Dissertation Research: Female Bonding and Tolerance Among Unrelated Adults of Disparate Rank in Captive Rhesus Monkeys

这项研究将调查不同等级的无关成年恒河猴雌性之间的亲缘关系。在送餐前、送餐期间和送餐后，将对个别重点动物进行跟踪，并对所有正在进食的动物进行扫描。其目的是调查为什么一些下属能够获得首选的新鲜食物。特别令人感兴趣的是，在进食的情况下，下属是否有选择地加入他们的主要附属机构。这些数据，加上研究人员之前收集的数据，将揭示频繁关联的配对随着时间的推移的稳定性。这项研究将增进我们对从属动物如何在它们被支配的群体中生存的理解，以及对竞争性和非竞争性进食的社会方面的理解。这些结果将与当前的群体纽带和互惠利他主义理论产生关联。

This study will investigate affiliated relationships between unrelated adult rhesus monkey females of disparate rank. Individual focal animals will be followed before, during, and after food delivery, together with scans of all animals which are feeding. The purpose is to investigate why some subordinates gain access to preferred fresh food. Of particular interest is whether subordinates selectively join their dominant affiliates in feeding situations. These data, together with data previously collected by the investigators will reveal the stability over time of frequently affiliating pairs. This study will advance our understanding of how subordinate animals survive in a group where they are dominated, and of the social aspects of competitive and noncompetitive feeding. These results will bear on current theories of both group bonding and reciprocal altruism.