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From Treadmill to Tropics: Calculating Ranging Cost in Chimpanzees

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Primate Locomotion

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR))

Abstract

Ecological studies of wild primates often use travel time or distance as a measure of ranging and foraging cost. Recent laboratory studies of walking and climbing cost in primates and other mammals can greatly improve the accuracy of these estimates. Here, we review recent studies of climbing cost in primates and walking costs in chimpanzees, and apply this work to calculating daily ranging cost for wild chimpanzees. Laboratory investigations of locomotor cost suggest that daily locomotor cost is best calculated by multiplying the distance walked or climbed by the cost per meter of each activity. We discuss the reliability of different variables in predicting the cost per meter traveled, including body mass, hip height, and step length. We calculate daily ranging cost using these variables for different populations and sex-age classes of wild chimpanzees, and propose a hierarchical approach to estimating walking cost in wild populations, preferring hip height to body mass.

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Abbreviations

α :

angle of take-off, relative to horizontal, for a leaping primate

BMR:

basal metabolic rate (kJ/day)

COT:

cost of transport (J m–1); the metabolic cost of traveling a meter during terrestrial travel

COL:

cost of locomotion (J s–1); the rate of metabolic energy use during terrestrial locomotion

d :

step length; the horizontal distance traveled during contact time for a limb

DEE:

daily energy expenditure (kJ day–1); the total amount of energy used each day

EMA:

effective mechanical advantage; the ratio of the muscle’s moment arm to the moment arm of the ground reaction force

E leap :

metabolic cost of a leap (J)

E climb :

metabolic cost of a climbing bout (J)

E k :

kinetic energy (J)

fore :

percentage of vertical ground force born by the forelimbs during terrestrial locomotion

g :

gravitational acceleration (9.81 m s–2)

GRF:

ground reaction force (N)

hind :

percentage of vertical ground force born by the hindlimbs during terrestrial locomotion

h :

vertical distance traveled during a climbing bout (m)

M :

body mass (kg)

L skel :

skeletal limb length (cm); the summed lengths of a limb’s long bones, e.g., femur + tibia

L E :

effective limb length (cm); the length of a limb as a strut, typically measured as hip height while standing (Fig. 15.2).

l fasc :

fascicle length (m); the mean fascicle length for an extensor muscle group

v :

forward velocity (m s–1) during terrestrial locomotion

σ:

force generated per cm2 of active muscle

t c :

contact time (s); the period of foot-ground contact for one limb during one stride

V act :

volume of muscle (cm3) activated to support bodyweight during terrestrial locomotion

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Acknowledgments

We thank Evie Vereecke and Kristiaan D’Août for inviting us to join this volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA

    Herman Pontzer

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  1. Herman Pontzer
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  2. David A. Raichlen
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  3. Michael D. Sockol
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Correspondence to Herman Pontzer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerp, B-2610, Belgium

    Kristiaan D'Août

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Anatomy, Catholic University Leuven, KULAK, Belgium

    Evie E. Vereecke

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Pontzer, H., Raichlen, D.A., Sockol, M.D. (2011). From Treadmill to Tropics: Calculating Ranging Cost in Chimpanzees. In: D'Août, K., Vereecke, E. (eds) Primate Locomotion. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1420-0_15

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