Orangutan males make increased use of social learning opportunities, when resource availability is high
Julia Mörchen,
Frances Luhn,
Olivia Wassmer,
Julia A. Kunz,
Lars Kulik,
Maria A. van Noordwijk,
Puji Rianti,
Tri Rahmaeti,
Sri Suci Utami Atmoko,
Anja Widdig,
Caroline Schuppli
Affiliations
Julia Mörchen
Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany; Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Primate Behaviour and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Corresponding author
Frances Luhn
Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Olivia Wassmer
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Julia A. Kunz
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Institute of Evolutionary Biology of Montpellier (ISEM), University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34095 Montpellier, France
Lars Kulik
Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Maria A. van Noordwijk
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Comparative Socioecology, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
Puji Rianti
Primate Research Center, Institute of Research and Community Service, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia; Animal Biosystematics and Ecology Division, Department of Biology, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
Tri Rahmaeti
Department of Biology, Graduate Program, Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta 12520, Indonesia
Sri Suci Utami Atmoko
Department of Biology, Graduate Program, Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta 12520, Indonesia
Anja Widdig
Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Primate Behaviour and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Caroline Schuppli
Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Summary: Humans’ colonization of diverse habitats relied on our ancestors' abilities to innovate and share innovations with others. While ecological impacts on innovations are well studied, their effect on social learning remains poorly understood. We examined how food availability affects social learning in migrant orangutan unflanged males, who may learn from local orangutans through peering (i.e., observational social learning). We analyzed 1,384 dyadic associations, including 360 peering events, among 46 wild Sumatran orangutan and 25 Bornean orangutan males, collected over 18 years. Migrants’ peering rates significantly increased with higher food availability and time spent in proximity to others. Furthermore, migrants in the more sociable Sumatran population exhibited significantly higher peering rates compared to the Borneans, suggesting intrinsic and/or developmental effects of food availability on social learning. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating ecological effects on social learning on the immediate, developmental, and intrinsic levels for our understanding of cultural evolution.
