Chimpanzees cooperate in a competitive world Público
Suchak, Malini Christine (2013)
Published
Abstract
Experimental cooperation studies on primates often remove several important challenges to successful joint action. By testing the primates in pairs, partner choice is eliminated and competition and freeloading are sharply reduced. Wild primates, including chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), are able to handle these challenges, whereas the mixed outcome of pairwise testing may have been due to limited ecological validity. The purpose of this study was to examine cooperative behavior in an open group setting by testing how captive chimpanzees coordinate with multiple partners of their own choosing. All members of the group (n=11) had access to the cooperation apparatus in a large outdoor compound. Chimpanzees were tested under two conditions: (1) dyadic cooperation, requiring two individuals and (2) triadic cooperation, requiring three individuals, to pull in a tray baited with food. The chimpanzees learned to solve the task in both conditions and were extremely successful, performing 3,565 cooperative pulls (in 94 one-hour sessions). Efficiency increased over time and the chimpanzees began to pull more when a partner was present, demonstrating that the chimpanzees gained an understanding of the task in both conditions. Chimpanzees preferentially approached the apparatus when individuals of similar rank or kin were present and were more successful when working with kin versus non-kin. Cheating was not particularly widespread with 98.90% of rewards being obtained by the individual who worked for them. A number of responses seemed to discourage freeloading: withdrawing to prevent further opportunities for freeloading, withholding pulling until the cheater left, and in rare cases agonism. This experiment demonstrates that in the midst of a complex social environment, subject to competition and intolerance, chimpanzees can initiate and maintain a high degree of cooperative behavior.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction 1
Defining Cooperation
2Observational evidence for cooperation in nonhuman primates
6Experimental evidence for nonhuman primate cooperation
8Outline of the current paper
15 Chapter 2.Chimpanzees successfully cooperate in duos and trios despite potential competition: Partner choice
16 Abstract 17 Introduction 18 MethodsSubjects and housing
21 Apparatus 23 Procedures 24Behavioral coding
25 Analyses 26 ResultsAcquisition of the task
29 Partner choice 34Description of recruitment events
40Constraints on partner choice
41 Discussion 44 Chapter 3.Why freeloading does not pay in chimpanzees
48 Abstract 49 Introduction 50 MethodsSubjects and housing
54 Apparatus 55 Procedures 56Behavioral coding
56 Analyses 58 ResultsPrevalence of cheating
59Responses to cheating
61 Discussion 63 Chapter 4.General discussion, synthesis and future directions
67 References 74About this Dissertation
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