DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Female Fitness Consequences of Polyandry in an Orb-Web Spider, Argiope Trifasciata

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Rubenstein-Sundaresan Doctoral Dissertation Improvement GrantIndividual Behavior and Female Associations in Fission-Fusion EquidSocietiesAnimal societies result from the sum of all relationships that develop amongindividuals within populations. Many studies have demonstrated howenvironmental circumstances, both ecological and social, influence the benefitsand costs associated with the various behavioral options available toindividuals and thus how they these factors structure animal societies. Yet inspecies where potential relationships are many and those that form are fluid,the link between environmental features and the relationships that develop arepoorly understood. This project explores how ecological features, such as thedistribution of food, water and predator-free sites, together with thedemographic and social features, such as population density and sex ratio,shape individual relationships in the Grevy's zebra and wild ass, twoevolutionarily closely related species exhibiting 'fissioning' and 'fusing'social systems. We have developed a novel model that predicts rules for theformation and breakdown of relationships in such 'open-membership' societiesand forecasts the impact these rules will have on population-wide socialpatterns and processes. Data will be gathered on two endangered equid species,Grevy's zebra and Onagers, from four sites. The four sites provide naturalvariation in the key environmental and social forces and will serve as an idealsystem for testing the predictions of our model. The study will also provideuseful information needed to improve conservation strategies for these speciesby educating students and the local populace and by demonstrating to naturalresource managers how fundamental behavioral research can assist in designingeffective management plans.