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大裂谷，是一种独特的杂交狒狒种群的家园。这一种群是分布广泛的橄榄狒狒(Papio Hamadryas Anubis)和半沙漠栖息的Hamadryas Baboon(Papio H.hamadryas)地理重叠的结果。尽管这两种形式的狒狒具有非常不同的形态特征、生态偏好和社会结构，但在接触允许的情况下，它们会产生可生育的杂交后代。这样的杂交区可以被视为天然的实验室，在这里可以检查相对的杂交适合度，并调查是否存在阻碍基因流动的障碍。研究人员将通过观察行为及其荷尔蒙影响来评估雌性杂交狒狒的相对适合性。行为将被系统地记录下来，以确定1)雌性竞争的性质，2)这种行为所产生的代价，以及3)每一只雌性的行为与父母的行为相似的程度。目标群体是高度杂交的群体，根据最近对种群特有遗传标记的调查，具有Anubis和Hamadryas血统的女性比例大致相同。对卵巢激素的密切监测将被用来指示以其他方式对观察者隐藏的生殖生理异常的情况，如排卵失败、受孕失败或妊娠丢失。皮质醇和睾酮也将在行为观察的背景下进行监测，以检查与竞争和攻击性相关的生理成本。因此，该项目解决了遗传如何影响行为，进而影响杂交区的生理和生殖结果。

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.