Dissertation Research: Competition Among Females of Mixed Ancestry in a Baboon Hybrid Zone, Awash National Park, Ethiopia

阿瓦什国家公园位于埃塞俄比亚中部的裂谷，是一个独特的混合狒狒种群的家园。 这个种群是分布广泛的橄榄狒狒（Papio hamadryas anubis）和半沙漠居住的hamadryas狒狒（Papio h. hamadryas）。 虽然这两种狒狒的“形式”有非常不同的形态特征，生态偏好和社会结构，但当接触允许时，它们会产生可繁殖的杂交后代。 这种杂交区可以看作是研究相对杂交的天然实验室。 健身和调查是否存在基因流动的障碍。研究人员将通过观察雌性狒狒的行为及其激素的影响来评估它们的相对适应性。 行为将被系统地记录，以确定1）雌性竞争的性质，2）这种行为所产生的成本，以及3）每个雌性的行为与父母形式相似的程度。目标群体是一个高度杂交的群体，根据最近对特定人群遗传标记的调查，具有阿努比斯和hamadryas血统的女性比例大致相等。 对卵巢激素的密切监测将用于指示观察者可能隐藏的异常生殖生理学情况，例如排卵失败、妊娠失败或妊娠丢失。 皮质醇和睾酮也将在行为观察的背景下进行监测，以检查与竞争和侵略相关的生理成本。因此，该项目解决了行为如何可能受到遗产的影响，反过来影响生理和生殖结果的混合区。

The Awash National Park, situated in the Rift Valley of central Ethiopia, is home to a unique population of hybrid baboons. This population is the outcome of a geographic overlap between the widespread olive baboon (Papio hamadryas anubis) and the semi-desert dwelling hamadryas baboon (Papio h. hamadryas). Although these two baboon "forms" have very different morphological features, ecological preferences, and social structures, when contact allows it, they produce fertile hybrid offspring. Such hybrid zones may be seen as natural laboratories in which to examine relative hybrid fitness and to investigate whether barriers to gene flow exist . The researchers will evaluate the relative fitness of female hybrid baboons by observing behavior and its hormonal consequences. Behaviors will be systematically recorded to determine 1) the nature of female competition, 2) the costs incurred by such behavior, and 3) the extent to which each female's behavior resembles that of the parental forms. The target group is a highly hybridized group which, according to a recent survey of population specific genetic markers, exhibits approximately equal proportions of females with both anubis and hamadryas ancestry. Close monitoring of ovarian hormones will be used to indicate instances of abnormal reproductive physiology otherwise hidden to an observer, such as failure to ovulate, failure to conceive, or pregnancy loss. Cortisol and testosterone will also be monitored in the context of behavioral observations to examine the physiological costs associated with competition and aggression. The project thus addresses how behavior may be affected by heritage, in turn influencing physiology and reproductive outcome in the hybrid zone.