Dissertation Research: Benefits and Costs of Sociality and Patterns of Social Interaction in White Faced Capuchins

我们并不清楚群居生活对灵长类动物的好处和代价。 性别差异可能发挥了作用。 在大多数灵长类物种中，雌性终生留在纳塔尔群体中，而雄性则在成熟前就分散了。 考虑到这种女性束缚系统的普遍性，男性群体成员对女性的好处和代价是什么？ 每群雄性的数量在灵长类物种之间和内部都有所不同，但我们不知道为什么。 这篇论文将研究在哥斯达黎加这样一个雌性灵长类社会系统中社会性的一些短期利益和成本。 群体生活的主要好处是保护捕食者和改善对资源的获取，而主要的代价是群体内的竞争。 这项研究将比较雄性和雌性与捕食者防御、资源防御和资源竞争相关的特定行为。 研究结果将与灵长类动物社会性的进化解释有关。 来自该项目的信息将增强我们对灵长类动物社会性及其适应意义的理解。 该项目还将培养一名非常有前途的年轻科学家。

We do not clearly understand what the benefits and costs of group living are for primates generally. Sex differences may play a role. In most primate species, females remain in their natal groups for life, whereas males disperse prior to maturity. Given the prevalence of this female-bonded system, what are the benefits and costs of male group members for females? The number of males per group varies between and within primate species, but we do not know why. This dissertation project will examine some short-term benefits and costs of sociality in such a female-bonded primate social system in Costa Rica. The main benefits proposed for group living are predator protection and improved access to resources, while tha main cost is presumed to be within-group competition. The study will compare specific behaviors associated with predator defense, resource defense, and resource competition in males and females. Findings will be related to evolutionary explanations of primate sociality. Information from the project will enhance our understanding of sociality and its adaptive significance in primates. The project will also train a very promising young scientist.