Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social Environment and Nutrition in Female Monkeys

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Social behavior influences an animal's ability to access foods that contain adequate nutrition for growth and reproduction. During the course of primate (including human) evolution, sociality was important for both preventing and helping individuals reach their nutritional goals when faced with competition from within their own species and other species. Consequently, the influence of sociality on nutrition, and vice versa, has implications for characterizing the evolution of human diet and for testing theories about primate socioecology. To explore these issues, this project will study sociality and nutrition in female redtail monkeys in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The broader impacts include training minority and female students in primate ecology and conservation, fostering international relationships and collaborations, and supporting public and student outreach about primate diversity and conservation. This dissertation project will investigate the impact of sociality on the nutrition of female redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). Females may face a tradeoff between (1) competition with other group members, potentially in the context of dominance hierarchies, and with other monkey species, and (2) their own nutritional goals. The investigators will examine the nutrient intake and balancing of females in three groups of monkeys within Kibale National Park. Macronutrient, energy and micronutrient intake, balance, and patterns of nutrient prioritization across females will be analyzed using the Geometric Framework (GF). The GF models how an animal balances multiple food components in relation to one another. These nutritional data will then be analyzed in the context of social behavior. This study will better characterize primate behavior, as well as niche construction among sympatric monkey species.