Locomotor behavior of wild orangutans ( pongo pygmaeus wurmbii ) in disturbed peat swamp forest, Sabangau, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Bibliographic Data

ID8319161
AuthorsKirsten L Manduell (University of Birmingham, corresponding author), Helen C Morrogh‐Bernard (University of Birmingham), Susannah K S Thorpe (0000-0002-6160-4452, University of Birmingham)
Year2011
Volume145
Issue3
Pages348-359
Publication date2011-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.21495
PMID21469074
OpenAlexW2119881631
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited45

This study examined the locomotor behavior of wild Bornean orangutans ( P. p. wurmbii ) in an area of disturbed peat swamp forest (Sabangau Catchment, Indonesia) in relation to the height in the canopy, age‐sex class, behavior (feeding or traveling), and the number of supports used to bear body mass. Backward elimination log‐linear modeling was employed to expose the main influences on orangutan locomotion. Our results showed that the most important distinctions with regard to locomotion were between suspensory and compressive, or, orthograde (vertical trunk) and pronograde (horizontal trunk) behavior. Whether orangutans were traveling or feeding had the most important influence on locomotion whereby compressive locomotion had a strong association with feeding, suspensory locomotion had a strong association with travel in the peripheral strata using multiple supports, whereas vertical climb/descent and oscillation showed a strong association with travel on single supports in the core stratum. In contrast to theoretical predictions on positional behavior and body size, age‐sex category had a limited influence on locomotion. The study revealed that torso orthograde suspension dominates orangutan locomotion, concurring with previous studies in dipterocarp forest. But, orangutans in the Sabangau exhibited substantially higher frequencies of oscillatory locomotion than observed at other sites, suggesting this behavior confers particular benefits for traversing the highly compliant arboreal environment typical of disturbed peat swamp forest. In addition, torso pronograde suspensory locomotion was observed at much lower levels than in the Sumatran species. Together these results highlight the necessity for further examination of differences between species, which control for habitat. Am J Phys Anthropol 145:348–359, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Arboreal locomotion · Biology · Cebidae · Climbing · Habitat · Swamp · Torso · Anatomy · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Ecology · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation