Chimpanzees are better at solving resource dilemmas in larger, more tolerant groups

Despite being one of the most cooperative species on the planet, humans routinely fail to manage shared resources sustainably. We overfish from the oceans, burn fossil fuels, and over-prescribe antibiotics; behaviors that offer individualistic short-term benefits, but result in long-term collective negative outcomes. Studying our closest living relatives, the non-human great apes, can help us understand how human cooperation has evolved, and under which conditions cooperative sustainability tends to succeed and fail.