiastically to pictures of their friends

The Hawk

Tag : Chimpanzees

Study: Chimpanzees Blend Their Sounds To Create Variety Of Vocal Patterns

Inam Ansari

The Hawk

Tag : Chimpanzees

Study: Chimpanzees Blend Their Sounds To Create Variety Of Vocal Patterns

Inam Ansari

More about Chimpanzees

Evidence Of Social Relationships Between Chimpanzees ...

Apes Tend To Remember Friends Not Seen For Over 25 Y ...