Dissertation Research: Heterosexual Partner Preferences and Bonding Among Chimpanzees

这项研究将在底特律动物园进行，并将记录黑猩猩在被引入一个新建的6英亩的围栏期间和之后，雄性和雌性之间的亲密关系的形成，这是世界上任何动物园中最大的围栏之一。这项研究将收集数据来检验关于男女关系的假设，特别强调性行为在建立这些关系中的作用。这项研究解决了一个问题：是什么机制可能导致成年男性和成年女性之间发展稳定、长期的关系？这个问题已经在狒狒中进行了研究，但之前没有在黑猩猩中进行过研究。黑猩猩是理解男女之间亲密关系发展的最重要的物种之一，这既是因为它们先进的认知能力，也是因为它们的社会结构包括与人类惊人相似的方面。

This study will take place at The Detroit Zoological Park and will document the formation of male-female affiliative relationships among chimpanzees during and after the introduction of these animals into a newly built six-acre enclosure, one of the largest in any zoo in the world. This study will collect data to test hypotheses about male-female relationships with particular emphasis on the role of sexual behavior in the establishment of these relationships. %%% The study addresses the question: What are the mechanisms that might lead to the development of stable, long-term bonds between adult males and adult females? This issue has been investigated among baboons, but not previously among chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are one of the most important species for understanding the development of strong affiliative relationships between males and females, both because of their advanced cognitive abilities and because their social structure includes aspects that are strikingly similar to humans.