Do Differences In Fruit Abundance Explain Patterns Of Grouping And Intersexual Dominance In Artificial Chimpanzees And Bonobos?

Bentlage, Agus (2022) Do Differences In Fruit Abundance Explain Patterns Of Grouping And Intersexual Dominance In Artificial Chimpanzees And Bonobos? Master's Research Project 1, Biology.

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Abstract

Although closely related, some female bonobos dominate over males while female chimpanzees do not. Researchers hypothesize that female dominance over males emerges in bonobos because they form larger and more cohesive mixed-sex parties than chimpanzees. We investigated whether an increased fruit abundance experienced by bonobos after their divergence from chimpanzees influenced patterns of grouping that supported the emergence of female dominance over males. We created an agent-based model named PanWorld, where virtual entities roamed dynamic environments differing in fruit abundance. Environments with a high abundance of fruit supported the formation of larger parties and females that were more social. However, this did not result in a higher degree of female dominance over males. Due to increased male competition over fruit patches, the degree of female dominance over males was highest in environments with a low abundance of fruit. We argue that such patterns of behavior are not in line with empirical data, and recommend for the addition of behavioral rules that enable PanWorld agents to become better caricatures of bonobos and chimpanzees. All in all, we found that a higher abundance of fruit may explain why bonobos form larger mixed-sex parties than chimpanzees. In nature, increased sociality may lead to female dominance over males. In PanWorld, however, an increase in sociality did not influence female dominance over males in line with our hypothesis.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Research Project 1)
Supervisor name:	Hemelrijk, C.K. and Hildenbrandt, H.
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Master's Research Project 1
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2022 12:39
Last Modified:	21 Nov 2022 12:39
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/28977

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