This page has been archived and is no longer updated

 
The Living Primates

The Living Primates

Editor(s):  Jessica Rothman | 

Why do many primates live in groups? Why do some male primates commit infanticide? Why do some females form strong bonds? What do primates eat and how do they live in ecological communities with other animals? How do primates communicate? Do primates deceive each other? Unraveling the sociality and ecology of our closest living relatives, the non-human primates, can help us shed light on the selective pressures that shaped humans through evolutionary time.

Begin with an overview of the diversity of living primates across the globe. Learn about the different kinds of living primates, and their habitats, diets, sociality and mating systems. Discover why some primates form dominance hierarchies, how male primates compete over mates, and how apes gesture to communicate with each other. Explore some of the more focused topics, such as what determines group size, how multi-level primate societies operate, and why chimpanzees hunt monkeys.

 
Nature Education Home