Environmental Studies Research Colloquium

Date: February 11th, 11:30-12:30

Location: David Turpin Building, room B255

The School of Environmental Studies presents:

Dr. Ammie Kalan: “Chimpanzee Cultural Diversity and its Conservation Value”

Abstract: Aside from humans, chimpanzees arguably have the most diverse repertoire of socially learned, cultural behaviours documented for any animal. These cultural traditions include a variety of tool-use, foraging, communication traits, and more. Building on previous long-term observations of chimpanzees, the Pan African Programme: the Cultured Chimpanzee (‘PanAf’) collected data on over 40 wild chimpanzee communities from 2010 to 2020 using remote camera-trap devices. Using this approach, the PanAf identified new behavioural variants and recently described unprecedented cultural complexity in community-specific termite fishing techniques. We further demonstrated that chimpanzee behavioural and cultural diversity is threatened due to increasing anthropogenic disturbance. Combining these findings, I highlight why conservation efforts to protect wild chimpanzee populations should also encompass cultural diversity.

Speaker: Dr. Kalan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Victoria. She is a field primatologist who specializes in the behaviour, culture and communication of wild great apes, particularly chimpanzees. Ammie’s work has helped to promote new technologies for monitoring wild primates, such as passive acoustics and camera trapping, and she is passionate about using her research to bridge the gap between behavioural research and applied conservation. She is the head of the GAB Lab at UVic (Great Ape Behaviour Lab: https://www.ammiekkalan.com/) where her team conducts research on both habituated and unhabituated wild primates.