Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Hormonal Correlates of Male Chimpanzee Behavior

对灵长类动物行为背后的生理机制的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Ngogo的一个异常庞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，从而增加这一知识体系。在12个月的野外工作中，将收集受试者的行为观察结果，同时从非侵入性收集的受试者尿液中检测激素。这些数据将被结合起来，以解决关于黑猩猩生活中两个重要方面——攻击性和压力——的荷尔蒙基础和后果的几个问题。繁殖攻击性会影响雄性黑猩猩的睾丸激素水平吗？对发情女性的竞争和社区间的攻击是否会提高男性的睾酮水平？什么因素影响应激激素皮质醇的分泌？皮质醇是在应激事件（如领土边界巡逻和狩猎事件）的反应中被调动的吗？个性差异是否影响男性对压力的易感性？应对机制和社会支持是否会降低皮质醇水平？Ngogo黑猩猩群体的庞大规模将提供大量的雄性样本，并为验证旨在解决这些问题的假设提供了理想的机会。这项研究将在两个重要方面促进科学知识的发展。首先，研究结果将通过阐明调节人类行为的激素机制，提高我们对人类近亲的理解。其次，这项研究的发现有望揭示我们自身行为的进化。人类和黑猩猩拥有相同的激素，并有一些独特的行为，比如致命的领土侵略和由不相关的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深入的见解。最后，这项研究的一个重要结果将有助于保护黑猩猩这种高度濒危的物种。实地研究活动将保护这一地区，这一地区拥有极高的黑猩猩密度，也是东非最后的热带森林之一。

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.