Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Alternative Mating Strategies: "Following" in Male Olive Baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis)

行为生态学家发展了一种理论，认为不同的交配策略允许个体根据个体的条件（例如，体型或统治地位）或环境条件改变特征的表达，从而最大限度地提高生殖成功率。然而，人们对个体如何根据不同的条件采取不同的策略知之甚少。橄榄狒狒（Papio hamadryas anubis）雄性狒狒的主要交配策略是众所周知的性伴侣。这种伴侣关系的特点是空间接近，雄性保护他接近雌性的机会，以及雄性和发情（有生育能力）的雌性之间相对较高的交配率。关于橄榄树狒狒交配系统的这种观点，人们很少意识到的是，这种交配对通常由一到八个“追随者”雄性狒狒陪同。这些雄性与交配的配偶保持不同程度的接近，与其他“追随者”和交配的配偶互动。这个项目的目的是研究“跟随”战略的进化意义。第一个目标是确定雄性选择交配策略的成本和收益。第二个目标是研究雄性条件对替代交配策略表达的影响。第三个目标是确定女性是否影响这些策略。将在肯尼亚莱基皮亚区对两组已习惯的橄榄狒狒进行为期18个月的行为数据收集。活动和社会行为将被记录在10分钟的配对配对和任何相关的“追随者”的焦点样本。将遗传亲子分析与这些行为数据相结合，将检验“跟随”的好处。目前，我们对替代策略的理解存在空白：非哺乳动物分类群得到了很好的研究，并为相关理论提供了基础。然而，很少有来自非人类灵长类动物的相关详细数据，这些数据特别令人感兴趣，因为这一分类群比非哺乳动物分类群表现出相对更大程度的行为灵活性。因此，在非人类灵长类动物中表达替代策略提供了一个纳入更有意义的行为灵活分类群的机会。此外，替代策略被认为在整个人类进化过程中很重要，并有助于解释当代人类群体中交配行为的变化。因此，有令人信服的理由进一步仔细研究非人类灵长类动物，以扩大目前有限的动物模型基础，促进对这种策略进化的理解。

Behavioral ecologists have developed theory arguing that alternative mating strategies allow individuals to maximize reproductive success by varying the expression of traits in light of the individual's condition (e.g., body size or dominance status) or environmental circumstances. Little is known, however, about how individuals may pursue different strategies that depend upon varying conditions. The primary mating strategy of olive baboon (Papio hamadryas anubis) males is the well known sexual consortship. Such consortships are characterized by close spatial proximity, male defense of his access to the female, and relatively high rates of copulation between a male and estrous (fertile) female. What is less often appreciated about this view of the olive baboon mating system is that such consorting pairs are typically accompanied by a retinue of one to eight 'follower' males. These males maintain variable proximity to the consorting pair, interacting with both other 'followers' and the consorting pair. The aim of this project is to examine the evolutionary significance of the 'following' strategy. The first objective is to determine the costs and benefits of alternative mating strategies for males. The second objective is to examine the impact of male condition on the expression of alternative mating strategies. The third objective is to determine if females influence these strategies. Behavioral data will be collected on two habituated groups of olive baboons in Laikipia District, Kenya for 18 months. Activity and social behavior will be recorded during ten minute focal samples of consorting pairs and any associated 'followers'. Synthesizing genetic paternity analysis with these behavioral data will examine the benefits of 'following'.Currently, there is a gap in our understanding of alternative strategies: nonmammalian taxa are well studied and provide the foundation of relevant theory. There are, however, very few relevant detailed data from nonhuman primates which are of particular interest as this taxon exhibits relatively greater degrees of behavioral flexibility than the nonmammalian taxa. Therefore, the expression of alternative strategies in nonhuman primates provides an opportunity to incorporate more meaningfully behaviorally flexible taxa. In addition, alternative strategies are thought to be important throughout human evolution and help explain variation in mating behavior in contemporary human populations. Thus, there are compelling reasons to scrutinize further the nonhuman primates, in order to expand a currently limited base of animal models that facilitates understanding of the evolution of such strategies.