Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Kinship and Multi-level Groups: Examining the genetic and social structure of the gelada (Theropithecus gelada)

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Group living confers a variety of benefits to individuals within the group, including predator detection, defense and high rates of food acquisition. Animals that form groups with close genetic relatives may also benefit from opportunities to help kin at minimal cost, thus increasing the helper's indirect fitness. Individuals in kin groups also gain direct fitness advantages through decreased within group aggression, lowered risk of infanticide, and coalitionary support. However, much of what we know about the effects of kinship comes from relatively simple, single level social systems. We know very little about how kinship works in complex, multi-level societies like those found in modern humans. Moreover, until recently only long-term studies have had the pedigree data to map maternal relatives. Now, genetic techniques that combine non-invasive sampling with PCR-based genotyping allow researchers to evaluate the interaction between relatedness and social systems in species where relationship data are lacking. This project applies these new genetic techniques and detailed behavioral observation to the unusual, highly complex social system of gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada). Geladas live in large, multi-level social systems resembling those of many human hunter-gatherer societies. Gelada social structure appears to be considerably more complex than that of their close phylogenetic relatives, the well-studied baboons. Therefore this research provides important new data on kinship-behavior interactions and the evolution of complex societies in mammals. This project, in collaboration with the University of Michigan Gelada Research Project (UMGRP), offers both genetic and behavioral information on geladas, which are listed as "rare" by the World Conservation Union. The project employs Ethiopian scientists and rangers, and established both multi-intuitional and interdisciplinary collaborations. The co-PI participates in community outreach lectures to Ethiopian guides, tourists, and local K-12 students, as well as giving presentations to elementary school students in the Northeast U.S.