Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Cognitive Development in Bonobos and Chimpanzees

倭黑猩猩（Pan paniscus）和黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes）与人类有着同样的亲缘关系，但它们是人类和黑猩猩属的最后共同祖先（LCA）。倭黑猩猩与黑猩猩的区别被认为是幼态的，或者说是幼年的，这一假设的支持主要来自头骨形态，也来自倭黑猩猩行为的某些元素。目前尚不清楚倭黑猩猩是否也表现出相对于黑猩猩的认知幼态。这一假设将通过对倭黑猩猩和黑猩猩认知发展的研究来检验。这项拟议中的研究将系统地比较这两个物种的婴儿在以前用于人类和成年猿的各种认知任务上的表现。结果将告知假设倭黑猩猩经历了选择的一个广谱的幼态特征相对于他们的LCA与黑猩猩。更一般地说，这项工作将阐明最近猿类进化中发育参数如何变化，包括人类的哪些特征是独特的。这个建议包括原创性的研究，综合了人类学、进化生物学和发展心理学等不经常联系在一起的领域。研究结果将为人类认知和行为的进化、跨物种认知的比较个体发育以及发育时间变化对认知特征的影响提供深入了解。这项研究将在非洲猿类保护区进行，通过提供资金来照顾这些猿类，并在黑猩猩和倭黑猩猩的分布国提供就业机会，为保护作出贡献。保护区是一个关键的保护资源，为猿类提供了避难所，否则它们将成为肉食贸易的牺牲品。与刚果博士生的持续合作将增加猿类保护区作为研究场所的前景，当地学生可以在那里发展技能，使他们能够为关于人类进化和大型猿类保护的国际科学对话做出贡献。

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are equally related to humans but present contrasting models of the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and the genus Pan. Bonobos' distinctions from chimpanzees have been argued to be paedomorphic, or juvenilelike, with support for this hypothesis coming largely from cranial morphology but also from certain elements of bonobo behavior. It is currently unknown whether bonobos also exhibit cognitive paedomorphism relative to chimpanzees. This hypothesis will be tested by an investigation of cognitive development in bonobos and chimpanzees. The proposed research will systematically compare infants of both species on a variety of cognitive tasks previously utilized in humans and adult apes. Results will inform the hypothesis that bonobos have undergone selection for a broad spectrum of paedomorphic traits relative to their LCA with chimpanzees. More generally, this work will illuminate how developmental parameters have changed in recent ape evolution, including what features of humans are unique. This proposal consists of original research synthesizing areas that have not frequently been linked: anthropology, evolutionary biology, and developmental psychology. The results will provide insight into the evolution of human cognition and behavior, the comparative ontogeny of cognition across species, and the effects of shifts in developmental timing on cognitive traits. This research will be carried out at African ape sanctuaries, contributing to conservation by supplying funding to care for these apes and providing employment in range countries of chimpanzees and bonobos. Sanctuaries are a key conservation resource, providing refuge for apes that otherwise would have been casualties of the bushmeat trade. Ongoing collaboration with Congolese doctoral students will increase the prospects of ape sanctuaries as research sites where local students can develop skills that will allow them to contribute to international scientific dialogue on human evolution and great ape conservation.