| Title |
Hand-clapping as a communicative gesture by wild female swamp gorillas
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Primates, February 2009
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10329-009-0130-9 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Ammie K. Kalan, Hugo J. Rainey |
| Abstract |
Hand-clapping is a form of gestural communication commonly observed in captive great apes yet only isolated instances of this behaviour have been documented in the wild. Nearly 20 years ago Fay recorded the first observations of hand-clapping in western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Central African Republic. Here we present observations of Likouala swamp gorillas using hand-clapping as a form of gestural communication in previously undocumented contexts in the wild. We observed hand-clapping on four different occasions in four different groups. The hand-clap was always exhibited by an adult female and always consisted of two consecutive claps conducted in front of the body. We suggest the functional significance of the behaviour was to maintain and enforce group cohesiveness during instances of alarm. These observations suggest western lowland gorillas have a means of communicating that is thus far absent in their eastern counterparts (Gorilla beringei ssp.). This could be a gestural culture found only in western lowland gorillas which should be investigated further to shed light on the evolution of communication among hominoids. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
| Scientists | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 70 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 3% |
| Kenya | 1 | 1% |
| Canada | 1 | 1% |
| Brazil | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 65 | 93% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 20 | 29% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 13 | 19% |
| Student > Bachelor | 8 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 7 | 10% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 6% |
| Other | 8 | 11% |
| Unknown | 10 | 14% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 30 | 43% |
| Psychology | 13 | 19% |
| Environmental Science | 6 | 9% |
| Arts and Humanities | 2 | 3% |
| Social Sciences | 2 | 3% |
| Other | 5 | 7% |
| Unknown | 12 | 17% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 07 May 2023.
All research outputs
#6,516,284
of 23,956,119 outputs
Outputs from Primates
#394
of 1,037 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#29,582
of 96,524 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Primates
#4
of 4 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,956,119 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,037 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 19.6. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 61% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 4 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one.