title: Gorilla mothers also matter! New insights on social transmission in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in captivity.
abstract: The present paper describes two distinct behaviors relating to food processing and communication that were observed in a community of five separately housed groups of lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in captivity during two study periods one decade apart: (1) a food processing technique to separate wheat from chaff, the so-called puff-blowing technique; and (2) a male display used to attract the attention of visitors, the so-called throw-kiss-display. We investigated (a) whether the behaviors were transmitted within the respective groups; and if yes, (b) their possible mode of transmission. Our results showed that only the food processing technique spread from three to twenty-one individuals during the ten-year period, whereas the communicative display died out completely. The main transmission mode of the puff-blowing technique was the mother-offspring dyad: offspring of puff-blowing mothers showed the behavior, while the offspring of non- puff-blowing mothers did not. These results strongly support the role mothers play in the acquisition of novel skills and vertical social transmission. Furthermore, they suggest that behaviors, which provide a direct benefit to individuals, have a high chance of social transmission while the loss of benefits can result in the extinction of behaviors.
authors: Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Humboldt Research Group "Comparative Gestural Signalling," Seewiesen, Germany.
authors: Eva Maria
authors: EM
authors: Luef
authors: Simone
authors: S
authors: Pika
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006071:Gorilla gorilla; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior