No description available.

This thesis compares the tool-using behaviors and environments of nine chimpanzee study sites. In addition, tool-use in other animals is discussed, as is the social behavior of chimpanzees and the different contributions of wild and laboratory studies. Research centers on two primary questions:  Do chimpanzee study sites differ significantly in the types of tool-using behaviors they employ?  Is the amount of tool-using behaviors related to annual variability in rainfall or the overall wetness of a site? No significant differences exist between the different communities being studied. A significant correlation was found between diversity of tool-using behaviors and perhumidity index, a measure of overall wetness of a particular area. Finally, no correlations were found between diversity of tool-using behaviors and annual variability and rainfall. This analysis casts further doubt on the hypothesis that hominin technology evolved as a response to living in dryer, more open environments. / Tool-use and evolution -- Chimpanzee behavior -- Wild vs. captive studies -- Tool-use by chimpanzees -- Environment, study sites and methods -- Results / Department of Anthropology

No description available.

The concept of culture has recently been used to explain behavioural variation and trans-generational continuity of behaviour in non-human animals and in chimpanzees in particular. However, few studies in the wild have systematically investigated how the environment and behavioural adaptation might influence behavioural diversity. In this context, one habituated community of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Bossou, Guinea, and two neighbouring non-habituated communities in the Nimba Mountains region of Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire were the subject of a detailed study of behavioural variation at the intra- and inter-community level. An ecologically-based approach was adopted to investigate variation in nest building, in the use of the oil-palm tree (Elaeis guineensis), in ant-dipping and in tool-choice and -manufacturing. A significant influence of environmental variables on nesting parameters emerged explaining much of the variation observed between the three sites. However, some differences that arose are more likely to reflect differences in social structure and organisation. The comparative study of the utilisation of the oil-palm tree failed to reveal proximate environmental parameters that might explain significant observed variations in use. These findings raise interesting and important questions pertaining to diffusion of behaviour between neighbouring chimpanzee communities. Dipping for driver ants, Dorylus spp., is often cited as one of the best examples of culture in chimpanzees. A detailed analysis of this behaviour at Bossou suggests that risk exposure affects frequency of performance in the developing chimpanzee and reveals a strong influence of prey characteristics, including aggressiveness and/or gregariousness , on tool length and technique employed. Variations in tool-choice and tool-manufacturing within and between three tool-use behaviours at Bossoui nvolving the use of a stick or a stalk were found to be significantly associated with the nature of the task and its predictability, emphasising the importance of environmental affordance and constraints on these processes. In addition, efficiency in behaviour across another set of three tool-use behaviours was explored focusing chiefly on age-class differences. An analysis of individual and community-level patterns of laterality in hand-use between these three tool-use behaviours is also provided. The data supply some evidence to support the selective advantages of lateralization in hand-use with respect to behavioural efficiency. The findings also suggest that haptic tasks have played an important evolutionary role in driving population-level handedness, and reveal that although complex tool-uses exhibited high levels of lateralization, these failed to show task specialisation across individuals. Finally, this thesis presents a comprehensive review analysis of individual and community-wide variation across a range of behaviours observed in chimpanzees and identifies paths and hypotheses that warrant further exploration and testing with the aim to gain further insight into cultural processes in nonhuman animals.

Gibbons (Hylobatidae), taxonomically apes, have been largely ignored in cognitive research. This is surprising given their unique phylogenetic position, being intermediate between the monkeys and great apes, and the available diversity of extant species. They are therefore, ideally placed to study the evolution of cognitive abilities in the hominoid line; they offer the opportunity to determine how the mental capacities of primates have changed through the transition from monkey to ape. This research aimed to begin to fill the void in our knowledge regarding the cognitive abilities of this family through investigations of their object manipulation and tool-use skills, relating the findings to the evolution of the hominoid brain. In a raking-in task, where the gibbons were presented with a tool that could be used to draw in an out-of-reach food item, these apes evidenced potentially insightful comprehension of object relationships when the tool and goal object were presented in direct alignment. They also proficiently used a rake to retrieve a reward while avoiding a trap that presented an impediment to goal attainment; however, in general, they required a period of learning to perform consistently. Once the necessary relationships between the tool and goal object were not physically situated in the task layout, as in true tool-use manipulation, the gibbons performed poorly. In a raking-in task where the necessary orientation for success had to be produced by the subject, no individual evidenced foresightful comprehension of the required action. There was some suggestion of learning the correct behaviour through associative processes. This finding was also supported by evidence from dipping experiments where the gibbons were provided with a transparent box containing a liquid reward and sticks that could be used as tools to access it. No individual developed dipping behaviour. The gibbons therefore, performed well on tasks when the salient relationships between tool and goal were directly perceivable. Once they became responsible for producing that relationship, performance was poor. When the necessary orientation between the tool and goal was not provided by the experimenter, the gibbons evidenced low motivation to manipulate the objects. Given the gibbons’ requirement for direct visual feedback to comprehend the causal interactions between objects, this likely hindered their learning process. Failure therefore on the true tool-use tasks may not represent a particular cognitive limitation in these apes. A consistent finding was that the hoolock gibbons (Bunopithecus) were the most attentive and effective of the four gibbon genera. This is potentially due to the more variable natural environment experienced by these apes, driving selection for greater exploratory tendencies and flexibility of behaviour. The findings from this, and other work on primate cognition, suggest that contrary to propositions put forward by proponents of modular accounts of hominid brain evolution, the cognitive architecture of non-human primates contains neural mechanisms capable of processing technical information that may not be completely encapsulated. Suggestions that no non-human possesses specialised cognitive machinery for understanding objects as tools are also challenged.

This study examines the effect fallback foods, foods eaten when other, more preferred foods are scarce, have on the tool-using behaviors of capuchin monkeys. In the arid Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil, black-striped capuchins (Cebus libidinosus) use stone tools to dig for underground tubers, a very rare behavior among primates. I test the hypothesis that the capuchins in the Serra da Capivara exploit tubers as a fallback food because palm nuts, an important fallback resource to other groups of capuchins living in arid environments, are either rare or absent there. Studies of floristic analysis at the park and other capuchin sites show that palm nut species recorded to be consumed by capuchins are not found at the Serra da Capivara. Additionally, nutritional analysis of both palms nuts and tubers suggest that tubers could act as a replacement for palm nuts as a fallback food. This may have relevance to human evolution, as several researchers suggest tubers and other underground storage organs were important resources to early hominins. / Department of Anthropology

The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes, Pongidae) among all other living species, is our closest relation, with whom we last shared a common ancestor less than five million years ago. These African apes make and use a rich and varied kit of tools. Of the primates, and even of the other Great Apes, they are the only consistent and habitual tool-users. Chimpanzees meet the criteria of working definitions of culture as originally devised for human beings in socio-cultural anthropology. They show sex differences in using tools to obtain and to process a variety of plant and animal foods. The technological gap between chimpanzees and human societies living by foraging (hunter-gatherers) is surprisingly narrow, at least for food-getting. Different communities of chimpanzees have different tool-kits, and not all of this regional and local variation can be explained by the varied physical and biotic environments in which they live. Some differences are likely customs based on non-functionally derived and symbolically encoded traditions. Chimpanzees serve as heuristic, referential models for the reconstruction of cultural evolution in apes and humans from an ancestral hominoid. However, chimpanzees are not humans, and key differences exist between them, though many of these apparent contrasts remain to be explored empirically and theoretically.

No ensino da medicina veterinária esta implícito o uso de animais para o aprendizado das mais diversas habilidades profissionais, sendo que na maioria das vezes os animais utilizados nas práticas pedagógicas sofrem algum tipo de prejuízo ou morrem para este fim. Com o aumento da preocupação ética em relação aos animais, nas últimas duas décadas, surgiu a necessidade de se substituir estes métodos de ensino onde havia prejuízo aos animais e ao aprendizado do aluno, por métodos humanitários. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o conhecimento e opinião dos alunos das Faculdades de Medicina Veterinária brasileiras acerca da implementação dos chamados “métodos substitutivos“ ao uso prejudicial de animais e os métodos que estão sendo utilizados atualmente. Foram obtidas 1383 respostas de estudantes de medicina veterinária de 26 estados brasileiros e do Distrito Federal, que responderam questionário semiaberto divulgado de forma online e as respostas foram submetidas à uma analise estatística que nos permitiu concluir que 47,9% dos entrevistados desconhecem a principal legislação acerca do uso de animais, 66,4% afirmaram conhecer o que é um método substitutivo ao uso de animais, 87,7% entendem como "uso prejudicial de animais” a eutanásia de um animal saudável para fins didáticos”; 55,6% acreditam que métodos substitutivos podem sim substituir o uso de animais, desde que seja o método apropriado e que a principal vantagem desta substituição seria o fato de que são métodos eticamente aceitáveis onde não há crueldade contra animais” (57,3%) e a principal desvantagem seria o custo para aquisição (51,8%). Cerca de 93% indicaram que há utilização de animais no seu curso, sendo que a principal espécie o cão (76,5%) e a anatomia apontada como a disciplina que mais utiliza animais. Quanto as aulas de técnica cirúrgica, o método mais citado foi o uso de cadáveres preservados (27,2%).Quanto a utilização de métodos substitutivos, 47,3% responderam que seus cursos utilizam estes métodos e que a disciplina que mais utilizava métodos como manequins, simuladores, vídeos, e softwares era a de anatomia, seguidas das disciplinas de clinica e cirurgia de pequenos animais, que utilizavam atendimento clinico de animais da comunidade ou de ONGs. De acordo com os dados analisados, podemos afirmar que os alunos de Instituições de ensino públicas tiveram mais contato com o conceito dos 3Rs que os alunos de Instituições de ensino privadas e que não há diferenças significativas entre as Instituições públicas e privadas quanto ao uso de métodos substitutivos. Diante destes resultados, faz-se necessário um esforço de toda comunidade acadêmica, dos docentes, dos coordenadores e do comitê de ética da escola no sentido de se desenvolver e implantar métodos didáticos humanitários e eficazes, que possam ir ao encontro das necessidades e posicionamentos éticos dos estudantes de medicina veterinária / In veterinary medicine teaching is implicit the use of animals for learning different professional skills, and most of the time these animals used in pedagogical practices suffer some kind of injury or die for this purpose. With the increasing of the ethical concern for animals in the last two decades, emerged the necessity to replace these teaching methods to humane methods. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of the "substitutive methods" to the harmful use of animals in veterinary teaching and training in Brazilian Schools, through information obtained from undergraduate students. They were obtained 1383 answers of veterinary medical students from 26 Brazilian states and the Federal District, who responded an online semi-open questionnaire, the responses were submitted to a statistical analysis and we concluded that 47.9% of respondents are unaware of the main legislation about the use of animals, 66.4% said they knew what is a substitute method to animal use, 87.7% perceive as "harmful use of animals' - euthanasia of healthy animals for teaching purposes"; 55.6% believe that substitutive methods can replace the use of animals, but depends of the method, the main advantage of these humane methods is the fact that they are ethically acceptable and avoid animal cruelty"(57.3%) and the main problem would be the cost of acquisition (51.8%). About 93% indicated that use animals in its course, and the main specie is the dog (76.5%) and the anatomy was considered the discipline that use most animals. In the surgical classes, the most cited method was the use of preserved cadavers (27.2%). Regarding the use of substitutive methods, 47.3% answered that their courses using these methods and the discipline that most used methods such as mannequins, simulators, videos, and software was the anatomy, followed by clinical disciplines and surgery of small animals who used clinical care of animals from the community or NGOs. According to the data analysed, we can say that most students of public education institutions had contact with the concept of the 3Rs than students in private educational institutions and there are no significant differences between public and private institutions on the use of substitutive methods. According to this result, is necessary an effort of the academic community (teachers, coordinators and school ethics committee) in order to develop and implement humane and effective teaching methods, which can meet the ethical requirements and positions of students of veterinary medicine

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:33:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DeniseFT_DISSERT.pdf: 1310424 bytes, checksum: 17ccb9d111e545e28be32da0310c4d85 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-14 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The use of animals is a common activity but it can be really variable between human populations. This work analyzed the knowledge about useful animal species between human communities in Caatinga and Atlantic Forest considering the influence of socioeconomics and environmental factors on the species selection. Forty people were interviewed in Cara?bas community (Atlantic Forest) and thirty were interviewed in Barrocas community (Caatinga). A total of 193 animals were cited. The communities showed a low degree of similarity (20%) and the general diversity of mentioned species was significantly bigger in Cara?bas. Men cited a diversity of species greater than women for food category in Cara?bas and pet category in Cara?bas and Barrocas. Women cited greater species diversity for medicinal use in Cara?bas. In general, in both communities, the age group >60 years showed a greater knowledge than the others. The multiple regression analysis showed the age as the only socioeconomic factor which influenced significantly the knowledge about animals for the food category in both communities. Considering the richness of known species, there were differences only between gender for sum of uses and food category in Cara?bas and for the pet category in Barrocas with men showing a greater knowledge than women. The results showed that local environmental differences are fundamental at the species selection but they also showed that within communities there are other factors like gender and age that tend to influence the knowledge about species. It is important to consider cultural, economic, social and environmental factors to understand better the interactions between people and animals so that this information can be used to facilitate the implementation of conservation measures / O uso da fauna ? uma pr?tica comum, mas pode ser bastante vari?vel entre popula??es humanas. Este estudo analisou o conhecimento sobre as esp?cies de animais ?teis entre comunidades humanas na Caatinga e na Mata Atl?ntica, levando em considera??o a influ?ncia de fatores socioecon?micos e ambientais na sele??o das esp?cies. Quarenta pessoas foram entrevistadas na comunidade Cara?bas (Mata Atl?ntica) e trinta na comunidade Barrocas (Caatinga). Um total de 193 animais foi citado. As comunidades apresentaram um baixo grau de similaridade (20%) e a diversidade geral de esp?cies citadas foi significativamente maior em Cara?bas. Os homens mencionaram uma diversidade de esp?cies maior do que as mulheres para as categorias alimentar em Cara?bas e estima??o em Cara?bas e Barrocas. J? as mulheres citaram uma maior diversidade de esp?cies para o uso medicinal em Cara?bas. De maneira geral, nas duas comunidades, o grupo de idade >60 anos apresentou um conhecimento maior que os demais. A an?lise de regress?o m?ltipla mostrou que a idade foi o ?nico fator socioecon?mico que influenciou significativamente o conhecimento sobre os animais na categoria alimentar nas duas comunidades. Levando em considera??o a riqueza de esp?cies conhecidas, houve diferen?a apenas entre os g?neros para a categoria alimentar e para a soma dos usos em Cara?bas e para a categoria estima??o em Barrocas, com os homens apresentando um conhecimento mais representativo do que as mulheres. Os resultados mostraram que as diferen?as ambientais locais s?o fundamentais na sele??o das esp?cies, mas mostrou tamb?m que dentro das comunidades existem outros fatores como g?nero e a idade que tamb?m tendem a influenciar o conhecimento sobre as esp?cies. ? importante considerar fatores culturais, econ?micos, sociais e ambientais para melhor entender as intera??es existentes entre pessoas e animais, de forma que estas informa??es possam ser utilizadas para favorecer a implementa??o de medidas conservacionistas

No ensino da medicina veterinária esta implícito o uso de animais para o aprendizado das mais diversas habilidades profissionais, sendo que na maioria das vezes os animais utilizados nas práticas pedagógicas sofrem algum tipo de prejuízo ou morrem para este fim. Com o aumento da preocupação ética em relação aos animais, nas últimas duas décadas, surgiu a necessidade de se substituir estes métodos de ensino onde havia prejuízo aos animais e ao aprendizado do aluno, por métodos humanitários. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o conhecimento e opinião dos alunos das Faculdades de Medicina Veterinária brasileiras acerca da implementação dos chamados “métodos substitutivos“ ao uso prejudicial de animais e os métodos que estão sendo utilizados atualmente. Foram obtidas 1383 respostas de estudantes de medicina veterinária de 26 estados brasileiros e do Distrito Federal, que responderam questionário semiaberto divulgado de forma online e as respostas foram submetidas à uma analise estatística que nos permitiu concluir que 47,9% dos entrevistados desconhecem a principal legislação acerca do uso de animais, 66,4% afirmaram conhecer o que é um método substitutivo ao uso de animais, 87,7% entendem como "uso prejudicial de animais” a eutanásia de um animal saudável para fins didáticos”; 55,6% acreditam que métodos substitutivos podem sim substituir o uso de animais, desde que seja o método apropriado e que a principal vantagem desta substituição seria o fato de que são métodos eticamente aceitáveis onde não há crueldade contra animais” (57,3%) e a principal desvantagem seria o custo para aquisição (51,8%). Cerca de 93% indicaram que há utilização de animais no seu curso, sendo que a principal espécie o cão (76,5%) e a anatomia apontada como a disciplina que mais utiliza animais. Quanto as aulas de técnica cirúrgica, o método mais citado foi o uso de cadáveres preservados (27,2%).Quanto a utilização de métodos substitutivos, 47,3% responderam que seus cursos utilizam estes métodos e que a disciplina que mais utilizava métodos como manequins, simuladores, vídeos, e softwares era a de anatomia, seguidas das disciplinas de clinica e cirurgia de pequenos animais, que utilizavam atendimento clinico de animais da comunidade ou de ONGs. De acordo com os dados analisados, podemos afirmar que os alunos de Instituições de ensino públicas tiveram mais contato com o conceito dos 3Rs que os alunos de Instituições de ensino privadas e que não há diferenças significativas entre as Instituições públicas e privadas quanto ao uso de métodos substitutivos. Diante destes resultados, faz-se necessário um esforço de toda comunidade acadêmica, dos docentes, dos coordenadores e do comitê de ética da escola no sentido de se desenvolver e implantar métodos didáticos humanitários e eficazes, que possam ir ao encontro das necessidades e posicionamentos éticos dos estudantes de medicina veterinária / In veterinary medicine teaching is implicit the use of animals for learning different professional skills, and most of the time these animals used in pedagogical practices suffer some kind of injury or die for this purpose. With the increasing of the ethical concern for animals in the last two decades, emerged the necessity to replace these teaching methods to humane methods. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of the "substitutive methods" to the harmful use of animals in veterinary teaching and training in Brazilian Schools, through information obtained from undergraduate students. They were obtained 1383 answers of veterinary medical students from 26 Brazilian states and the Federal District, who responded an online semi-open questionnaire, the responses were submitted to a statistical analysis and we concluded that 47.9% of respondents are unaware of the main legislation about the use of animals, 66.4% said they knew what is a substitute method to animal use, 87.7% perceive as "harmful use of animals' - euthanasia of healthy animals for teaching purposes"; 55.6% believe that substitutive methods can replace the use of animals, but depends of the method, the main advantage of these humane methods is the fact that they are ethically acceptable and avoid animal cruelty"(57.3%) and the main problem would be the cost of acquisition (51.8%). About 93% indicated that use animals in its course, and the main specie is the dog (76.5%) and the anatomy was considered the discipline that use most animals. In the surgical classes, the most cited method was the use of preserved cadavers (27.2%). Regarding the use of substitutive methods, 47.3% answered that their courses using these methods and the discipline that most used methods such as mannequins, simulators, videos, and software was the anatomy, followed by clinical disciplines and surgery of small animals who used clinical care of animals from the community or NGOs. According to the data analysed, we can say that most students of public education institutions had contact with the concept of the 3Rs than students in private educational institutions and there are no significant differences between public and private institutions on the use of substitutive methods. According to this result, is necessary an effort of the academic community (teachers, coordinators and school ethics committee) in order to develop and implement humane and effective teaching methods, which can meet the ethical requirements and positions of students of veterinary medicine