The Pan African Programme: the Cultured Chimpanzee ('PanAf') has collected data on over 40 wild chimpanzee communities from 2010 to 2020 using a standardized protocol. All chimpanzee communities were unhabituated to researchers at the time of data collection therefore remote camera-trap devices were the primary method for recording observations. Using this approach, the PanAf identified new behavioural variants in wild chimpanzees and has recently described unprecedented cultural complexity in community-specific termite fishing techniques. By combining PanAf data with what we already know about group-specific traditions in chimpanzees, we show that largescale environmental variability, both in recent and historical time, is associated with higher behavioural and cultural diversity in chimpanzees. We further demonstrate that this diversity is threatened due to increasing anthropogenic disturbance. Combined, this research highlights the need for widespread conservation efforts to encompass a variety of wild chimpanzee populations if we are to protect the species in its entirety.

Dr Ammie Kalan is a primatologist who specializes in wild great apes and recently started the Great Ape Behaviour (GAB) Lab at the University of Victoria. Her research focusses on great ape tool use, culture and communication and improving remote methods used in the field, namely passive acoustic monitoring and camera-trapping.