Chimpanzees foraging on aquatic foods: algae scooping in Bossou

Structure of Chimpanzee Gut Microbiomes across Tropical Africa

“…( 34 ). Similar differences are noted among chimpanzee communities in similar habitats with regard to the consumption of fruits and leaves ( 35 ), termites ( 31 ), honey ( 36 ), algae ( 30 , 37 ), and some nut species that require tools to crack ( 29 ). Such behavioral differences in foraging techniques, presumed to be socially mediated and thus cultural ( 38 ), and consequent differences in diet, may in turn affect gut microbiota composition.…”

Cost-Benefit Trade-Offs of Aquatic Resource Exploitation in the Context of Hominin Evolution

“…Firstly, behaviors associated with aquatic resource exploitation tend to be highly site-specific, independently of the type of food consumed (Table 1). In chimpanzees, for example, the consumption of aquatic fauna has only been observed in the Nimba mountains (Koops et al, 2019), in spite of the existence of several longterm field projects dedicated to the study of this species in situ (e.g., Pusey et al, 2007;Boesch et al, 2019;Thompson et al, 2020)-also including nearby locations, such as Bossou (Humle et al, 2011;Koops et al, 2019;Matsuzawa, 2019). Notably, the chimpanzee populations in these two locations also differ in their consumption of aquatic flora: while individuals at Bossou have been observed engaging in algae scooping-a behavior characterized by using sticks to scoop algae from water bodies (Matsuzawa, 1996;Humle et al, 2011)-the chimpanzees at Nimba have not (Matsuzawa, 2019).…”

“…In chimpanzees, for example, the consumption of aquatic fauna has only been observed in the Nimba mountains (Koops et al, 2019), in spite of the existence of several longterm field projects dedicated to the study of this species in situ (e.g., Pusey et al, 2007;Boesch et al, 2019;Thompson et al, 2020)-also including nearby locations, such as Bossou (Humle et al, 2011;Koops et al, 2019;Matsuzawa, 2019). Notably, the chimpanzee populations in these two locations also differ in their consumption of aquatic flora: while individuals at Bossou have been observed engaging in algae scooping-a behavior characterized by using sticks to scoop algae from water bodies (Matsuzawa, 1996;Humle et al, 2011)-the chimpanzees at Nimba have not (Matsuzawa, 2019). As such, the disparity in observed aquatic foraging behaviors in these two locations has been hypothesized to be a product of differences in resource availability within the ranges of both chimpanzee groups, given the absence of shallow freshwater streams with crabs at Bossou and the scarcity of ponds with algae at Nimba (Matsuzawa, 2019).…”

“…Notably, the chimpanzee populations in these two locations also differ in their consumption of aquatic flora: while individuals at Bossou have been observed engaging in algae scooping-a behavior characterized by using sticks to scoop algae from water bodies (Matsuzawa, 1996;Humle et al, 2011)-the chimpanzees at Nimba have not (Matsuzawa, 2019). As such, the disparity in observed aquatic foraging behaviors in these two locations has been hypothesized to be a product of differences in resource availability within the ranges of both chimpanzee groups, given the absence of shallow freshwater streams with crabs at Bossou and the scarcity of ponds with algae at Nimba (Matsuzawa, 2019). Nevertheless, chimpanzees represent only one example of the site-specificity of the consumption of aquatic fauna and flora in primates.…”

Primate Memory

“…While holding the stalk in her mouth, she stripped off the leaves along its stem using one hand in a swift, downward motion. 7 Holding the stick between her index and middle fingers, she dipped it into the pond and made a swiveling action with her wrist, moving the stick back and forth to collect the floating algae. She then lifted the stick to her mouth and pulled it sideways through her lips, gathering the algae in her mouth.…”