Doctoral Dissertation Research: Guenon face patterns and the maintenance of primate reproductive isolation

繁殖和配偶选择是进化的关键组成部分，因为它们影响物种形成和维持的方式。在灵长类动物中，有几个密切相关的灵长类物种生活在重叠的地理范围内。在寻找配偶时，这些动物如何区分自己的成员和其他物种？这一博士论文项目是研究面部图案和行为展示在维持古隆人生殖隔离方面的作用。古翁人是非洲的一群森林猴子，表现出非常多样的五颜六色的面部图案。创新的方法将被用来测量和分析猴子的外表以及它们与自己物种和密切相关物种成员的行为。计算机代码和方法细节将免费提供，该项目将通过本科生培训和K-12科学教育推广活动支持科学教育和多样性。研究人员还将在他们的研究地点参与科学和生物多样性保护推广项目，该项目将促进美国和尼日利亚研究和保护组织之间的国际合作。对于地理范围重叠的密切相关物种来说，寻找合适的配偶可能是一项挑战。防止不同物种之间交配的一种机制是信号的进化，这些信号表明物种是成员，并用于选择配偶以维持生殖隔离。以前的研究已经证明，鬼怪可以根据他们面部的图像按物种进行分类，并且面部的清晰度随着范围重叠的程度而增加。然而，面部区别性和关联性配偶选择系统可能运行的行为机制仍不清楚。在这个项目中，研究人员将评估古农人是否以及如何区分物种，以及面部图案和行为表现的差异如何影响交配决定。为了回答这个问题，研究人员将：(1)使用计算机视觉算法识别对物种分类至关重要的人头面部区域；(2)使用活体人头脸识别任务来评估相同物种和不同物种人脸的视觉偏差；(3)使用计算机视觉算法量化行为显示并调查它们与面部形态的关系；以及(4)使用行为观察来记录人头鸟形态和行为在野外的使用方式。这项研究将有助于阐明古农人面部图案在多大程度上起到物种成员资格的信号作用，以及古农人的形态和行为如何相互作用来影响它们的交配决定。最终，这个项目的结果将帮助我们理解表型多样性和生殖隔离之间的关系。

Reproduction and mate choice are key components of evolution because they affect how species are formed and maintained. In primates, there are several examples of closely-related primate species living in overlapping geographic ranges. How do these animals distinguish between members of their own versus other species when looking for mates? This doctoral dissertation project is an investigation of the role of face patterns and behavioral displays in maintaining reproductive isolation in the guenons, a group of forest monkey species in Africa that exhibit an extraordinary variety of colorful face patterns. Innovative methods will be used to measure and analyze the monkeys' appearance and their behavior related to members of their own species and closely-related species. Computer code and methodological details will be made freely available, and the project will support education and diversity in science through undergraduate training and K-12 science education outreach. The investigators will also be involved in scientific and biodiversity conservation outreach programs at their research site, and the project will foster international collaborations between research and conservation organizations in the USA and Nigeria. Identifying appropriate mates is potentially challenging for closely-related species with overlapping geographic ranges. One mechanism for preventing matings between different species is the evolution of signals that advertise species membership and that are used in mate choice to maintain reproductive isolation. Previous research has demonstrated that guenons can be classified by species based on images of their faces, and that facial distinctiveness increases with the degree of range overlap. However, the behavioral mechanisms by which a system of facial distinctiveness and associative mate choice might operate remain unclear. In this project, researchers will assess if and how guenons discriminate between species, and how variation in face patterns and behavioral displays influences mating decisions. To answer this question, researchers will: (1) identify regions of guenon faces critically important for species classification using computer vision algorithms; (2) assess guenon visual biases for same versus different species faces using a discrimination task with live guenons; (3) quantify behavioral displays and investigate their relationship with facial morphology using computer vision algorithms; and (4) document the ways in which guenon morphology and behavior are used in the wild using behavioral observations. This research will help to clarify the extent to which guenon face patterns function as signals of species membership, and how guenon morphologies and behaviors interact to influence their mating decisions. Ultimately, the results of this project will help us understand the relationship between phenotypic diversity and reproductive isolation.