Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Social and Reproductive Tactics of Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Variegata)

多年来，研究人员一直在研究影响灵长类动物，特别是黑猩猩和蜘蛛猴的裂变-融合社会模式的机制。尽管已经确定了许多有希望的相关因素，但围绕每个因素的重要性以及这些因素中是否有任何一个在影响测距决策方面具有普遍性，仍存在争议。更重要的是，这些行为很少在遗传关联和生理学的背景下得到解决，这些参数是经常用于解释这些行为如何发展的理论的组成部分。虽然黑猩猩和蜘蛛猴传统上被认为是仅有的两种符合裂变-融合行为的经典模型的灵长类动物，但最近的证据表明，黑白相间的绒毛狐猴(Varecia Varegata)，一种不太复杂的灵长类动物，可能表现出类似的社交策略。这项研究将通过研究生态、行为和生物学因素对生活在马达加斯加拉诺马法纳国家公园的黑白褶皱狐猴的裂变-融合社会组织的影响来研究前面提到的机制。具体地说，这项研究将研究森林结构、栖息地质量、附属和攻击性社会互动、遗传关联性和生理健康如何影响黑白褶皱狐猴群落内的裂变-融合模式和社会关系。通过采用同时考虑生态、行为、遗传和健康状况影响的多变量方法，可能会出现一幅更综合的灵长类裂变-融合社会策略的图景。这项研究将首次记录生活在裂变-融合社会中的唯一狐猴表现出的社交和性策略。此外，这将是首次尝试将遗传相关性与狐猴的裂变-融合行为联系起来，这项任务最近才在黑猩猩和蜘蛛猴中得到解决。尽管裂变-融合社会性具有异质性，但来自更远亲关系的灵长类动物的数据将填补灵长类文献中的一个重大空白。有了这些数据，就有可能确定生活在这种流动的社会中的灵长类动物具有“普遍”重要性的机制。如果这项研究成功，那么就有可能建立模型来预测这种类型的社会组织应该在什么时候出现。这项研究也将具有重要的保护意义。关于遗传群落亲缘关系和扩散模式的信息将是这种极度濒危的灵长类动物的第一批可用信息，将是帮助与马达加斯加公园服务机构建立保护管理计划的不可或缺的部分。此外，这将是第一次记录野生狐猴健康的时间变化的研究，目前只有基线数据可用。由于许多人认为马达加斯加是世界上最优先保护的国家之一，拟议中的数据收集对保护工作至关重要。这项研究还将提供新的数据供公众使用；新开发的微卫星标记和序列数据将通过发表在同行评议的期刊上并将发布在GenBank上，而跨越总共四年的生物医学价值将通过MedArks数据库向动物园和大学提供。最后，但最重要的是，这项研究启动了马达加斯加当地社区与外国研究人员之间的对话，包括培训和就业机会，以及在公共论坛上举办教育讲习班。

For years, researchers have studied the mechanisms influencing fission-fusion social patterns in primates, particularly among chimpanzees and spider monkeys. Although a number of promising correlates have been identified, debate surrounds the importance of each, and whether any of these are 'universal' in their influence on ranging decisions. Even more importantly, these behaviors have rarely been addressed in the context of genetic relatedness and physiology, parameters which are integral to the theories often used to explain how such behaviors develop. Though chimpanzees and spider monkeys are traditionally considered the only two primates to fit the 'classic' model of fission-fusion behavior, recent evidence suggests that black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata), a less socially complex primate, may exhibit similar social strategies. This research will investigate mechanisms cited previously by examining the influences of ecological, behavioral and biological correlates on the fission-fusion social organization of black-and-white ruffed lemurs living in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Specifically, this research will address how forest structure, habitat quality, affiliative and aggressive social interactions, genetic relatedness, and physiological health influence the fission-fusion patterns and social relationships within a black-and-white ruffed lemur community. By employing a multivariate approach that simultaneously considers the effects of ecology, behavior, genetics and health status, a more integrative picture of primate fission-fusion social strategies may emerge.This study will be the first of its kind to document the social and sexual strategies exhibited by the only lemur living in a fission-fusion society. Additionally, this will be the first attempt to link genetic relatedness to fission-fusion behaviors in lemurs, a task that has only recently been addressed among chimpanzees and spider monkeys. Despite the heterogeneous nature of fission-fusion sociality, data from a more distantly related primate will fill a substantial gap in the primate literature. With these data, it may be possible to identify mechanisms of 'universal' importance amongst primates living within such fluid societies. Should this study succeed, it may then be possible to create models to predict when this type of social organization should be expected to arise.This research will also have important conservation implications. Information on genetic community relatedness and dispersal patterns will be the first available from this critically endangered primate, and will be integral to helping establish conservation management plans with Malagasy park services. Furthermore, this will be first study to document temporal variation in the health of wild lemurs, of which only baseline data are currently available. As many consider Madagascar to be among the world's top conservation priorities, the proposed data collection is critical to conservation efforts. This research will also contribute new data for public use; newly developed microsatellite markers and sequence data will be made available via publications in peer reviewed journals and will be posted on GenBank, while biomedical values spanning a total of four years will be made available to zoos and universities through the MedArks database. Lastly, but most importantly, this study has initiated dialogue between local Malagasy communities and foreign researchers, including training and employment opportunities, as well as educational workshops in a public forum.