People threaten cultural diversity of chimpanzees

Different groups of chimpanzees use different tools and know other Tricks to Survive. According to a study in Science, the influence of the people of this cultural diversity is impoverishing. The chimpanzee cultures suffer from environmental degradation, the Intrusion of humans into their habitat, and climate change. the

chimpanzees have an unusually large behavioral diversity. Because many of the habits that only affect certain groups and from one Generation to the next, speak to a researcher of chimpanzee cultures.

However, the influence of the people, the behavioural repertoire of primates significantly shrink, reported by an international team of researchers under the leadership of the Max-Planck-Institute for evolutionary anthropology in Leipzig, Germany in the journal Science. The animals are exposed to such settlements, roads, agriculture, or mining, their behavioral diversity.

The Team looked at more than 30 behaviors of 144 free-living groups from the entire distribution area in Africa. The scientists looked around, what Tricks the animals, ants, algae, nuts, and honey to collect, which tools to use for hunting or digging for tubers, or how you use pools and caves.

In small populations will be given the Knowledge of hardly more

"is, on average, reduced the behavioral diversity of chimpanzees in places with the strongest human influence to 88 percent," says study leader Jo Kalan from the Leipzig Max-Planck-Institute. The researchers explain, among other things, with the decreasing number of animals. The smaller the monkey population is about by environmental destruction and the Encroachment of humans into their habitat, the more would fall, therefore, the General capacity for behavioral diversity. An example: in some places the animals could exhibit abnormal behaviour, such as Cracking nuts do not avoid to hunters to their location.

Also, the deterioration of the habitat due to environmental degradation and other factors, as well as increased Stress could affect the transfer of Knowledge and local traditions from one Generation to the next, emphasize the biologists. In addition, global warming could contribute to a reduced behavioral diversity: influences perhaps the availability of important food for the animals.

"Our results suggest that strategies for the conservation of biodiversity should also be on the protection of the behavioural diversity of animals extended", says Hjalmar Kühl, one of the authors of the study. He suggests that places with exceptional behaviors as "chimpanzee-to protect cultural heritage". This concept could also be on Orang-Utans, Capuchin monkeys, or whales extended.