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，因为它们影响物种的形成和维持。在灵长类动物中，有几个近亲灵长类物种生活在重叠的地理范围内的例子。这些动物在寻找配偶时如何区分自己的成员和其他物种的成员？本博士论文项目是调查面部图案和行为表现在维持繁殖隔离中所起的作用，这是一组非洲森林猴物种，它们表现出非常丰富多彩的面部图案。创新的方法将用于测量和分析猴子的外观和他们的行为与自己的物种成员和密切相关的物种。计算机代码和方法细节将免费提供，该项目将通过本科培训和K-12科学教育推广来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计划，该项目将促进美国和尼日利亚的研究和保护组织之间的国际合作。对于地理范围重叠的近亲物种来说，确定合适的配偶是一项潜在的挑战。阻止不同物种之间交配的一种机制是信号的进化，这些信号表明物种成员关系，并用于配偶选择以保持生殖隔离。先前的研究表明，类群可以根据它们的面部图像进行物种分类，并且面部特征随着范围重叠程度的增加而增加。然而，面部独特性和联想性配偶选择系统可能运作的行为机制尚不清楚。在这个项目中，研究人员将评估类群是否以及如何区分物种，以及面部模式和行为表现的变化如何影响交配决定。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物种面孔区域；(2)利用活的类群识别任务评估类群对同种和不同物种面孔的视觉偏差；(3)使用计算机视觉算法量化行为表现并研究其与面部形态的关系；(4)通过行为观察，记录野生物种形态和行为的使用方式。这项研究将有助于阐明在何种程度上类群面部图案作为物种成员身份的信号，以及类群形态和行为如何相互作用影响它们的交配决定。最终，该项目的结果将有助于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.