Orangutans at Miami Zoo Communicate With iPads

A clan of six orangutans at the Miami Zoo are learning to interact with their handlers using iPads. The apes use the tablet to identify items they’re familiar with and to express their wants and needs. This is done primarily through an app designed for autistic children that displays an array of object images onscreen. Linda Jacobs, who oversees the program, hopes the devices will eventually help bridge the gap between humans and the endangered apes.

Read the full article here: Orangutans at Miami’s Jungle Island use iPads to communicate

TED presentation: Frans De Waal explores moral behaviour in animals

World-renowned primatologist Dr Frans de Waal explores moral behaviour in a range of primates in this fascinating talk, recorded live for TED.

De Waal talks the audience through experimental footage dating back as far as 1937, discussing what he calls the "two pillars" of morality; reciprocity and fairness.

Watch the full video here: Frans de Waal: Moral behavior in animals

"If you ask anyone, what is morality based on? These are the two factors that always come out: One is reciprocity and associated with it is a sense of justice and a sense of fairness, and the other one is empathy and compassion." - De Waal

Endangered blonde capuchins devise novel tool use

Endangered blonde capuchins living in Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest have been observed performing two methods of tool use never before witnessed in any non-human primate.

Researcher Antonio Souto, of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, documents two complex and spontaneous methods of termite fishing in his paper, published today in Biology Letters.

Tool modification and usage in capuchins is well documented but this social group displayed two entirely novel uses; nest tapping and stick rotation.

Souto regularly observed three out of the six monkeys climbing a tree and hitting a termite nest, before rotating a stick inside the nest, maximising the number of termites caught.

Souto believes the behaviour of these blonde capuchins, of whom there are only 180 left worldwide, could cause primatologists to permanently revise accepted tool use theories.

The full scientific paper, published in Biology Letters by Souto et al on March 8th 2012, can be found here: Critically endangered blonde capuchins fish for termites and use new techniques to accomplish the task

Gorilla genome may unlock the mystery of abstract thought

The last ape genome sequence - that of the lowland gorilla - was published today by a research team in Cambridge.

The researchers hope their work will finally reveal the genetic mutations that led humans to develop higher functions such as language and culture.

The article, published today in Nature, confirms that chimpanzees are our closest relatives, sharing 99 per cent of our DNA.

Gorillas share 98 per cent and orangutans 97 per cent, reflecting the evolutionary timeline of apes in the pattern the researchers had expected.

However, this new research shows human separation from common ancestors occurring earlier than previously thought, which challenges some widely held evolutionary theories.

Researchers hope that by comparing shared genetic mutations with those developed after a split in lineage they may uncover the genetic basis of 'higher reasoning' in humans.

Read the full research article by Scally et al, published in Nature on 7th March 2012:  Insights into hominid evolution from the gorilla genome sequence

Teamwork may be the key to man's advantage over other primates

New research shows that teamwork - rather than intelligence - could hold the key to man's developmental advantage over other primates.

The study found that nursery school children repeatedly beat apes and capuchins in complex puzzles because of their tendancy to co-operate and learn from each other.

The researchers, from St Andrews University, designed the experiment to represent the structure of man's uniquely evolved society.

Each increasingly complex puzzle was built upon skills learnt in previous tasks, whilst the rewards available became increasingly more desirable.

Results showed that although primates have the ability to learn from each other - as shown in their natural hunting and foraging practises - they generally chose not to.

Read the full story here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2108793/Teamwork-brainpower-secret-ingredient-gave-Man-advantage-apes-say-researchers.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Facial complexity adapts to suit social demands in primates

Facial diversity may have evolved to aid primates in recognising and communicating with members of their own species, a new study has found.

Sharlene Santana, of the University of California, analysed the skin and hair patterns of 129 American primate species - creating a huge gallery of 'monkey mugshots'.

Analysis showed that the smaller the social groups a species lives in, the more complex their facial features.

Research suggests that facially complex monkeys, who have less contact with members of their own species and more with other species, depend more on facial patterns to recognise their peers.

Conversely, highly social animals living in large groups - for example apes or even humans - tend to have more plain facial features.

Santana's team believes this plainess allows facial expressions to be understood more easily, paving the way for the more complex communication we see in these species.

The published paper by Santana et al is published in The Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Adaptive evolution of facial colour patterns in Neotropical primates

A full article, including an interview with Dr Santana, can be found here: Funny Facial Features Tell Monkeys Who's Who 

Brain capacity increases as social networks grow

Monkey brains grow bigger with every cagemate they acquire, according to a new study by primatologists at Oxford University.

Results from the study show that certain parts of the brain associated with processing social information expand in response to an increasingly complex social environment.

For a preview of the findings see: http://www.livescience.com/16865-social-network-monkey-brain.html

The full research article will be published in the journal Science on the 4th of November 2011.