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Foraging humans, mammals and birds who live in the same place behave similarly
BaYaka people live in the Congo basin of Africa and were among the foraging populations included in the study. Sarah Pope Press release issued: 14 January 2021
Foraging humans find food, reproduce, share parenting, and even organise their social groups in similar ways as surrounding mammal and bird species, depending on where they live in the world, new research has found.
The study, published today in
Science, shows environmental factors exert a key influence on how foraging human populations and non-human species behave, despite their very different backgrounds.
Foraging humans, mammals and birds who live in the same place behave similarly.
Foraging humans find food, reproduce, share parenting, and even organise their social groups in similar ways as surrounding mammal and bird species, depending on where they live in the world, new research has found. A new study by a team of international researchers shows environmental factors exert an overriding influence on how foraging human populations and non-human species behave, despite their very different backgrounds.
The researchers analysed data from more than 300 locations around the world, observing the behaviours of foraging human populations alongside other mammal and bird species living in the same place. Their findings show that for almost all behaviours, 14 of the 15 investigated, humans were more likely to behave similarly to the majority of other non-human species living in the same place than those elsewhere.
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Researchers from the UK and Germany analysed data on the behaviours of foraging human and local animal populations from more than 300 locations worldwide.
Weekly links January 15: Voices from Congolese research assistants on the research process, how the environment shapes behavior, using financial diaries in practice, and more…
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A must-read series: The (Silent) Voices blog Bukavu series is a set of posts by Congolese researchers and research assistants on the academic research production function, power dynamics, working in conflict-affected areas, ethics in research, the lack of relaying of results to survey respondents etc. (h/t Graeme Blair). Lots of compelling posts getting into many of the details of research in practice. Here are a few examples – there are 35 or so posts in the series!