Niche Partitioning in Sympatric Gorilla and Pan from Cameroon: Implications for Life History Strategies and for Reconstructing the Evolution of Hominin Life History

Factors influencing the hominoid life histories are poorly understood, and little is known about how ecological conditions modulate the pace of their development. Yet our limited understanding of these interactions underpins life history interpretations in extinct hominins. Here we determined the synchronisation of dental mineralization/eruption with brain size in a 20(th) century museum collection of sympatric Gorilla gorilla and Pan troglodytes from Central Cameroon. Using δ(13)C and δ(15)N of individuals’ hair, we assessed whether and how differences in diet and habitat use may have impacted on ape development. The results show that, overall, gorilla hair δ(13)C and δ(15)N values are more variable than those of chimpanzees, and that gorillas are consistently lower in δ(13)C and δ(15)N compared to chimpanzees. Within a restricted, isotopically-constrained area, gorilla brain development appears delayed relative to dental mineralization/eruption [or dental development is accelerated relative to brains]: only about 87.8% of adult brain size is attained by the time first permanent molars come into occlusion, whereas it is 92.3% in chimpanzees. Even when M1s are already in full functional occlusion, gorilla brains lag behind those of chimpanzee (91% versus 96.4%), relative to tooth development. Both bootstrap analyses and stable isotope results confirm that these results are unlikely due to sampling error. Rather, δ(15)N values imply that gorillas are not fully weaned (physiologically mature) until well after M1 are in full functional occlusion. In chimpanzees the transition from infant to adult feeding appears (a) more gradual and (b) earlier relative to somatic development. Taken together, the findings are consistent with life history theory that predicts delayed development when non-density dependent mortality is low, i.e. in closed habitats, and with the “risk aversion” hypothesis for frugivorous species as a means to avert starvation. Furthermore, the results highlight the complexity and plasticity of hominoid/hominin development.