Socio-ecological and genetical studies on baboon species which have multi-level social structure

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We studied hamadryas baboons living in Saudi Arabia, a geographically separated population of the species from Africa to gain insight about the speciation process from anubis to hamadryas baboon. Blood samples were collected by capture and release of baboons at 7 sites. Shotake previously proposed the Arabian peninsula as a site for the origin of speciation of hamadryas baboons based on analysis of blood proteins. Mt DNA analysis in this study revealed that haplotypes in the African side is much more varied than those in the Arabian peninsula. This seems to contradict with an Arabian origin. However, supporting evidence also was found, that anubis baboons and Arabian and Ertrean hamadryas baboons are a common clade of haplotypes, differing from the Ethiopia clade. Further studies are necessary to understand this contradicting evidence. Study was focused on one group, the dam site group at Taif. The group is a commensal group with people having a huge population size of over 500 animals. The group was repeatedly captured every year, to know the paternity of infants, if the leader males of units really sires infants of their own unit females. The result indicated poor performance of the leader males. Captured baboons were marked with ear tags in order to facilitate observation of behavior. Though 209 baboons had been marked since 1998 to 2003, only 57, 89, and 105 marked individuals were found in 2002, 2003, and 2004, respectively. This is because some proportion of ear tags dropped off the ears. Depending on the analysis of marked individuals for 5 years, we found that one-male units in the Saudi Arabian commensal group is much more unstable as compared with Ethiopian ones. Females transferred units more frequently. Higher level of social structure was not observed to last beyond years, indicating clans and bands are not present in the commensal group of hamadryas baboons in Saudi Arabia.