Work

The Primates of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This contribution is an introduction to and synthesis of the special issue of the AJBA on Primate Adaptations in a Highly Seasonal and Heterogeneous African Ecosystem. The eight research papers in this special issue provide the first compilation of primatological research to emerge from Gorongosa National Park and represent a major landmark in the development of primatology as a science in Mozambique. Primatological field studies in the park were initiated in 2016 under the umbrella of the Paleo-Primate Project Gorongosa with the aim of exploring the deep time evolutionary history of the Gorongosa ecosystem and establishing a long-term primatological field research program. This initiative has resulted in the training of a new generation of primatologists, including the first from Mozambique. The papers in this volume focus on the behavior, ecology, adaptations, and genomics of baboons and vervet monkeys, and set the stage for the study of other primates in Gorongosa, including samango monkeys and nocturnal strepsirrhines. The environmental characteristics of the Gorongosa ecosystem, with major rivers and lakes in a dynamic mosaic of forests, woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands, and rich biodiversity, make Gorongosa a suitable analog for the environments in which early hominins are thought to have evolved. This special issue is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague Dr. Marc Stalmans, who was the Director of Science of Gorongosa National Park from 2012 to 2025.

Source: American Journal of Biological Anthropology

Authors: Susana Carvalho, Robert L. Anemone, João d’Oliveira Coelho, René Bobe