Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds.
Saved in:
| Title: | Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | van Casteren, Adam1, Seller, William I.1, Thorpe, Susannah K. S.2, Coward, Sam2, Crompton, Robin H.3, Myatt, Julia P.4, Ennos, A. Roland1 r.ennos@manchester.ac.uk |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 5/1/2012, Vol. 109 Issue 18, p6873-6877. 5p. |
| Subjects: | Orangutans, Nests, Animal habitations, Beds, Forest canopies |
| Abstract: | Nest-building orangutans must daily build safe and comfortable nest structures in the forest canopy and do this quickly and effectively using the branches that surround them. This study aimed to-investigate the mechanical design and architecture of orangutan nests and determine she degree of technical sophistication used in their construction. We measured the whole nest compliance and the thickness of the branches used and recorded the ways in which the branches were fractured. Branch samples were also collected from the nests and subjected to three-point bending tests to determine their mechanical properties. We demonstrated that she center of she nest is more compliant than she edges; this may add extra comfort and safety to the structure. During construction orangutans use the fact that branches only break half-way across in "greenstick" fracture to weave the main nest structure. They choose thicker branches with greater rigidity and strengthto build the main structure in this way. They then detach thinner branches by following greenstick fracture with a twitting action to make the lining. These results suggest that orangutans exhibit a degree of technical knowledge and choice in the construction of nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 75040321 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22van+Casteren%2C+Adam%22">van Casteren, Adam</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Seller%2C+William+I%2E%22">Seller, William I.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Thorpe%2C+Susannah+K%2E+S%2E%22">Thorpe, Susannah K. S.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Coward%2C+Sam%22">Coward, Sam</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Crompton%2C+Robin+H%2E%22">Crompton, Robin H.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Myatt%2C+Julia+P%2E%22">Myatt, Julia P.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ennos%2C+A%2E+Roland%22">Ennos, A. Roland</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> r.ennos@manchester.ac.uk</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 5/1/2012, Vol. 109 Issue 18, p6873-6877. 5p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Orangutans%22">Orangutans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nests%22">Nests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Animal+habitations%22">Animal habitations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Beds%22">Beds</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forest+canopies%22">Forest canopies</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Nest-building orangutans must daily build safe and comfortable nest structures in the forest canopy and do this quickly and effectively using the branches that surround them. This study aimed to-investigate the mechanical design and architecture of orangutan nests and determine she degree of technical sophistication used in their construction. We measured the whole nest compliance and the thickness of the branches used and recorded the ways in which the branches were fractured. Branch samples were also collected from the nests and subjected to three-point bending tests to determine their mechanical properties. We demonstrated that she center of she nest is more compliant than she edges; this may add extra comfort and safety to the structure. During construction orangutans use the fact that branches only break half-way across in "greenstick" fracture to weave the main nest structure. They choose thicker branches with greater rigidity and strengthto build the main structure in this way. They then detach thinner branches by following greenstick fracture with a twitting action to make the lining. These results suggest that orangutans exhibit a degree of technical knowledge and choice in the construction of nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=75040321 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.1200902109 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 5 StartPage: 6873 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Orangutans Type: general – SubjectFull: Nests Type: general – SubjectFull: Animal habitations Type: general – SubjectFull: Beds Type: general – SubjectFull: Forest canopies Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: van Casteren, Adam – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Seller, William I. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Thorpe, Susannah K. S. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Coward, Sam – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Crompton, Robin H. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Myatt, Julia P. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ennos, A. Roland IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: 5/1/2012 Type: published Y: 2012 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 109 – Type: issue Value: 18 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
