{"id":{"repo_id":"buffalo","oai_identifier":"oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/86810"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/buffalo/oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/86810","repository":{"repo_id":"buffalo","name":"Buffalo","base_url":"https://ubir.buffalo.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Multiple Play Signals in Captive Immature Western Lowland Gorillas","abstract":"Ph.D.","abstract_html":"Ph.D.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Weigel, Erin; 0000-0001-7211-5833"],"institution":"State University of New York at Buffalo","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Berman, Carol","Evolution, Ecology and Behavior"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-02-25T23:23:00Z","date_published":"2025-02-25T23:23:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:37Z","subjects":["zoology","evolution and development"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10477/86810","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Berman, Carol","Evolution, Ecology and Behavior"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Weigel, Erin; 0000-0001-7211-5833"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-02-25T23:23:00Z","2020","2020-07-16 15:50:10"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["State University of New York at Buffalo"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["zoology","evolution and development"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/86810"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Ph.D.","Play is one of the most complex forms of interaction among social animals. It is often notoriously fast moving, flexible and variable in form and temporal sequence, incorporating movements that are seen in other more serious contexts (e.g. predatory or agonistic). As such, it is essential that players are able to convey playful intentions through signals to avoid negative responses from others (e.g., fearful, aggressive). Although the play face is the most common and well-established play signal in nonhuman primates that functions to invite play and convey a playful intent, recent evidence indicates that some species display repertoires of play signals that may have more specific meanings related to specific aspects of play. Gorillas have a particularly large repertoire of gestural and body signals, many of which are seen within the play context. However, no systematic study has been done differentiating such signals from actual social play and similar signals seen in other contexts. Furthermore, a large play signal repertoire raises questions regarding their use; do they all communicate merely a playful intent and play initiation, or do certain signals perhaps contain more specific information? Likewise, while many studies have compared the repertoires and/or usage of great ape gestures across study groups, no such study has been done comparing the play signals of gorillas and their use across multiple groups. Such information could have implications for the debated topic of signal acquisition in great apes. My dissertation study therefore aims to examine the play signals and their specific usage beyond simply being employed in the play context to shed light on why such a large repertoire exists and compare such signals across captive groups. Specifically, my dissertation consists of three aims: to 1) identify gestural signals in addition to the play face in captive immature gorillas living in four zoos, 2) test whether certain play signals function to initiate particular types of play and 3) explore the variation within and between groups in signal use. The findings have the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the nature, flexibility and specificity of gestural communication in gorillas and possibly the method of play signal acquisition in gorillas. Data were collected from four zoos during the summers of 2015 (Buffalo Zoo), 2017 (Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoos (Chicago)) and 2018 (Cincinnati Zoo). Using all-occurrences sampling, I observed and videotaped 800 hours (200 per zoo) of play behavior and signaling of 9 female and 1 male immature captive gorillas (ages 2-5)...","**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact library@buffalo.edu. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.**"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Multiple Play Signals in Captive Immature Western Lowland Gorillas"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Berman, Carol","Evolution, Ecology and Behavior"],"dc:creator":["Weigel, Erin; 0000-0001-7211-5833"],"dc:date":["2025-02-25T23:23:00Z","2020","2020-07-16 15:50:10"],"dc:description":["Ph.D.","Play is one of the most complex forms of interaction among social animals. It is often notoriously fast moving, flexible and variable in form and temporal sequence, incorporating movements that are seen in other more serious contexts (e.g. predatory or agonistic). As such, it is essential that players are able to convey playful intentions through signals to avoid negative responses from others (e.g., fearful, aggressive). Although the play face is the most common and well-established play signal in nonhuman primates that functions to invite play and convey a playful intent, recent evidence indicates that some species display repertoires of play signals that may have more specific meanings related to specific aspects of play. Gorillas have a particularly large repertoire of gestural and body signals, many of which are seen within the play context. However, no systematic study has been done differentiating such signals from actual social play and similar signals seen in other contexts. Furthermore, a large play signal repertoire raises questions regarding their use; do they all communicate merely a playful intent and play initiation, or do certain signals perhaps contain more specific information? Likewise, while many studies have compared the repertoires and/or usage of great ape gestures across study groups, no such study has been done comparing the play signals of gorillas and their use across multiple groups. Such information could have implications for the debated topic of signal acquisition in great apes. My dissertation study therefore aims to examine the play signals and their specific usage beyond simply being employed in the play context to shed light on why such a large repertoire exists and compare such signals across captive groups. Specifically, my dissertation consists of three aims: to 1) identify gestural signals in addition to the play face in captive immature gorillas living in four zoos, 2) test whether certain play signals function to initiate particular types of play and 3) explore the variation within and between groups in signal use. The findings have the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the nature, flexibility and specificity of gestural communication in gorillas and possibly the method of play signal acquisition in gorillas. Data were collected from four zoos during the summers of 2015 (Buffalo Zoo), 2017 (Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoos (Chicago)) and 2018 (Cincinnati Zoo). Using all-occurrences sampling, I observed and videotaped 800 hours (200 per zoo) of play behavior and signaling of 9 female and 1 male immature captive gorillas (ages 2-5)...","**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact library@buffalo.edu. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.**"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/86810"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["State University of New York at Buffalo"],"dc:rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"dc:subject":["zoology","evolution and development"],"dc:title":["Multiple Play Signals in Captive Immature Western Lowland Gorillas"],"dc:type":["Text","Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:37Z"}