Virtual Exploration 1. World of Primates
At the beginning of this chapter, we were introduced to the two major primate suborders, Prosimii and Anthropoidea. A good way to review primate diversity is to familiarize yourself with images representing these two suborders. Go first to the Michigan State University's Prosimii site:
http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/prosimii.html Read over the introductory paragraph. It provides a brief overview of this suborder Below the introduction are links for the infraorders of the Prosimii:
Lemuriforms: http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/lemur.html
Lorisiforms: http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/loris.html
Tarsiiforms: http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/tarsier.htmlThe site allows you to navigate back and forth between the three links. - Are any of these primates unfamiliar to you?
- What about their habitats?
- What types of specializations does each have?
- What other information about them is new to you?
Now visit the Anthropooidea site: http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/anthropoidea.htmlThe introductory paragraph about the Anthropoids suborder discusses size and dietary difference and other physical features that distinguish them from other primates. Remember what you learned about in the earlier chapters about advantages and disadvantages of evolutionary change. The two Anthropoids infraorders, Platyrrhini (new world monkeys), and Catarrhini, (old world monkeys). each have separate links:
Platyrrhini : http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/plats.html
Catarrhini: http://www.msu.edu/%7Eheckaaro/cats.htmlExplore each of the two links. - What are some of the features that distinguish the two infraorders?
- What about differences within each infraorder?
- What do you recall from your readings in Chapter 6?
- What features make the Catarrhini more similar to humans?
- What features distinguish the Platyrrhini?
Virtual Exploration 2. The Callicam: Compare and Contrast Marmoset Behavior
The Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center's Callicam makes it possible to remotely control the site's web cam and observe live Marmoset behavior in two minute intervals: http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/callicam Click on the Open the Callicam link. You are now able to view the marmoset enclosure and move the camera with horizontal and vertical slide buttons around the viewing frame. Make 5 2-minute observations. If the marmosets are inactive, you may wish to come back to the site later.
How many different types of behavior (I.e., grooming, aggression, play, feeding) were you able to observe?- Were you able to determine which individuals were dominant and submissive?
- Would you consider marmosets to be solitary or social?
- Which behaviors did you find most interesting?
Virtual Exploration 3. Understanding Bonobos
Bonobos were classified as a species following their discovery in a Belgian colonial museum in 1929. This article discusses the many aspects of Bonobo social life and their connections to humans: http://songweaver.com/info/bonobos.html Read Bonobo Sex and Society by Frans de Waal, 1995. - Bonobos are unique in some ways among primates. How are they different from other chimpanzees? How are they similar to humans?
- What is unique about their social structure? What is different about the bonobo estrus cycle than among other primates?
- How do observations of bonobo behavior help us understand our own evolutionary history?
Virtual Exploration 4. Chimpanzee Central
http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp_central/default.asp
This is the Jane Goodall Institute website.
Explore the links under "About Chimpanzees" on the left side menu.- Do chimpanzees engage in cooperative behavior? In what contexts?
- Do chimpanzees make and use tools? Is this considered culture?
- In what ways are chimps similar to humans? Are they different in any significant ways?
Read the biography of the F family of chimpanzees from Gombe.- How have these specific individuals helped us to understand chimpanzees in general?
- What do you think of the written description of this family? Is it the writer making them seem extremely human, or is it the chimpanzees' behavior?
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