Matthew Myers

Animal Behavior Lab

March 31, 2015
Bio 2 Lab
Chimp Behaviors
I.

Introduction

Looking into the behavior of chimps, it can be seen that they display many habits that can be put
together for better knowledge. This collection is known as an Ethogram. An ethogram is a
quantitative description of an animals normal behavior. The objective of this lab is to create an
ethogram for chimps in a zoo setting. This sampling will be an all occurrence, continuous
collection, and on a frequency data level. The question being answered is How does the
introduction of food influence social interaction in chimps? (e.gE.g. hoarding, grouping,
locomotion, aggression, isolation, and climbing). The hypothesis:
-Null hypothesis (Ho)-) - The introduction will have no effect on hoarding.
-Alternative hypothesis (Ha)-) - The introduction of food will increase the frequency of
hoarding

II.

Methods

The collection of this data was taken as an all occurrence sampling, with continuous collection,
and using frequency data. Six behaviors were decided upon to study and were put into an
ethogram. A video was played and during each session the frequency, or number of times a
behavior occurs, was counted. This data was collected and put into a table and then into graphic
form. The independent variable was the food being introduced and the dependent variable was
the behavior observed. (Lab 11)

III.

Results & Analysis

Table 1. Summary of behavior observations

Behavior
Hoarding
Grouping
Aggression
Isolation
Locomotion
Climbing

mean number of occurrences

Behavior Session Session Session
Category 1
2
3
CM
CS
MC
CS
MA
MA

0
1
0
9
23
5

5
2
4
13
34
2

4
5
1
11
21
4

Frequency of Behavior

Ethogram: Behavior
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Hoarding
Aggression
Grouping
Isolation
Locomotion
1

Climbing

Session

Graph 1. Summary of behavioral occurrences

Table 2. Ethogram of behaviors

Behavior

Code

Clear Description

Hoarding

CM

Collection of more than 2 objects for individual benefit

Locomotion

MA

Movement from one location to another, not sitting, 2 or 4 legs

Aggression

MC

Offensive action towards another individual (e.g. Hitting, running

at, showing teeth)

Grouping

CS

Grooming each other, 2 or more apes within arms reach

Isolation

CS

1 individual not within arms reach of others, flat area only

Climbing

MA

Movement from flat area to vertical structure

Looking at Table 1 it is seen that the table is showing the frequency of each behavior in each
session. The table also shows that there was a difference between sessions with and without

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food. The session with food, session 2, had a higher frequency of each behavior. Graph 1 shows
the same information in graphical representation. When looking at table 2 it is seen that this is an
actual ethogram. The ethogram explains in detail what was considered that behavior and also
shows the codes of the behavior. They are as followed:

MA- Mechanical Aptitude

I- Imitation

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C- Cooperation
SE- Social Emotions
MC- Math and Communication Skills
CO- Comprehension
The reason these results were seen is because cognitive animal behavior goes deep into
evolution. Food is a driving force for every living thing on the earth and will drive animals to
certain behaviors more than without the influence of food. Therefore, with the adding of food,
these behaviors become more frequent.

IV.

Discussion

Looking back at the original question being asked, How does the introduction of food influence
social interaction in chimps? it can be concluded that there is an increase in frequency of each
behavior. Therefore, the accepted hypothesis is the alternative hypothesis. Since food is a driving

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force and causes animals to show certain behaviors, this ecological process would give us the
larger frequency of behavior. (About Chimpanzees) Looking at this experiment in the real
world, there were a couple of issues that could arise. For example, when it comes to counting the
frequency, each person could have been deciding what specific behavior had to be met for it to
be counted. Another issue could be addressing the inter- and intra-observer reliability. This could
be eliminated by using standard deviation. There also needs to be specific timing between
sessions. The food was still being introduced in session 3 of the video.

V.

References

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"About Chimpanzees." Social Organization. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

<http://www.janegoodall.ca/about-chimp-behaviour-social-organization.php>.
Lab 11. Report Guidelines: Animal Behavior

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