Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ranging Behavior, Group Cohesiveness, and Patch Use in Chiropotes Satanas Chiropotes

过去二十年来，摄食竞争、灵长类动物群体规模和生态条件之间的关系一直是深入研究的主题。 具体来说，研究人员重点关注食物资源的分配和可用性对分组模式和测距行为的影响。 几种灵长类动物依靠亚群来减少群体内的摄食竞争，并且亚群的大小被认为与摄食斑块的大小高度相关。 然而，在之前的灵长类行为生态学研究中，量化灵长类动物利用的摄食资源的分布和质量一直很困难。本研究旨在阐明食物资源的分布和可用性对棕须萨基手足手足类的分组模式和测距行为的影响。 长须萨基犬是依靠分组来缓解摄食竞争的几种灵长类动物之一。 这些灵长类动物在研究中表现出多种不同的群体分裂模式。 不幸的是，手足动物属的成员是研究最少的新热带灵长类动物之一，而且在大片未受干扰的低地雨林中进行的长期研究也很少。 本研究的主要目的是使用地理信息系统 (GIS) 测试将 Chiropotes satanas chiropotes 的群体裂变模式和测距行为与资源分布和可用性相关的假设。 GIS 将用于量化胡须萨基鱼摄食斑块的大小和质量，以评估胡须萨基鱼通过群体裂变缓解摄食竞争的程度。 这项研究在灵长类行为生态学和保护生物学领域具有学术价值。 通过使用GIS，本研究将通过强大的新技术检验生态变量对灵长类社会性影响的基本理论。 这项研究将是首批使用 GIS 来量化食物斑块和群体裂变的研究之一，并将为进一步研究此类关系提供模型。 此外，这项研究将增进我们对圭亚那这个非常有趣但描述很少的国家相对未被研究的胡须清酒的了解。 圭亚那的雨林是世界上受干扰最少的雨林之一，许多地区都有八种灵长类动物的群落。 这项研究收集的自然历史数据将揭示灵长类动物对不同生态条件的反应方式，并有助于完善灵长类动物社会性决定因素的理论。 最后，这项研究将鼓励保护热带世界最不受干扰的地区之一。

The relationship between feeding competition, primate group size, and ecological conditions has been the subject of intensive study for the past two decades. Specifically, researchers have focused on the effect of the distribution and availability of food resources on grouping patterns and ranging behavior. Several species of primates rely on subgrouping to reduce feeding competition within the group, and subgroup size is thought to be highly correlated with the size of feeding patches. However, quantifying the distribution and quality of feeding resources utilized by primates has been difficult in previous studies of primate behavioral ecology. This study aims to clarify the effect of the distribution and availability of food resources on grouping patterns and ranging behavior in the brown bearded saki Chiropotes satanas chiropotes. Bearded sakis are one of several primate species that rely on subgrouping to mitigate feeding competition. These primates exhibit a number of different patterns of group fissioning across studies. Unfortunately, members of the genus Chiropotes are among the least studied neotropical primates and few long term studies have been conducted in large tracts of undisturbed, lowland rainforest. The primary objective of this research is to test hypotheses relating group fissioning patterns and ranging behavior in Chiropotes satanas chiropotes to resource distribution and availability using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS will be used to quantify the size and quality of bearded saki feeding patches to assess the extent to which bearded sakis mitigate feeding competition through group fissioning. This research has intellectual merit in the fields of primate behavioral ecology and conservation biology. Through the use of GIS, this study will test fundamental theories of the influence of ecological variables on primate sociality with a powerful new technology. This study will be one of the first to use GIS to quantify food patch and group fissioning, and will provide a model for further studies on such relationships. In addition, this research will enhance our understanding of the relatively unstudied bearded saki in the highly interesting, yet poorly described country of Guyana. Guyana's rainforests are among the least disturbed in the world and many areas support communities of eight species of primates. The natural history data collected in this study will shed light on the ways primates respond to different ecological conditions and help refine theories of the determinants of primate sociality. Finally, this research will encourage the conservation of one of the most undisturbed regions in the tropical world.