Extant hominoids, including humans, are well known for their inability to swim instinctively. We report swimming and diving in two captive apes using visual observation and video recording. One common chimpanzee and one orangutan swam repeatedly at the water surface over a distance of 2-6 m; both individuals submerged repeatedly. We show that apes are able to overcome their negative buoyancy by deliberate swimming, using movements which deviate from the doggy-paddle pattern observed in other primates. We suggest that apes' poor swimming ability is due to behavioral, anatomical, and neuromotor changes related to an adaptation to arboreal life in their early phylogeny. This strong adaptive focus on arboreal life led to decreased opportunities to interact with water bodies and consequently to a reduction of selective pressure to maintain innate swimming behavior. As the doggy paddle is associated with quadrupedal walking, a deviation from terrestrial locomotion might have interfered with the fixed rhythmic action patterns responsible for innate swimming.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22338 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Does hyperbaric chamber attendance pose an asthma risk? Case report.
Undersea Hyperb Med
January 2025
Department of Hyperbaric Medicine; Kayseri City Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
This report details a case study of a non-smoking 33-year-old female nurse who developed occupational asthma as an Inside Attendant (IA) in a hyperbaric chamber. The report analyzes the nurse's medical history, working environment, and potential causes. After beginning work in the hyperbaric chamber, an IA experienced respiratory symptoms, including coughing, wheezing, and fatigue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluence of hyperbaric air exposure on the function of brachial artery.
Undersea Hyperb Med
January 2025
Department of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, Naval Medical Center, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Decompression after diving may inevitably cause the production of bubbles in the body, even without protocol violation. Bubbles produced in the circulation may damage the vascular cells, leading to vascular dysfunction. In this study, five subjects were recruited and subjected to hyperbaric exposure (15 meters; 100 minutes).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHindlimb muscles of the Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri (Aves, Sphenisciformes) at different postnatal ontogenetic stages.
J Anat
January 2025
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri is the largest living species of penguin, found exclusively in Antarctica, and is unique in breeding during the winter. Consequently, fewer anatomical studies have been conducted on this species over time compared to others. This study aims to provide an updated and comprehensive description of the hindlimb musculature of Aptenodytes forsteri.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiological relevance and methodological implications of unexpected hearing thresholds in a diving bird.
Sci Rep
December 2024
Deutsches Meeresmuseum, Katharinenberg 14 - 20, 18439, Stralsund, Germany.
Many animals alternate between different media, such as air and water, thanks to specific adaptations. Among birds, penguins (Sphenisciformes) have the most extreme morphological, physiological, and behavioural adaptations to their amphibious lifestyle. Their auditory perception of sound, potentially matching different impedances in air and under water, is largely unknown particularly in terms of whether their underwater adaptations may have affected their in-air hearing capacity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSwimming-Induced Pulmonary Edema in a Member Participating in a Special Tactics Selection Course.
Aerosp Med Hum Perform
December 2024
Background: Swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE), also called immersion pulmonary edema, is a form of exertional pulmonary edema associated with swimming and/or water immersion without aspiration. Most case reports on SIPE feature young, healthy patients who were scuba-diving, surface swimming, snorkeling, or breath-hold diving before experiencing symptoms of dyspnea, chest pain/tightness, cough, and hemoptysis. The incidence of SIPE is thought to be between 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!