Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Hormonal Correlates of Male Chimpanzee Behavior

博士论文改进：雄性黑猩猩行为的激素相关性

• 批准号: 0752637
• 负责人: John Mitani
• 金额: $ 1.48万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-05-01 至 2009-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0752637&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Hormonal; Correlates

Studies of the physiological mechanisms underlying primate behavior are a major focus of current research. Considerable theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to investigating the hormonal bases and consequences of social behavior. This project will add to this body of knowledge through an integrated field and laboratory study of the behavioral endocrinology of male chimpanzees living in an unusually large community at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Behavioral observations of subjects will be collected during 12 months of fieldwork, while hormones will be assayed from urine collected non-invasively from them. These data will be combined to address several questions regarding the hormonal bases and consequences of two significant aspects of chimpanzee life, aggression and stress. Does reproductive aggression affect male chimpanzee testosterone levels? Does competition over estrous females and inter-community aggression elevate male testosterone? What factors affect secretion of the stress hormone, cortisol? Is cortisol mobilized in response to stressful events, such as territorial boundary patrols and hunting episodes? Do individual differences in personality influence male susceptibility to stress? Do coping mechanisms and social support reduce cortisol levels? The extraordinary size of the Ngogo chimpanzee community will provide large samples of males and an ideal opportunity to test hypotheses designed to address these questions. This research will advance scientific knowledge in two important ways. First, results will improve our understanding of our closest living relatives by clarifying the hormonal mechanisms regulating their behavior. Second, findings from this research promise to shed light on the evolution of our own behavior. Humans and chimpanzees possess identical hormones and share several unique behaviors, such as lethal territorial aggression and social support provided by unrelated individuals. By determining whether similar physiological mechanisms underlie these behaviors, this research will provide insights into their evolution. Finally, an important consequence of this research will be to aid the conservation of chimpanzees, a highly endangered species. Field research activities will safeguard an area that supports an extremely high density of chimpanzees and one of the last remnants of tropical forest in East Africa.

对灵长类动物行为的生理机制的研究是当前研究的一个主要焦点。大量的理论和实证工作致力于研究荷尔蒙基础和社会行为的后果。该项目将通过对生活在乌干达基巴莱国家公园 Ngogo 异常大社区中的雄性黑猩猩的行为内分泌学进行综合实地和实验室研究，丰富这一知识体系。将在 12 个月的实地工作中收集受试者的行为观察，同时将从非侵入性收集的尿液中检测激素。这些数据将被结合起来解决有关荷尔蒙基础以及黑猩猩生活的两个重要方面（攻击性和压力）的后果的几个问题。生殖攻击会影响雄性黑猩猩的睾酮水平吗？对发情女性的竞争和群体间的攻击是否会提高男性睾酮水平？哪些因素影响应激激素皮质醇的分泌？皮质醇是否会被调动以应对压力事件，例如领地边界巡逻和狩猎事件？性格的个体差异会影响男性对压力的敏感性吗？应对机制和社会支持会降低皮质醇水平吗？ Ngogo 黑猩猩群落规模巨大，将提供大量雄性样本，并为检验旨在解决这些问题的假设提供了理想的机会。这项研究将以两个重要的方式推进科学知识的发展。首先，研究结果将通过阐明调节我们在世的近亲行为的荷尔蒙机制来增进我们对他们的了解。其次，这项研究的结果有望揭示我们自身行为的演变。人类和黑猩猩拥有相同的激素，并有一些独特的行为，例如致命的领土侵略和由无关个体提供的社会支持。通过确定这些行为是否存在相似的生理机制，这项研究将为它们的进化提供见解。最后，这项研究的一个重要成果将是帮助保护高度濒危物种黑猩猩。实地研究活动将保护一个黑猩猩密度极高的地区，也是东非仅存的热带森林之一。