Trauma and healing in non-human primates from Cameroon
Principal Investigator: Tara J. Chapman
Co-investigators: Scott Legge, Sarah Johns
Project dates: 2003-2007
Very few studies have been conducted on trauma among non-human primates. While there are a few studies on healed fractures in the smaller primates; baboons, macaques and tarsiers, most of the studies have tended to concentrate on the great ape family. Furthermore, rather than the study of healed fractures in their own right, they are often placed within an evolutionary framework of analysis. For example, both Lovell (1991) and Schultz (1956a, 1956b, 1937) were concerned with how healed fractures affect reproductive fitness. Schultz (1956) suggests that most primate groups may exhibit healed trauma in frequencies between 20 and 30%, and Lovell (1991) believes that at least one in five primates will display at least one healed fracture.
Trauma among non-human primates may be the result of a variety of causes, including inter- or intra-species violence or falls from the tree canopy. One study has indicated that arboreal primates have a much greater chance of sustaining trauma than do terrestrial species (Preuschoft 1990). However, the question remains whether some species are more likely to survive a significant traumatic experience than others, and if so, is there any relationship between survivability and any physiological or behavioural traits such as diet, locomotion, social organization, sex, etc.
This research project was carried out on specimens housed at the Powell-Cotton Museum in Birchington, Kent. The Powell-Cotton Museum’s primate skeletal collection is extraordinary for its variety of species, number of individuals, and detailed documentation. There are at least 25 different species represented in the collection, with body sizes ranging from 70 g in Galagoides demidoff to 200 kg in Gorilla gorilla gorilla.
Study results
Trauma data were collected from observations of crania, vertebrae, sterna, pelves, scapulae, femora, tibiae, fibulae, humeri, radii, ulnae, and clavicles. Monkeys observed included mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus, Cercocebus torquatus, Lophocebus albigena), colobines (Piliocolobus badius, Colobus guereza), and guenons (Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus cephus, Cercopithecus pogonias). The mangabeys exhibited the highest fracture frequencies with values of 80%, 67%, and 64% for Cercocebus galeritus, Cercocebus torquatus, and Lophocebus albigena respectively. Colobines and guenons were found to have similar fracture frequencies, ranging from 30% for Cercopithecus pogonias to 44% for Cercopithecus nictitans. Canopy height utilisation was considered in relation to sympatric associations and pressures of predation. A significant association was found between fracture occurrence and canopy height travelled at, with those species travelling nearest the forest floor exhibiting the most fractures. Previous studies assert that falls from trees and intra-/interspecies violence account for the majority of fractures in non-human primates. However, this study suggests that predation may indirectly be a significant cause of traumatic injuries in these species of monkeys.
This research demonstrates that extensive museum collections of non-human primates have considerable research potential. However, detailed knowledge of forest structure, canopy height usage, predation and social systems of all living primates is essential for developing a complete picture of past activities from the study of the skeletal remains.
Publications & Presentations
Tara Chapman and Scott Legge (in prep) The dangers of multi-male groupings: trauma and healing in cercopitheccoid monkeys from Cameroon.
Tara Chapman, Scott S. Legge, and Sarah E. Johns (2007) Canopy height utilisation and trauma in three species of cercopithecoid monkeys. In BABAO 2004 Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology, University of Bristol, Kate A. Robson Brown and Alice M. Roberts eds., British Archaeological Reports, International Series S1623: 15-18.
Tara J. Chapman and Scott S. Legge (2007) Falling, fighting or fleeing: Skeletal trauma analysis in eight sympatric cercopithecoids from Cameroon. Presented at the Seventy-Sixth Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
Tara J. Chapman and Scott S. Legge (2006) Traumatic injuries in a skeletal collection of Red Colobus (Piliocolobus badius preussi). Presented at the Seventy-Fifth Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.
Tara Chapman, Scott S. Legge, Sarah E. Johns (2004) The higher they live the further they fall: Traveling height and trauma among five species of primates. Presented at the 6th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. Bristol, U.K.