Comparison of hand use and forelimb posture during vertical climbing in mountain gorillas (<i>Gorilla beringei beringei</i>) and chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes</i>)

Neufuss, Johanna; Robbins, Martha M.; Baeumer, Jana; Humle, Tatyana; Kivell, Tracy L.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23303

Cited by 35 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…The higher duty factor of the mountain gorilla's forelimb indicates that the gorilla's hand is held in contact with the substrate for longer compared to chimpanzees. Forceful hand grips and the use of variable thumb postures relative to substrate size are, therefore, likely particularly important in large‐bodied mountain gorillas (Neufuss et al ., ), as they face greater biomechanical challenges during vertical climbing than small‐bodied chimpanzees. The lower cycle duration and stride frequency combined with longer contact times, represents a more cautious and stable climbing strategy of mountain gorillas, which would increase safety when traversing unfamiliar or irregular substrates in an arboreal environment (Pontzer & Wrangham, ), as well as likely reduce energetic costs as found in other climbing primates (Isler, ; Isler & Thorpe, ; Hanna & Schmitt, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…mountain gorillas (Neufuss et al, 2017), as they face greater biomechanical challenges during vertical climbing than smallbodied chimpanzees. The lower cycle duration and stride frequency combined with longer contact times, represents a more cautious and stable climbing strategy of mountain gorillas, which would increase safety when traversing unfamiliar or irregular substrates in an arboreal environment (Pontzer & Wrangham, 2004), as well as likely reduce energetic costs as found in other climbing primates (Isler, 2003;Isler & Thorpe, 2003;Hanna & Schmitt, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All gorilla climbing sequences were recorded at relatively close range (7 m to~20 m) on a sample of 11 individuals ( Table 1). The gorillas had the opportunity to climb on differently sized substrates ranging from lianas (6-10 cm diameter) to extremely large tree trunks (>50 cm diameter) (for more details on substrate sizes see Neufuss et al, 2017). A total of eight adult semi-free-ranging chimpanzees were filmed at relatively close range (~10 m) ( Table 1).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two types of vertical climbing have been previously described in relation to substrate size (Hunt et al, 1996): (1) when climbing on smaller substrates, such a liana or thin tree, flexion of the elbow helps to elevate the body ('flexed-elbow' vertical climbing); (2) on larger substrates, such as tree trunks, the elbow is typically extended throughout the motion cycle ('extendedelbow' vertical climbing). In both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, smaller substrates evoke flexed-elbow climbing while a substrate diameter larger than 20 cm is likely to evoke extendedelbow climbing (Hunt et al, 1996;Neufuss et al, 2017).…”

Section: Types Of Vertical Climbingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On vertical supports, primates overcome some of these biomechanical challenges using powerful grasping and adapting their forelimb and hand posture (Hunt, ; Hunt et al ., ; Hirasaki et al ., ; Isler, ; Nakano, Hirasaki & Kumakura, ). For example, recent work has found that mountain gorillas and chimpanzees generally use the same hand grips, power grips and diagonal power grips, as well as similar forelimb postures on vertical supports of a similar size, which is consistent with their general similarity in hard and soft tissue morphology of the hand and forelimb (Neufuss et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gait characteristics of vertical climbing in mountain gorillas and chimpanzees

et al. 2018

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Biomechanical analyses of arboreal locomotion in great apes in their natural environment are scarce and thus attempts to correlate behavioral and habitat differences with variations in morphology are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the gait characteristics of vertical climbing in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a natural environment to assess differences in the climbing styles that may relate to variation in body size. We investigated temporal variables (i.e., cycle duration, duty factors, and stride frequency) and footfall sequences (i.e., diagonal vs. lateral sequence gaits) during vertical climbing (both ascent and descent) in 11 wild mountain gorillas and compared these data to those of eight semi-free-ranging chimpanzees, using video records ad libitum. Comparisons of temporal gait parameters revealed that large-bodied mountain gorillas exhibited a longer cycle duration, lower stride frequency and generally a higher duty factor than small-bodied chimpanzees. While both apes were similarly versatile in their vertical climbing performance in the natural environment, mountain gorillas most often engaged in diagonal sequence/diagonal couplet gaits and chimpanzees most often used lateral sequence/diagonal couplet gaits. This study revealed that mountain gorillas adapt their climbing strategy to accommodate their large body mass in a similar manner previously found in captive western lowland gorillas, and that chimpanzees are less variable in their climbing strategy than has been documented in captive bonobos.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Types Of Vertical Climbingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gait characteristics of vertical climbing in mountain gorillas and chimpanzees

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Development and assessment of a stair ascension challenge as a measure of aging and physical function in nonhuman primates

Scarberry,

Prutchi,

Frye

et al. 2023

American J Primatol

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Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are valuable models for studying healthspan, including frailty development. Frailty metrics in people centers on functional measures, including usual gait speed which can be predictive of all‐cause mortality. This concept that physical competencies are able to prognosticate an individual's health trajectory over chronologic aging is well‐accepted and has led to refinements in how physical function is evaluated, and include measures of strength and power along with walking speed. NHP studies of aging require evaluation of physical function, which can be difficult in field and research settings. We compared stair climb velocity to usual walking speed in 28 peri‐geriatric to geriatric NHPs, as incorporating a climbing obstacle integrates multiple components of physical function: isolated leg and back strength, proprioception, balance, and range of motion. We find that stair climbing speed was reliable between observers, and whether timing was in‐person take from video capture. The stair climb rates were 50% more associated with chronological age than walking speed (R = −0.68 vs. −0.45) and only stair climbing speeds were retained as predictive of age when walking speed and bodyweight were included in multivariate models (overall R2 = 0.44; p < 0.0001). When comparing young (10−16 years) versus geriatric (16−29 years) stair climbing speed was significantly different (p < 0.001), while walking speeds only tended to be slower (p = 0.12) suggesting that the additional challenge of a stair climb better unmasks subclinical frailty development that usual walking speed.

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