Dissertation Research: Adaptive Significance of Male Parental Care in Tamarins (Saguinus geoffroyi)

合作行为是进化生物学中的一个重要问题，因为自然选择被认为有利于最大化个体基因传播的行为。 乔弗罗伊的绢毛猴（Saguinus geoffroyi）提供了一个这样的行为的例子：在这种小型灵长类动物中，一个繁殖雌性与两个雄性交配产生异卵双胞胎，雄性合作照顾婴儿。 护理主要包括携带双胞胎，体重为成人体重的17%，为期10周。 考虑到雄性可能会照顾不属于自己的幼崽，而这种照顾又是如此昂贵，那么帮助动物的好处是什么呢？研究将把对野生绢毛猴群体的联合收割机观察与DNA分析结合起来，以了解男性护理如何与家庭关系和婴儿的亲子关系有关。 这一方法将有助于检验目前关于男性父母照顾的好处的三个有争议的假设：（i）通过子女的父亲身份获得的直接利益（ii）帮助亲属获得的间接利益（iii）该项目将测试关于灵长类系统中合作行为的假设，该系统与人类相似，并可能为我们自己的进化提供新的见解。合作行为 关于这种濒危灵长类动物的交配系统和生态学的数据将有助于国际保护工作。 目前的研究工作涉及对巴拿马大学学生的培训和指导。 与地方当局和社区保持积极沟通，以传播知识并让更多公众参与保护工作。 该项目由国际科学和工程办公室提供部分资金。

Cooperative behavior is an important question in evolutionary biology because natural selection is thought to favor behaviors that maximize the transmission of an individual's genes. Geoffroy's tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi) provides an example of such behaviors: in this small primate a single breeding female mates with two males to produce fraternal twins and the males cooperate in caring for the infants. Care primarily consists of carrying the twins, which weigh 17% of adult body mass, for 10 weeks. Given that males may be caring for young that are not their own and such care is so costly, what are the benefits to the helping animal?Research will combine observations of wild tamarin groups with DNA analyses to understand how male care relates to family relationships and paternity of infants. This approach will allow testing of three currently debated hypotheses regarding the benefits of male parental care: (i) direct benefits through paternity of offspring (ii) indirect benefits of helping kin (iii) delayed benefits via inheritance of a breeding position.This project will test hypotheses regarding cooperative behavior in a primate system that has shown similarities to humans and may provide new insights into the evolution of our own cooperative behavior. Data on the mating system and ecology of this endangered primate will assist international conservation efforts. Research currently involves training and mentoring of students in the University of Panama. Active communication with local authorities and communities is maintained to disseminate knowledge and involve the greater public in conservation. This project is funded in part by the Office of International Science and Engineering.