Social factors mediating reciprocal cooperation in chimpanzees

 Collaborator: Josep Call

Humans cooperate every day. For example, we open the door for strangers at an airport or build space shuttles to leave our planet. Although many other animals also cooperate, humans exceed in terms of scale and variety of cooperative behaviours. Still, the evolutionary history, i.e. how species have come to be cooperative, is largely unresolved.

By comparing cooperative behaviours and underlying mechanisms between species, we might be able to elucidate this evolutionary history. We might find similarities or differences between species that inform us about traits that are likely to be present in ancestors and circumstances that are likely to favour the occurrence of cooperation.

In this project, I investigated cooperation in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Chimpanzees are fascinating animals that cooperate, for instance, by grooming, hunting or territory patrols. Furthermore, they form long-lasting coalitions and bonds. While I find them intrinsically intriguing, they are also one of our closest living relatives, making them a good study subject for the evolutionary origin of human cooperation.

© Manon Schweinfurth

I would like to thank the Swiss National Science Foundation for funding this project!