Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

The Effect Of Sound On Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Grace Coffman

All Master's Theses

Sound exposure can have detrimental physiological and psychological effects on humans, but effects on nonhuman primates are not as well understood. Captive chimpanzees are exposed to markedly different acoustic environments than their wild counterparts. This study assessed the organic soundscape of a chimpanzee sanctuary, the Fauna Foundation, in Carignan, Québec, Canada. Noninvasive, observational data collection assessed for frequency of behavior and correlations between chimpanzee behavioral categories, arousal level, and decibel level. Agonistic behavior occurred more frequently in the highest decibel level category. There was a positive correlation between decibel level and arousal level. These findings suggest the need for increased …