Materials and Methods
Location and time of data collection
- Kolmården Wildlife Park, Sweden
- 25th July 2017 until the 15th December 2017
Animals
- 5 white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar)
- Family group (Adult breeding pair + 3 offspring)
Adult female Elly with infant male Ebot
Left: Adult male Lelle with subadult female Elliot; Right: Juvenile female Edith
Procedure and data collection
Cooperation test
- Phase 1 (Training 1)
- The gibbons were individually trained to pull a rope in order to receive a food reward
- Phase 2 (Training 2)
- The gibbons were individually trained that pulling two ropes simultaneously is necessary to receive the reward
- Phase 3 (Test phase)
- The two ropes were too far apart from each other for one gibbon to accomplish the task. Accordingly, two gibbons had to work together to receive the reward
- 75-min trials, 2 trials per day
Schematic drawing of the experimental set-up for the test phase
Behavioural observations
- Recording of social behaviour
- Recording of distances between the individuals
- Scan-sampling, 1-min-interval
- 1 hour, 2 observations per day
Responsible for this page:
Director of undergraduate studies Biology
Last updated:
05/16/18