2020 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Cognitive and physiological responses to disgust elicitors in chimpanzees
| Project/Area Number |
19F19088
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SARABIAN CECILE 京都大学, 霊長類研究所, 外国人特別研究員
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-10-11 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | primatology / comparative cognition / disgust / parasite avoidance / fear / chimpanzee |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In FY2020, the JSPS fellow completed the first experiment of her project, focusing on how visual cues implying potential pathogen presence may impact cognitive performance in chimpanzees at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute. The fellow also began running a second experiment asking the same question but testing olfactory cues rather than visual cues that are associated with pathogens. In addition, the fellow produced and submitted a manuscript to Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, which was invited by colleagues to appear as part of a special issue in the journal (the paper was just accepted). The fellow also had another two manuscripts in press, one in French and another in English, in the journal Conservation Science and Practice.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
International travel has been hindered by COVID-19, affecting budget use and conference attendance/networking opportunities. However, this project mainly works with chimpanzees at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute. There have been some delays where experiments have been postponed due to infection control mechanisms, but research is continuing in an acceptable manner.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The main activities for FY2021 will be to continue behavioral and physiological experiments, analyze data and write paper(s) for publication. At the same time, the fellow will further develop collaborative projects related to this research with researchers from Nagoya University, Leiden University and the University of Toronto. Moreover, the fellow continues outreach activities related to her project through online events and talks (e.g. forthcoming: interview with The Dissenter). The fellow will also participate in online international conferences to (1) present the results of this study; and (2) and propose human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies based on the adaptive system of disgust to conservation stakeholders. Major costs will include publication fees, experimental items, and remuneration for research assistance.
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