DOI: 10.5061/dryad.hdr7sqvhc
title: Prey preference of the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes

description: Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes are the closest extant relative of modern
 humans, and are often used as a model organism to help understand
 prehistoric human behavior and ecology. Originally presumed herbivorous,
 chimpanzees have been observed hunting 24 species of birds, ungulates,
 rodents, monkeys, and other primates, using an array of techniques from
 tools to group cooperation. Using the literature on chimpanzee hunting
 behavior and diet from 13 studies, we aimed to determine the prey
 preferences of chimpanzees. We extracted data on prey-specific variables
 such as targeted species, their body weight, and their abundance within
 the prey community, and hunter-specific variables such as hunting method,
 and chimpanzee group size and sex ratio. We used these in a generalized
 linear model to determine what factors drive chimpanzee prey preference.
 We calculated a Jacobs’ Index value for each prey species killed at two
 sites in Uganda and two sites in Tanzania. Chimpanzees prefer prey with a
 body weight of 7.6 ± 0.4 kg or less, which corresponds to animals such as
 juvenile bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus and guereza colobus monkeys Colobus
 guereza. Sex ratio in chimpanzee groups appears to drive chimpanzee prey
 preference, where chimpanzees increasingly prefer prey when in
 male-dominated groups. Prey preference information from chimpanzee
 research can assist conservation management programs by identifying key
 prey species to manage, as well as contribute to a better understanding of
 the evolution of human hunting behavior.
description: Data was collected through a comprehensive literature search
 through JSTOR, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using the search terms:
 “chimpanzee” or “Pan troglodytes” AND “prey preference” OR “hunt*” OR
 “diet” OR “predation” OR “hunting strategies”. Studies that did not have
 sufficient data were excluded from consideration. Insufficient data
 included studies that had only one or two prey species listed, or that
 included only qualitative data. Where only kill or abundance data were
 provided, the authors were contacted for supplementary information, or we
 contacted other authors who worked at the same site at about the same time
 (+/- 5 years). If an author did not respond, we searched for information
 for the same study area around the same year using Google
 Scholar.
description: This ChimpanzeeData.txt file was
 generated on 2021-02-17 GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Title of Dataset: Prey preferences of
 the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes Cassandra K. Bugir1, Thomas M. Butynski2,
 Matt W. Hayward1, 3 1 Conservation Biology Research Group, School of
 Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW,
 Australia 2  Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program
 & Lolldaiga Hills Research Programme, Nanyuki, Kenya 3 Mammal
 Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Tshwane, South Africa X001;
 Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port
 Elizabeth, South Africa. Email: 
 cassandra.bugir@uon.edu.au Funding: This research did not receive
 any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or
 not-for-profit sectors. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR:
 ChimpanzeeData.csv 1.
 Number of variables: 19 2. Number of cases/rows: 77
 Rows 3. Variable
 List: &lt;Order-
 Taxonomic order of species hunted&gt; &lt;Common name- Common name of
 species hunted&gt; &lt;Scientific name- Scientific name
 of species hunted&gt; &lt;BM- Body mass of hunted species
 (unit kg)&gt; &lt;Density- relative abundance of
 species from the site they were found, source is indicated in
 "Density Data Source"&gt; &lt;kill- hunted numbers as
 indicates in source "Kill Data Source"&gt; &lt;p- proportion of density from
 each site, calculated from the total number of species at that
 site&gt; &lt;r-
 proportion of kills from each site, calculated from the total number of
 kills at that site &gt; &lt;D- Jacobs' Index equation
 calculated from p and r. [D= (r - p)/(r + p - 2rp)]&gt;
 &lt;site, country, and
 continent are geographical locations pulled from sources indicated in Kill
 and Density Data Sources &gt; &lt;site, country, continent, and
 Habitat are geographical locations pulled from sources indicated in Kill
 and Density Data Sources &gt; &lt;kill method and Chimpanzee group
 are variables pulled from sources indicated in Kill and Density Data
 Sources &gt; &lt;CGS- Chimpanzee Group Size
 &gt; &lt;SR- Sex
 ratio within the chimpanzee group size &gt; &lt;Kill Data Source- reference of
 where data was obtained for meta-analysis&gt; &lt;Density Data Source- reference
 of where data was obtained for meta-analysis &gt;