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3 - Observation protocol and long-term data collection in Taï

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2019

By
Roman Wittig  and
Christophe Boesch
Edited by
Christophe Boesch  and
Roman Wittig
Edited in association with
Catherine Crockford ,
Linda Vigilant ,
Tobias Deschner  and
Fabian Leendertz
Christophe Boesch
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Roman Wittig
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Catherine Crockford
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Linda Vigilant
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Tobias Deschner
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Fabian Leendertz
Affiliation:
Robert Koch-Institut, Germany
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Summary

It has become increasingly apparent that different chimpanzee populations behave differently. Most behaviours and vocalizations are observed across all or most populations. Some behaviours, however, are specific to few populations and different populations behave disparately when solving the same problems. Instead of speaking about the ‘typical’ behaviours, one can probably speak better of a range of chimpanzee behaviours. Between populations, behaviours can range widely. For good comparability and to avoid biases, observers either need to unilaterally use the same protocol or it needs to be apparent how and which data have been collected. Here, we clarify the protocol under which long-term data are collected by the Taï Chimpanzee Project. Despite regular changes to improve and update long-term data collection, our core data collection has remained unchanged, allowing use of the whole data set in analyses. With this chapter, not only can we interpret results generated from the Taï database with more accuracy, but also provide more accessibility for comparisons than currently available. One of the outcomes of this chapter will be making comparisons across study populations easier.

Keywords

Focal animal samplingEthogramRanging dataHealth monitoringFaecal and urine sampling
Type
Chapter
Information
The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest
40 Years of Research
 , pp. 44 - 57
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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