title: Food begging and sharing in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus): assessing relationship quality?
abstract: Food transfers are often hypothesised to have played a role in the evolution of cooperation amongst humans. However, they also occur in non-human primates, though no consensus exists regarding their function(s). We document patterns of begging for food and success rates as well as associated factors that may influence them for wild bonobos at LuiKotale, Democratic Republic of Congo. Our data, collected over 1074 observation hours, focus on 260 begging events (outside mother-offspring dyads) of which 37 % were successful. We find no support for the "reciprocity hypothesis"-that food is exchanged for grooming and/or sexual benefits; and only weak support for the "sharing under pressure" hypothesis-that food is transferred as a result of harassment and pays off in terms of nutritional benefits for the beggar. Instead, our data support the "assessing-relationships" hypothesis, according to which beggars gain information about the status of their social relationship with the possessor of a food item. This seems to hold particularly true for the frequent, albeit unsuccessful begging events by young females (newly immigrated or hierarchically non-established) towards adult females, although it can be observed in other dyadic combinations independent of sex and age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.|Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Lucas G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Goldstone
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Ecology, Georg August University Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.|Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Niina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nurmi
authors.affiliation: Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany. fruth@bio.lmu.de.|Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. fruth@bio.lmu.de.|Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany. fruth@bio.lmu.de.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fruth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D019974:Pan paniscus / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Assessing relationships; Bonobo; Food sharing; Pan paniscus; Reciprocity; Sharing-under-pressure