Bogart Stephanie L, Pruetz Jill D
Department of Anthropology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
Am J Primatol. 2008 Jun;70(6):605-12. doi: 10.1002/ajp.20530.
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Fongoli, Senegal, consume termites year-round. Understanding the ecological context behind this behavior is especially important in light of the environmental conditions at Fongoli. This mosaic savanna habitat is one of the hottest and driest sites where chimpanzees have been studied. Two genera and four species of termites were found in association with tools used by chimpanzees in a sample of 124 termite mounds that were monitored. The chimpanzees of Fongoli termite fish predominantly in woodland and forest habitat types, and, although woodland accounts for the majority of the chimpanzees' home range, forest habitat types comprise only about 4% of their range. Thus, habitat type has an influence on the Fongoli chimpanzees' termite fishing. Termite consumption to the degree seen at Fongoli may have particular significance for hominid evolution, given the expansion of Pliocene hominids into increasingly open, hot, and dry habitats.
在塞内加尔方戈利的黑猩猩（泛非亚种）全年都以白蚁为食。鉴于方戈利的环境条件，了解这种行为背后的生态背景尤为重要。这种镶嵌式稀树草原栖息地是研究黑猩猩的最热、最干燥的地点之一。在监测的124个白蚁丘样本中，发现了与黑猩猩使用的工具相关的两种白蚁属和四种白蚁。方戈利的黑猩猩主要在林地和森林栖息地类型中钓白蚁，虽然林地占黑猩猩活动范围的大部分，但森林栖息地类型仅占其活动范围的约4%。因此，栖息地类型对方戈利黑猩猩钓白蚁有影响。鉴于上新世原始人类向越来越开阔、炎热和干燥的栖息地扩张，像在方戈利看到的那种程度的白蚁消耗可能对原始人类进化具有特殊意义。
