Doctoral Dissertation Research: Human cultural and ecological influences on foraging and social relationships in primates

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To fully understand how humans impact the environment and influence species change, it is necessary to apply a holistic perspective that views humans as members of an ecological community and recognize that human impacts on the environment are intimately tied to cultural beliefs. In this project, the researchers examine how human attitudes and behavior influence foraging and social relationships of chacma baboons that range through a mixed-use landscape that has been shaped by human culture. People's attitudes towards and interactions with the environment and animals are formed by a combination of factors, including personal experience, demographic context, and cultural knowledge transmission (e.g., parent to child). Variation in attitudes among different people can either promote conflict or facilitate existence with the baboons. When humans alter the environment, they impact food availability and predation risk for baboons. The impact of predation risk on nonhuman primate sociality, particularly risk stemming from human ecological activities and cultural beliefs, could have significant consequences for baboon relationship quality, reproduction, and survival. This research will support primate conservation efforts and student mentoring and training. This project uses an integrative methodology including ethnographic interview techniques, phenological assessment, and baboon behavioral observations to examine the influence of human attitudes and behavior on chacma baboon (Papio hamadryas ursinus) predator sensitive foraging and social relationships. Results from this research will inform our understanding of community ecology by providing data on the complex interactions between humans and nonhuman primates and provide insight into how people and nonhuman primates mutually influence each other's social and ecological landscapes. The broader impacts of this research will result in new collaborations, research methodology training and mentoring for students and collaborators, and scientific data to support conservation and management of human-baboon interactions.