| Title |
Tool transfers are a form of teaching among chimpanzees
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Scientific Reports, October 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1038/srep34783 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Stephanie Musgrave, David Morgan, Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Roger Mundry, Crickette Sanz |
| Abstract |
Teaching is a form of high-fidelity social learning that promotes human cumulative culture. Although recently documented in several nonhuman animals, teaching is rare among primates. In this study, we show that wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in the Goualougo Triangle teach tool skills by providing learners with termite fishing probes. Tool donors experienced significant reductions in tool use and feeding, while tool recipients significantly increased their tool use and feeding after tool transfers. These transfers meet functional criteria for teaching: they occur in a learner's presence, are costly to the teacher, and improve the learner's performance. Donors also showed sophisticated cognitive strategies that effectively buffered them against potential costs. Teaching is predicted when less costly learning mechanisms are insufficient. Given that these chimpanzees manufacture sophisticated, brush-tipped fishing probes from specific raw materials, teaching in this population may relate to the complexity of these termite-gathering tasks. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 65 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 14 | 22% |
| United Kingdom | 8 | 12% |
| Spain | 2 | 3% |
| Germany | 2 | 3% |
| Australia | 1 | 2% |
| Japan | 1 | 2% |
| Indonesia | 1 | 2% |
| Bahamas | 1 | 2% |
| Uganda | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 5 | 8% |
| Unknown | 29 | 45% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 41 | 63% |
| Scientists | 19 | 29% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 4 | 6% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 168 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 167 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 33 | 20% |
| Student > Master | 25 | 15% |
| Student > Bachelor | 20 | 12% |
| Researcher | 14 | 8% |
| Professor | 10 | 6% |
| Other | 34 | 20% |
| Unknown | 32 | 19% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 51 | 30% |
| Psychology | 25 | 15% |
| Social Sciences | 20 | 12% |
| Environmental Science | 6 | 4% |
| Arts and Humanities | 4 | 2% |
| Other | 22 | 13% |
| Unknown | 40 | 24% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 285. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 07 March 2023.
All research outputs
#124,833
of 25,507,011 outputs
Outputs from Scientific Reports
#1,548
of 141,447 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#2,514
of 326,945 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Scientific Reports
#36
of 3,572 outputs
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So far Altmetric has tracked 141,447 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 18.7. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 3,572 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.