Gorilla ecology and behavior

Abstract

Many factors influence the evolution of primate grouping patterns, including phylogeny, demographic and life-history variables, and ecological factors such as access to food, predation pressure, and avoidance of infanticide. The interaction between these factors determines social organization.1 Because western lowland and mountain gorillas differ so dramatically in their habitats and foraging strategies, they provide a valuable opportunity to assess how changes in ecology influence this balance. Mountain gorillas live in high-altitude montane forests, are herbivorous, and live in stable and cohesive groups. Western lowland gorillas live in lowland rainforest and are much more frugivorous than mountain gorillas. It is not yet clear to what extent incorporating significant quantities of fruit in the diet influences western lowland gorilla sociality because they have been studied much less than have mountain gorillas. However, what is known about their behavior hints that there may also be considerable differences in their social organization, including changes in group size and cohesion and in the frequency and type of intergroup encounters. Gorillas thus provide a unique opportunity to reevaluate proposed models of ecological influences on social organization in African apes.© 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.