Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42049774›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Chimpanzee army ant consumption strategies show no habitat-specific pattern.

Andreu Sánchez-Megías, Carlota F Galán-Plana, Nadia Mirghani, Kasun H Bodawatta, Amanda Barciela, Laia Dotras, Jordi Galbany, Manuel Llana, Michael Poulsen, Adrián Arroyo and 2 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Andreu Sánchez-MegíasDepartment of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. andreu.sanchezmegias@ub.edu.
Carlota F Galán-PlanaDindefelo Biological Station, Jane Goodall Institute Spain in Senegal, Dindefelo, Senegal.
Nadia MirghaniDindefelo Biological Station, Jane Goodall Institute Spain in Senegal, Dindefelo, Senegal.
Kasun H BodawattaSection for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute Faculty of Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Amanda BarcielaDindefelo Biological Station, Jane Goodall Institute Spain in Senegal, Dindefelo, Senegal.
Laia DotrasDepartment of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi GalbanyDindefelo Biological Station, Jane Goodall Institute Spain in Senegal, Dindefelo, Senegal.
Manuel LlanaDindefelo Biological Station, Jane Goodall Institute Spain in Senegal, Dindefelo, Senegal.
Michael PoulsenSection for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology Faculty of Science University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Adrián ArroyoSeminar of Prehistoric Studies and Research (SERP), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Justinn Renelies-HamiltonDindefelo Biological Station, Jane Goodall Institute Spain in Senegal, Dindefelo, Senegal.
R Adriana Hernandez-AguilarDepartment of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. r.a.hernandez-a@ub.edu.

Funding

Generalitat de Catalunya 2021SGR00366"La Caixa" Foundation LCF/BQ/DR24/12080012Ramón y Cajal Grant (MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ESF +) RYC2022-037569-I
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Variation in army ant consumption strategies highlights cultural differences between chimpanzee communities in forest habitats. Since these strategies have not been studied in detail in savannas, variation across habitat types remains largely unknown. Here, we report the ant-consumption strategies of savanna chimpanzees at Dindefelo, Senegal. From 2018 to 2022, we collected and measured 151 ant-dipping tools from nine ant nest sites. We assessed tool raw material availability and chimpanzee material selection at four sites. We recorded ant-dipping behaviour at six sites, and examined age, sex, community, individual, and location differences. We collected ants during 47 ant colony encounters and found that all samples belonged to one species closely related to Dorylus nigricans. Chimpanzees made tools from eight plant species and mostly selected lianas. They bent vegetation to position themselves while ant-dipping. Chimpanzees in Dindefelo ant-dipped faster than in forest sites. However, all their ant-consumption strategies have been reported for chimpanzees in forest sites. Although ants are scarce and patchily distributed in savannas, this does not seem to influence chimpanzee ant-eating strategies. Ant aggressiveness appears to determine the ant-consumption strategies used by chimpanzees across habitats. These results expand our understanding of the role ecology and culture play in chimpanzee insect-foraging strategies.

Indexed as

AntsEcosystemFeeding BehaviorPan troglodytesTool Use BehaviorAnimalsFemaleForestsMaleSenegalExtractive foragingInsectivoryPerishable toolsRaw material selectivitySavanna chimpanzees

Identifiers

PMID42049774
PMCPMC13216288

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.