Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Hormonal Correlates of Male Chimpanzee Behavior

灵长类动物行为的生理机制研究是当前研究的一个主要焦点。相当多的理论和实证工作一直致力于调查荷尔蒙的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恩戈戈的一个异常大的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来增加这方面的知识。将在12个月的实地考察期间收集受试者的行为观察结果，同时将从非侵入性收集的尿液中测定激素。这些数据将结合起来，以解决几个问题的激素基础和后果的两个重要方面的黑猩猩生活，侵略和压力。生殖攻击会影响雄性黑猩猩的睾丸激素水平吗？对发情期雌性的竞争和群体间的攻击是否会提高雄性睾丸激素？哪些因素会影响应激激素皮质醇的分泌？皮质醇是否在应对紧张事件（如领土边界巡逻和狩猎事件）时被调动？个性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黑猩猩群落的巨大规模将提供大量的雄性样本，并为测试旨在解决这些问题的假设提供理想的机会。这项研究将在两个重要方面促进科学知识。首先，研究结果将通过澄清调节其行为的激素机制来提高我们对我们最近的亲属的理解。其次，这项研究的发现有望揭示我们自己行为的演变。人类和黑猩猩拥有相同的荷尔蒙，并分享一些独特的行为，例如致命的领土侵略和由无关个体提供的社会支持。通过确定这些行为背后是否存在类似的生理机制，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结果将是帮助保护黑猩猩，一个高度濒危的物种。实地研究活动将保护一个黑猩猩密度极高的地区，这是东非热带森林的最后遗迹之一。

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.