Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Foraging

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.

Naturalistic Observations

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children...

Migration

Migration

Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

First evidence of underground extractive tool use by chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Lethal conflict after group fission in wild chimpanzees.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Female fertility and infant survivorship increase following lethal intergroup aggression and territorial expansion in wild chimpanzees.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025

Same author

Atypical tool and object use in wild immature chimpanzees reveals developmental pathways to innovation.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

Changes in Grooming Networks Among Male Chimpanzees Preceding a Permanent Community Fission at Ngogo.

American journal of primatology·2025

Same author

Decreases in chimpanzee respiratory disease signs and enteric viral quantity following implementation of anthroponotic disease prevention protocols at a long-term research site.

Biological conservation·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

Environmental influences on mountain gorilla time budgets.

David P Watts¹

¹Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

American Journal of Primatology

|January 24, 2020

Summary

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) primarily feed and rest, with time budgets influenced by habitat quality and group size, not season. Habitat quality significantly impacts foraging efficiency for all age groups.

Keywords:

activity feeding gorillas habitat quality male‐female association time budgets

More Related Videos

An Experimental Approach to Investigating Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Free-Ranging Animals: Implementation, Results, and Directions for Future Research

An Experimental Approach to Investigating Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Free-Ranging Animals: Implementation, Results, and Directions for Future Research

Published on: February 2, 2022

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

An Experimental Approach to Investigating Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Free-Ranging Animals: Implementation, Results, and Directions for Future Research

An Experimental Approach to Investigating Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Free-Ranging Animals: Implementation, Results, and Directions for Future Research

Published on: February 2, 2022

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Area of Science:

Primate Ecology
Behavioral Biology
Conservation Science

Background:

Understanding primate time budgets is crucial for ecological and conservation strategies.
Mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) face habitat pressures, making their daily activity patterns essential to study.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the time budgets of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes region.
To investigate how age/sex class, subhabitat quality, and group size influence gorilla activity states.

Main Methods:

Field studies utilizing focal sampling to record activity states of different age/sex classes.
Data collected in the Virunga Volcanoes region of Rwanda and Zaire.

Main Results:

Gorillas predominantly spent daylight hours feeding and resting, with minimal time for movement or social activities.
Foraging efficiency increased in areas with higher food abundance and nutritional quality, affecting all age/sex classes similarly.
While silverbacks fed more, age/sex differences in time budgets were minimal; group size showed a positive but less significant correlation with feeding time compared to habitat quality.

Conclusions:

Habitat quality is a primary driver of mountain gorilla time budgets, influencing subsistence strategies.
Unlike many primates, mountain gorillas exhibit no significant seasonal variation in their time budgets.
Association with males offers ecological advantages to females, with minimal costs, suggesting benefits from mutualistic interactions.