Is Gorilla chest beating something they learn from parent or is it genetic?

[Saiyan300Warrior]

I asked this on Yahoo Answers and one person said that it is genetic. I am thinking since it is behaviour, intuition kind of makes me think, how does behaviour emerge from genetics? Seems like something they would learn from a their parents or something? Gorillas have been beating their chests since 50 years ago, is there some sort of culture involved in it all, why do all different groups of Gorillas know how to beat their chests? Have they kept the culture of beating their chests that well over 50 years (I know they were here longer than but just saying that to explain they been beating their chests consistently for years)

Note: Silverback Gorilla is my favourite animal, what is yours :)? 

[CharonY]

I suggest you turn to literature, as there are quite a few papers on that topic. You could summarize some of the findings and discuss those here?

Take a look e.g. at the recent paper here Salmi & Muñoz (Primates volume 61, pages225–235(2020). It may take a while to get through a paper, but I promise you, that you will find better information there than on any random internet forum.

[Saiyan300Warrior]

Can you go through the paper and give me my answer please

[joigus]

On 10/14/2020 at 6:56 PM, Saiyan300Warrior said:

Note: Silverback Gorilla is my favourite animal, what is yours :)? 

Water bears.

Tardigrade

[Saiyan300Warrior]

Wow they are cool AF, thanks for writing that down...

Google: "While strangely cute, these tiny animals are almost indestructible and can even survive in outer space"

Edited October 21, 2020 by Saiyan300Warrior

[CharonY]

On 10/20/2020 at 4:27 PM, Saiyan300Warrior said:

Can you go through the paper and give me my answer please

The issue is that there are no simple answers in science (for the most part). Take a look at the abstract of the article:

 

Quote

Loud auditory gestures that are produced by repetitively percussing body parts are rare in primate repertoires and have been mostly observed in captive settings. Gorillas produce two of the most conspicuous long-range signals of this type: chest beating and hand clapping. Here we present the first systematic analysis of chest beating (n = 63) and hand clapping (n = 88) in wild western gorillas to assess the behavioral contexts in which they emerged, the flexibility of their use, and the age–sex classes that produced them. Data were collected at the Mondika Research Center, Republic of Congo, from a habituated gorilla group during two separate collection periods (June–August 2007; May 2009–June 2010). Our results show that both signals are highly context specific, with chest beating used only during display and/or play and hand clapping used only during vigilance and/or play. Age–sex classes differed in their use and production of these signals in that immature individuals used both signals only when playing, the male only used chest beating when displaying and never hand clapped, and adult females used both signals flexibly in two contexts instead of one. This study confirms previous anecdotal accounts of loud auditory gestures in western gorillas and adds crucial information on their flexibility across age categories. While chest beating has been described in both gorilla species, hand clapping as a way to communicate potential danger is unique to western gorillas. Further studies should focus on determining the variations in frequency and use across geographically distant populations.

So what can you learn from there? First, chest beating is observed in the wild, at least indicating that it is not an artifact of captivity (e.g. by gorillas observing visitors and then imitating them). However, does it mean that it is genetic? Not necessarily, they could learn it in the context of the what the signals mean to them (same with hand clapping). The fact that kids use it in different contexts (mostly while playing) could indicate that they learn the meaning over time. Similarly, the fact that there is a gender difference in use among adults, also might mean that they learn and use it. 

 

[Saiyan300Warrior]

Thanks for explaining!