As our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees offer tantalizing clues about the behaviour and evolution of early human ancestors. Offering a detailed portrait of chimpanzee social behavior based on hundreds of thousands of hours of research, Social Behaviour of an Endangered Species synthesises research findings from seven long-term field sites across the African rainforest belt. Why are the social lives of males and females so different? Why do groups of males sometimes kill their neighbors? Do chimpanzees cooperate when they hunt? Are their calls meaningful like words? Is their ability to use tools culturally transmitted? Addressing these questions and more, Arcadi examines well-researched behaviors to present a fascinating introduction to the chimpanzee social universe and its conservation. Also including an overview of the Primate order, an appendix describing field methods, and extensive endnotes with citations and supplementary data organized by field site, this is an essential resource for students and animal behavior researchers alike.
Preface
1. Primates, Apes, and the Study of Chimpanzee Social Behavior
2. Seven Long-Term Field Studies
3. Chimpanzee Fission-Fusion Social Organization and Its Conservation Implications
4. Sex Differences in Ranging and Association Patterns
5. Female Social Relationships and the Defining Influence of Offspring Care
6. Male Social Relationships and the Dynamic Interplay of Competition and Cooperation
7. Sexual Behavior: Conflicting Strategies of Males and Females
8. Coalitionary Lethal Aggression between and within Communities
9. Hunting, Eating, and Sharing Meat
10. Communication: The Form and Content of Signals
11. Community Differences in Grooming Postures and Tool Use: Innovation, Social Learning, and The Question of 'Culture'
Epilogue
Appendix: Field Methods for Studying Wild Chimpanzees
Adam Clark Arcadi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University, where he teaches courses in human evolution, primate behaviour and primate conservation. He has conducted field research on wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park (Uganda), and collaborated with researchers at the Gombe Stream Research Center (Tanzania) and the Taï Chimpanzee Project (Ivory Coast).
"[...] the first book to compile the available information about field studies of wild chimpanzees. To do so has required an immense effort on the part of the author, Adam Clark Arcadi. The long-term field studies at Gombe, Kibale, Budongo, Mahale, Bossou, and Tai, together with a large number of shorter term studies, are synthesised on a topic by topic basis. This gives the reader an overall perspective of wild chimpanzees which has hitherto been lacking. We see many features of behaviour and social organisation that all chimps have in common. And we also see ecological and cultural differences between different chimp communities across Africa. [...] a good book for all those seeking to understand our closest relatives in the animal kingdom: undergraduates in particular will benefit from this synthesis of all that is known at the present time. [Simultaneously], the author writes well so his book is accessible to the general reader."
– Vernon Reynolds, University of Oxford
"Wild Chimpanzees is a superbly original and incisive overview of the behavior, ecology and conservation of a critically important species. Arcadi provides a broad primate context for his synthesis, presents a rich history of the main field-sites and the behavioral differences associated with them, and explores the evolutionary significance of numerous types of cooperation, competition and communication. Arcadi's clarity of exposition, systematic consideration and crisp thinking make this an invaluable source for students and professionals alike."
– Richard Wrangham, Harvard University
"Arcadi's Wild Chimpanzees weaves new research on the social behavior of wild chimpanzees into an accessibly written account of our closest relatives. Highly recommended for the library of anyone interested in new frontiers of great ape research."
– Craig Stanford, University of Southern California