ANBI 133: Great Ape Ecology and Evolution The “Trimates” January 6th, 2021 But first… • What is an ape? • What is a primate? • What is a mammal? What makes a mammal? • Mammals • Mammary glands • Hair or fur • Three middle ear bones • Primate reproduction (and a lot of behavior) is constrained by mammalian anatomy • Female gestation and lactation • Female investment in offspring is obligatory • Male care varies What Makes a Primate? • No unique characteristic common to all primates to the exclusion of all other mammals • Suite of characteristics • Grasping hand with opposable big toe and/or thumb with nails instead of claws (on at least some digits) What Makes a Primate? • No unique characteristic common to all primates to the exclusion of all other mammals • Suite of characteristics • Decreased importance of smell/ Increased reliance on vision • Forward-facing eyes and binocular vision • Trichromatic vision in old world primates What Makes a Primate? • No unique characteristic common to all primates to the exclusion of all other mammals • Suite of characteristics • Large brains • Increased investment in offspring • Increased dependence on learning and behavioral flexibility What Makes a Primate? • No unique characteristic common to all primates to the exclusion of all other mammals • Suite of characteristics • Unspecialized dentition • Dietary flexibility • Mainly restricted to living in the tropics Primate Origins • 54-65 mya (Paleocene, North America) • Extinction of dinosaurs • Angiosperm and mammal adaptive radiation Primate Origins • Plesiadapiforms • Primate-like postcranials • Adapted for arboreal life • Grasping hands and feet • Nocturnal • Eyes of side of head • Developed olfactory system • Seed/insect eating • Claws instead of nails • No postorbital bar Primate Origins • Eocene (54-34 MYA) • Earth got warmer and wetter • True primates emerged • Spread throughout the old world first, then spread to the new world • Lived in tropical forests • Miocene (23-5 MYA) • Earth was cooling and getting drier • Many apes emerge around the beginning of the Miocene • Dwindle in number through the Miocene, this trend continues today Apes vs Monkeys Apes vs Monkeys • Compared to other primates, apes have: • Relatively large brains • Slow life history with increased investment in offspring • Different body shape • Unspecialized Y-5 molars • Tail-less • Broad flat ribcage • Scapulae placed dorsally on a wide and relatively shallow thorax • Results in different style of locomotion • More upright body • Suspensory, orthograde climbers (flexible shoulders) The “Trimates” • Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas • Three women who shaped our understanding of the great apes, and the way we understand human behavior • Prior to their work, very little was known about non-human apes Jane Goodall • English primatologist and anthropologist • Studied chimpanzees at Gombe National Park in Tanzania since 1960 • Found that chimpanzees: • Use tools • Hunt and eat meat • Are more violent than previously believed • Kill group members and out-group individuals • Engage in cannibalism • Wage “war” • Named rather than numbered her subjects • Criticized for anthropomorphizing chimpanzees and for provisioning Dian Fossey • American primatologist and conservationist • Studied mountain gorillas from 1966-1985 • Made important discoveries about gorilla social life • Female transfer between groups • Hierarchies and social relationships • Infanticide • Worked to prevent poaching and pet trade of infants • Some of her methods were controversial Biruté Galdikas • Lithuanian-Canadian anthropologist, primatologist, and conservationist • Began studying orangutans in Borneo in 1971 • Increased our knowledge of orangutans, as well as Indonesian biodiversity in general • Revealed how mothers invest huge amount of time and energy in their offspring • Worked against poaching and pet trade • Rehabilitated orphaned orangutans • Faced controversy about her rehabilitation methods.