Savannah-dwelling Chimpanzee Movement as it Pertains to Fire

Keywords: savanna-dwelling primate, movement ecology, pyrophilia, hominin evolution, geographic information system
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Many animals tend to gravitate away from fire; while certain species do move towards burned areas directly following a fire, they do not traverse the burned areas during the day. This, in turn, means that it is rare to witness any species (other than large predators or carrion-eaters) gravitating towards a burned area within the day following the fire. Primary researchers have witnessed Western Chimpanzees walking towards burn scars at the Fongoli research site in the Senegalese savanna, and subsequently collected data during the 2016-2017 fire season with the aim to measure that movement. Assessing Western Chimpanzee behavior around a fire can help provide context for early hominin behavior, as human’s relationship with fire is thought to have begun with curiosity and subsequent use of areas affected by wildfires. This study utilized that data and aimed to quantify the chimpanzees’ movement and whether movement behavior changed in relation to burned areas, as well as one of their main food sources (baobab trees). The results of this work helped the primary researchers to better comprehend how Western Chimpanzees respond to fire impacts on the landscape, thus providing context for our ancestors’ practices around fire. This work also provided a set of geographic information system (GIS) tools for the primary researchers to explore spatial patterns and quantify movement behavior.