title: Wild chimpanzees show group differences in selection of agricultural crops.
abstract: The ability of wild animals to respond flexibly to anthropogenic environmental changes, including agriculture, is critical to survival in human-impacted habitats. Understanding use of human foods by wildlife can shed light on the acquisition of novel feeding habits and how animals respond to human-driven land-use changes. Little attention has focused on within-species variation in use of human foods or its causes. We examined crop-feeding in two groups of wild chimpanzees - a specialist frugivore - with differing histories of exposure to agriculture. Both groups exploited a variety of crops, with more accessible crops consumed most frequently. However, crop selection by chimpanzees with long-term exposure to agriculture was more omnivorous (i.e., less fruit-biased) compared to those with more recent exposure, which ignored most non-fruit crops. Our results suggest chimpanzees show increased foraging adaptations to cultivated landscapes over time; however, local feeding traditions may also contribute to group differences in crop-feeding in this species. Understanding the dynamic responses of wildlife to agriculture can help predict current and future adaptability of species to fast-changing anthropogenic landscapes.
authors.affiliation: Anthropology Centre for Conservation, Environment and Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: McLennan
authors.affiliation: 1] Anthropology Centre for Conservation, Environment and Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom [2] Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA), Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Kimberley J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Hockings
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000254:growth & development; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012621:Seasons
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