Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Comparing Capuchins and Coatis: What Can a Non-Primate Teach Us About Primate Socioecology?

将灵长类行为与生态学联系起来的模型(社会生态学模型)在一般性上可能是有限的，因为它们都是从现存的非人类灵长类发展而来的，并在其上进行了测试。如果我们要使用这些模型来理解灵长类化石和人类祖先的社会制度，就有必要测试这些模型是否对有关生殖、感觉和其他特征的假设是稳健的，这些假设在现存的灵长类动物和其他哺乳动物之间往往是不同的。灵长类社会生态模型的稳健性将通过比较陆生食肉动物环尾Coati(Nasua Nasua)和生活在同一栖息地的棕色卷尾猴(Cebus Apella)树栖灵长类来测试。这两个物种都有相似的摄食生态(水果和无脊椎动物)和群体规模，因此社会生态学模型预测它们的社会制度将是相似的。这项研究将调查考蒂斯与猴子的社会制度有何不同，因为1)生活在地面上而不是树上，2)主要依靠嗅觉而不是视力，以及3)生孩子与单身幼崽相比。这项研究将使用自然观察和对三组Coatis的控制摄食实验来确定这些差异对这两个物种的个体摄食率、联盟形成、食物发现和使用以及社会制度的影响。然后，这些数据将与之前记录的同一森林中卷尾猴的数据进行比较。这项研究的结果将阐明生态、感觉和生殖特征如何塑造哺乳动物社会行为的进化。智力优势：通过测试灵长类派生的非灵长类动物社会行为进化模型，这项研究将测试这些模型的稳健性。对这两个不同起源的物种进行比较，结合精心挑选的野外实验，可能会支持标准模型的普遍性。然而，任何发现的差异都可能表明，在将这些模型应用于非灵长类动物以及不具备当今大多数灵长类动物特有的一系列特征的灵长类动物时，都要谨慎。重要的是要认识到，灵长类化石(包括人类祖先)的社会制度可能不是现存物种社会制度的简单中介，而是呈现出新的特征或现有社会特征的新组合。更广泛的影响：这项研究将是第一次对南美Coati的生态和行为进行深入研究。这不仅将为了解哺乳动物的进化提供比较数据，也将为该物种的保护和管理提供重要数据。该项目将为几名美国和阿根廷学生提供热带生物学方面的培训机会。

Models relating primate behavior to ecology (socioecological models) may be limited in their generality, as they are both developed from and tested on living non-human primates. If we are to use these models to understand the social systems of fossil primates and human ancestors, it is necessary to test whether these models are robust to assumptions about reproductive, sensory, and other characters that often differ between living primates and other mammals. The robustness of primate socioecological models will be tested by comparing a terrestrial carnivore, the ring-tailed coati (Nasua nasua), to an arboreal primate, the brown capuchin monkey (Cebus apella), living in the same habitat. Both of these species have a similar feeding ecology (fruit and invertebrates) and group sizes, thus socioecological models predict that their social systems will be similar. This study will investigate how the social systems of coatis may differ from that of the monkeys because of 1) living on the ground vs. in trees, 2) relying mostly on smell vs. sight, and 3) having litters vs. single young. This study will use natural observations, and controlled feeding experiments on three groups of coatis to determine the impact these differences have on individual feeding rates, coalition formation, food discovery and use, and the social system of these two species. These data will then be compared to previously recorded data on capuchin monkeys in the same forest. The results of this study will shed light on how ecological, sensory, and reproductive traits shape the evolution of mammalian social behavior. Intellectual merit: By testing primate-derived models of the evolution of social behavior in a non-primate, this study will test the robustness of these models. The comparison of these two species of distinct origins, combined with carefully chosen field experiments, may uphold the generality of the standard models. However, any differences found may suggest cautions in applying these models both to non-primates as well as to primates that do not possess the particular suite of traits that characterize most primates today. It may be important to realize that the social systems of fossil primates (including human ancestors) may not be simple intermediates between those of living species, but present novel traits or novel combinations of existing social traits. Broader impacts: This study will be the first intensive study of ecology and behavior of the South American coati. It will provide not only comparative data for understanding the evolution of mammals, but important data for the conservation and management of this species. The project will provide training opportunities in tropical biology for several U.S. and Argentine students.