Doctoral Dissertation Research: Maternal predictors of infant developmental trajectories in olive baboons

早期生活经历对发育和成年结果有重大影响，母亲是人类和其他灵长类动物早期生活环境的重要组成部分。最近，研究人员开始研究母体信号的复杂性，婴儿如何使用这些信号来导航发展权衡，以及权衡决策的影响。本博士论文项目将研究生活在不同生态条件下的几组野生橄榄狒狒中母体激素和行为信号对婴儿发育的影响。研究人员将记录母体信号的变化，以开发婴儿发育的综合模型，并为人类健康和发育的演变提供见解。该项目有助于当地社区外展计划，并为本科生，应届毕业生和当地员工提供指导和研究机会。研究团队通过积极参与边缘化身份的专业组织，并通过研讨会解决STEM中的性骚扰问题，促进STEM的多样性和包容性。该项目将解决三个问题：什么可以预测母亲信号的变化，婴儿如何回应母亲信号，以及婴儿如何导航发展权衡？该研究将利用橄榄狒狒的长期生态和人口数据，并提供详细的行为，生理和生长数据。该研究将使用摄影测量来测量身体大小和生长轨迹，粪便样本来测量母亲和婴儿的糖皮质激素水平，以及焦点样本来获得有关护理行为，婴儿活动水平和母亲反应的详细信息。这项研究将在14个月的时间里对40对母婴进行研究。肯尼亚莱基皮亚的研究地点提供了一个机会，可以将严重依赖入侵性仙人掌果实的动物与有限获得这些果实的动物进行比较。仙人掌果实可用性的变化将深入了解高糖饮食和可预测的食物可用性-人类饮食最近变化的特征-如何影响母体信号和婴儿反应。这些结果可能会通过指示干预措施何时最有效以及需要多长时间的干预措施，为针对婴儿健康的医疗干预实践提供信息。

Early life experiences can have substantial influence on development and adult outcomes, and the mother is a crucial component of the early life environment for humans and other primates. Recently, researchers have begun to examine the complexities of maternal signals, how infants use these signals to navigate developmental trade-offs, and the impact of trade-off decisions. This doctoral dissertation project will investigate the influence of maternal hormonal and behavioral signals on infant development in several groups of wild olive baboons living under different ecological conditions. The researcher will document variation in maternal signals, to develop a comprehensive model of infant development and provide insights into the evolution of human health and development. The project contributes to local community outreach programs and provides mentorship and research opportunities to undergraduate students, recent graduates, and local employees. The research team promotes diversity and inclusion in STEM through active involvement with professional organizations for marginalized identities and through workshops that address issues of sexual harassment in STEM.The project will address three questions: What predicts variation in maternal signals, how do infants respond to maternal signals, and how do infants navigate developmental trade-offs? The study will capitalize on long-term ecological and demographic data for olive baboons and provide detailed behavioral, physiological, and growth data. The study will use photogrammetry to measure body size and growth trajectories, fecal samples to measure glucocorticoid levels in mothers and infants, and focal samples to obtain detailed information about nursing behavior, infant activity levels, and maternal responsiveness. The study will examine 40 mother-infant pairs over a 14-month period. The study site in Laikipia, Kenya provides the opportunity to compare animals that rely heavily on invasive Opuntia stricta fruits with animals that have limited access to these fruits. Variation in the availability of Opuntia fruit will provide insight into how high-sugar diets and predictable food availability -- traits that characterize recent changes in human diet -- influence maternal signals and infant responses. These results could potentially inform medical intervention practices that target infant health by indicating when interventions will be most effective and how long interventions are needed.