Prey preferences of hominid groups

The common ancestor of humans diverged from our evolutionary genetic cousin the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes about six million years ago, resulting in unique hunting strategies. Over this evolutionary timeframe, humans have diverged and developed increasingly complex social structures and consistently refined technological innovations to hunt prey with ease, ultimately resulting in increased foraging success. These changes in human behaviour are likely to have led to variations in the preferences that hominids exhibit toward prey over time. Variations such as available prey species and prey body mass determine the energetic cost and benefit of each hunt with technological innovations and provide information on the key prey resources necessary for a species to persist. Using the Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) as a framework to assess hominid hunting, we analyse the prey preferences of chimpanzees (as a proxy for ancestral humans), Neanderthals, Anatomically Modern Humans Homo sapiens, and modern human hunter-gatherers. I searched the peer-reviewed and grey literature as well as developed international collaborations to source data on the diets of each of these taxa. The actual or relative abundance of prey at sites where the dietary data was collected enabled me to ascertain prey preferences – mimicking methods that have been extensively used in terrestrial carnivorans. I calculated Jacobs’ Selectivity Index for each species (sample ≥ 3) as a metric for preference and tested these values for significant preference or avoidance using t-tests or sign tests. These preferences reflect global preferences as opposed to site-specific preferences and I readily acknowledge that different species might be preferred at individual sites, in contrast to the global perspective provided here. I also determined the preferred and accessible prey body mass thresholds using segmented models and ran generalised linear models within a maximum likelihood framework to determine the drivers of preference for each hominid species studied. Each hominid species had a different set of variables that have been selected for throughout their evolution in developing prey preferences. Chimpanzees preferred prey ≤ 7.6 kg, significantly preferring red colobus monkey species where they both occur within same environment. Neanderthals significantly preferred species like mountain gazelle Gazella gazella and steppe bison Bison priscus weighing from 21-900 kg. Anatomically Modern Humans significantly preferred species such as swans, warthogs and undetermined bovids that weighed from 0.02 to 209 kg. Those people who continue to live traditional lifestyles today prefer hunting species that are > 2.5 kg, and significantly preferred sable antelope Hippotragus niger, Cape bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus, waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla, lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris, bohor reedbuck Redunca redunca, Peter's duiker Cephalophus callipygus, greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari, collared peccary Pecari tajacu, and common eland Taurotragus oryx. The nature of these studies provides a holistic blueprint for conservation management of prey species. Ensuring we have a firm understanding of the evolutionary picture has the potential to implement informed conservation measures, particularly for modern hunter-gatherers. Understanding the past and present predation of megafauna, leading to their extinction, is a cautionary tale for future human and wildlife existence. Predatory behaviour, to the point of extinction, continues in chimpanzee communities where red colobus are sympatric. Protecting prey species or bolstering prey species in situ allows for a holistic approach in conservation efforts for present and future hominids. Understanding the role of humans as apex predators and their prey preferences is fundamental in reshaping anthropocentric attitudes and behavioural impacts.