Biology Assignment: Social Bonds Between Chimpanzees & Bonobos
Question
Task: The biology assignmentis to take one of the three articles below, and write a short summary and commentary summarising the article and commenting on its scientific significance. Do the findings presented in the paper provide a significant advance Is there anything special or surprising about what the authors report
The commenting component should refer to two other peer-reviewed publications to the target article, at least one of which does not include, as authors, any of the authors of the target article. Imagine that you are writing for a general audience interested in science. Envisage writing a short news article for Science or Nature, one of the most prestigious scientific journals. It’s a good idea to peruse issues of these journals for their science news sections at the front or top end of the journal. Choice of articles to summarise, with brief description and some related pieces
Choice 1 on social bonds between mother and son (chimps and bonobos)
Surbeck, M., C. Boesch, C. Crockford, M. E. Thompson, T. Furuichi, B. Fruth, G. Hohmann, S. Ishizuka, Z. Machanda, M. N. Muller, A.
Pusey, T. Sakamaki, N. Tokuyama, K. Walker, R. Wrangham, E. Wroblewski, K. Zuberbühler, L. Vigilant, and K. Langergraber. 2019.
Males with a mother living in their group have higher paternity success in bonobos but not chimpanzees. Current Biology 29:R354-R355.
A popular account of this work can be found here: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsreleases/764121
A short research article in a high impact journal that shows that bonobo, but not chimp, mothers, can increase the paternity success of their sons.
Key points to consider:
• Why the different result in these two closely related great apes
• What is the significance of this study Does it change how we think about mothers
• Is there any application to our understanding of human behaviour
Choice 2 on keeping your head (but losing your body)
Mitoh, S., and Y. Yusa. 2021. Extreme autotomy and whole-body regeneration in photosynthetic sea slugs. Current Biology 31:R233-R234.
A popular account of this work can be found here: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/sea-slug-cut-its-own-head-and-lived-tell-tale
A short research article in a high impact journal that shows that sea slugs can autotomise (shed) all but their head and neck, and including their heart, and regrow a new body. It turns out they have a good reason for doing this.
Key points to consider:
• Why is this finding so surprising
• Is this finding significant just to flatworms or does it have broader implications and if yes, what are these implications Think about how these results could relate to medical science.
Choice 3 on animal culture
Klump, B. C., J. M. Martin, S. Wild, J. K. Hörsch, R. E. Major, and L. M. Aplin. 2021. Innovation and geographic spread of a complex foraging culture in an urban parrot. Science 373:456-460.
A popular account of this research was also published in the same edition of Science and can be found here: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/australia-s-cockatoos-are-mastersdumpster-diving-and-now-they-re-learning-each-other
This paper reports the spread of bin opening, which the authors ascribe to cultural transmission via social learning.
Key points to consider:
• What constitutes culture and does the opening of bins by the cockatoos qualify
• By what means has this foraging behaviour spread
• This behaviour can be specific to particular areas. Why is that significant and what does it tell us
• Could cockatoos have culture if it weren’t for humans
Answer
Introductionto Biology Assignment
One of the key notions that can be portrayed within the global context of biological settings adheres to the development of the fact that the context of group living mammals cater to the formation of groups in order to increase and improve notions of reproductive success factors for the bonobos even after the daughters of the same are nutritionally independent and grown (Surbecket al., 2019). This study adheres to the scrutiny of aspects pertaining to males with a mother that lives in their organizational groups to adhere to a form of higher success towards the paternity notions in bonobos but not within the organizational context of chimpanzees.
Discussion
One of the key significant factors that can be observed within the organizational setting of the chimpanzees adheres to the development of the fact that the males within their respective groups have a higher chance to facilitate aspects of paternity success in the long run if the mothers are also facilitated in the organizational setting of the groups (Surbecket al., 2019). Such factors adhere to the development of the fact that the notion of chimpanzees who are mothers can aim to portray a form of stronger role in bonobo than the chimpanzee societies (Surbecket al., 2019). One of the key learning aspects for the same can be developed through the development of the notion that the organizational setting of bonobos adheres to incremental forms of positive implications towards the maternal health notions and aspects of nutritional and social statuses in the aforementioned setting that depicts the fact that the bonobo offspring cater to the notions of being fit and strongest during the lactating and gestation processes of the organisms (Surbecket al., 2019).
The development of the aforementioned notions adheres to the development of the notion that the presence of female bonobos in a group setting organizational context can aim to support the other members of their respective communities through the instances of competitive interactions and aspects of influencing social ranks for the same through which the bonobos can aim to attract notions of incremental forms of resources (Surbecket al., 2019).The development of such notions also adheres to the fact that there are certain benefits towards the facilitation of aspects pertaining to co-residence factors of the mothers through which the independent daughters for the same can aim to learn aspects of incremental forms of survival instincts within their respective communities as they can aim to learn from their organizational setting of parents of bonobos that aim to support them in the long haul; thereby outlining incremental forms of survival instincts and processes for the same (Tanet al., 2017). The incremental facilitation of the assertive feminine aspects of the bonobos adheres to the development of the fact that they aim to play a significant role towards the fitness notions of the adult sons through which the co-residence factors within their respective groups and organizational settings can be portrayed significantly and also in an effective and efficient manner where they aim to co-exist and adapt instances of explaining the increased survivorship of males who are living with their mothers (Krupenyeand Hare, 2018). However, one of the key significant factors of the aforementioned study can be portrayed through the development of the notion that the paper outlines the relationship between the aspects of mother's presence and notions of paternity success factors within the organizational setting of chimpanzees and bonobos and the results of the same portrays the fact that the bonobos adhere to a form of competitive advantage for the same due to the development of their innate forms of group living processes within their respective communities (Surbecket al., 2019).
The influence of the mother's behavior within the organizational setting of bonobos adheres to the development of the fact that they can aim to facilitate their younger ones through a form of multi-generational pedigree that enables the offspring to adapt themselves towards the respective environmental settings and thereby increase their fitness aspects for the same as the mothers enable a form of routine that is followed by the bonobos and merely more significant than the ones that can be portrayed for the chimpanzees (Surbecket al., 2019).
Conclusion
The aforementioned context of the study outlines the development of the fact that males with a mother living within their organizational setting of groups pertaining to a form of higher notion of paternity success within the context of bonobos but not in chimpanzees. The significance of the study adheres to the development of the fact that the notion of mother’s presence caters to the development of various forms of influential factors about the notions of fitness and various forms of survival instincts for the same through which they adhere to incremental forms of success factors within their respective groups in the long run.
Reference List
Krupenye, C. and Hare, B., 2018. Bonobos prefer individuals that hinder others over those that help. Current Biology, 28(2), pp.280-286. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982217315865
Surbeck, M., Boesch, C., Crockford, C., Thompson, M.E., Furuichi, T., Fruth, B., Hohmann, G., Ishizuka, S., Machanda, Z., Muller, M.N. and Pusey, A., 2019. Males with a mother living in their group have higher paternity success in bonobos but not
chimpanzees.Biology assignment Current Biology, 29(10), pp.R354-R355. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219303380
Tan, J., Ariely, D. and Hare, B., 2017. Bonobos respond prosocially toward members of other groups. Scientific reports, 7(1), pp.1-11. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15320-w
