Altruisme

Pendahuluan

Berbagi adalah perilaku yang sering kali dianggap unik pada manusia. Namun, penelitian terkini menunjukkan bahwa bonobo, kerabat primata terdekat kita, juga menunjukkan perilaku berbagi makanan. Perilaku ini sangat menarik karena menunjukkan bahwa altruisme, tindakan membantu orang lain tanpa keuntungan langsung bagi diri sendiri, mungkin bukan sifat yang unik pada manusia.

Bonobo dan Berbagi Makanan

Bonobo adalah spesies kera besar yang berasal dari Cekungan Kongo di Afrika Tengah. Mereka dikenal karena sifatnya yang damai dan kooperatif, dan telah diamati berbagi makanan satu sama lain dalam banyak kesempatan.

Dalam sebuah penelitian, peneliti menempatkan seekor bonobo di sebuah ruangan bersama sejumlah makanan. Bonobo tersebut kemudian dapat memilih untuk memakan semua makanan itu sendiri atau membiarkan bonobo lain dari ruangan yang berdekatan masuk dan berbagi makanan. Sebagian besar waktu, bonobo memilih untuk berbagi makanan mereka.

Mengapa Bonobo Berbagi Makanan?

Ada beberapa alasan yang mungkin menjelaskan mengapa bonobo berbagi makanan. Salah satu kemungkinannya adalah mereka melakukannya untuk menerima bantuan di kemudian hari dari penerima makanan. Ini dikenal sebagai altruisme timbal balik.

Kemungkinan lainnya adalah bahwa bonobo berbagi makanan karena motivasi yang lebih altruistik. Artinya mereka membantu orang lain tanpa mengharapkan imbalan apa pun. Jenis perilaku ini sering terlihat pada manusia, dan dianggap sebagai salah satu dasar kerja sama manusia.

Peran Altruisme dalam Berbagi Makanan Bonobo

Peneliti yang melakukan penelitian tentang berbagi makanan bonobo percaya bahwa altruisme memainkan peran penting dalam perilaku ini. Mereka menemukan bahwa bonobo lebih mungkin berbagi makanan dengan individu yang pernah berbagi makanan dengan mereka sebelumnya, dan mereka juga lebih mungkin berbagi makanan dengan individu yang tidak memiliki hubungan kekerabatan dengan mereka. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa bonobo tidak hanya berbagi makanan untuk mendapatkan imbalan, tetapi mereka benar-benar termotivasi untuk membantu orang lain.

Animal Behavior: Wild Things, Life as We Know It

Monkey Talk: Monkeys Combine Words to Communicate

Scientists from the University of St. Andrews have made a groundbreaking discovery: monkeys can string words together to convey more complex messages. In a study of tree-dwelling putty-nosed monkeys in Nigeria, researchers found that the monkeys combined “pyow,” a warning about a threat below, and “hack,” a warning about a threat above, to create a new, urgent message: flee now! This finding suggests that monkeys may have a rudimentary form of language, if their communication is learned rather than innate.

Altruism in Side-Blotched Lizards

Altruism, or selfless behavior, is a puzzling trait in animals, as it often results in a loss of mating opportunities. A new study by researchers at the University of California at Santa Cruz sheds light on how one species, the side-blotched lizard, overcomes this challenge.

The study found that male side-blotched lizards recognize altruism in others and come to the defense of only those that share this trait. This behavior helps altruistic lizards pass along their genes, as they are more likely to survive and reproduce if they have allies who are willing to defend them.

Sea Anemone Stings: Nature’s Fastest Cellular Process

Sea anemones are fascinating creatures with powerful stingers that can paralyze prey in an instant. Researchers in Germany have discovered that the stingers accelerate from zero to 80 miles per hour in just 700 nanoseconds, a million times faster than a race car. This incredible speed makes the sea anemone’s stinger one of the fastest cellular processes in nature.

Aquatic Crabs Adapt to Land

Crabs are typically associated with aquatic environments, but some species have adapted to life on land. One such species is the blackback crab. After molting, aquatic crabs fill up with water to stabilize their new, flimsy shells. However, blackback crabs have evolved a unique adaptation that allows them to fill their shells with air instead. This adaptation may have been instrumental in their transition to a terrestrial lifestyle.

Thyrohyrax: Ancient Predecessor of Hyraxes

Thyrohyrax was an ancient mammal that lived from the Middle East to southern Africa about 30 million years ago. It was originally believed to be a female hyrax due to its long, banana-curved lower jaws. However, researchers at the Duke Lemur Center have reassigned its sexual identity after examining the fossilized dental record.

The researchers concluded that the long lower jaws belonged to male Thyrohyrax, which had larger lower incisors than females. The males’ unusual jawbone also included a hollow chamber on each side, which may have been used to produce sound during courtship. If so, Thyrohyrax would have been the only known mammal with such a specialized vocal apparatus.

Despite its unique adaptations, Thyrohyrax was not a particularly successful species and died out about 30 million years ago. Its descendants do not possess the same jaw or chamber, suggesting that these traits were not advantageous for survival.

Bonobo: Berbagi Makanan dan Altruisme