Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social Environment and Nutrition in Female Monkeys

社会行为影响动物获取食物的能力，这些食物含有足够的营养以促进生长和繁殖。在灵长类动物（包括人类）的进化过程中，当面临来自本物种和其他物种的竞争时，社会性对于防止和帮助个体达到营养目标都很重要。因此，社会性对营养的影响，反之亦然，对人类饮食进化的特征和灵长类动物社会生态学理论的检验具有重要意义。为了探索这些问题，该项目将研究乌干达基巴莱国家公园雌性尾猴的社会性和营养。更广泛的影响包括在灵长类动物生态学和保护方面培训少数民族和女性学生，促进国际关系和合作，支持公众和学生对灵长类动物多样性和保护的宣传。本论文将研究社会性对雌性尾猴（Cercopithecus ascanius）营养的影响。雌性可能面临着一种权衡：(1)与其他群体成员的竞争，可能是在统治等级的背景下，以及与其他猴子物种的竞争；(2)自己的营养目标。研究人员将检查基巴莱国家公园内三组雌性猴子的营养摄入和平衡情况。将使用几何框架（GF）分析女性的常量营养素、能量和微量营养素摄入、平衡和营养优先次序模式。GF模拟了动物如何平衡多种食物成分之间的关系。这些营养数据将在社会行为的背景下进行分析。这项研究将更好地表征灵长类动物的行为，以及同域猕猴物种间生态位的构建。

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.