Dissertation Research: Grouping Patterns and Foraging Strategies in Two Sympatric Mangabey Species

本研究将调查组的大小，凝聚力和组间间距的决定因素，在两个白眉猴物种，Cercocebus galeritus agilis和Cercocebus albigena，生活在同一地区的蒙迪卡研究站，中非共和国。 据报道，这两种白眉猴尽管形态和生态相似，但其分组模式不同。C. albigena生活在相对稳定的社会单元中，而C. galeritus群体经常分裂成亚群，但在其他时候聚集成大的部落（或“超群”）。 这里提出的研究将测试特定的生态因素（如食物供应的波动）和社会因素（如优势等级，以及婴儿和发情期女性的存在）如何影响群体规模，凝聚力和间距的假设。 方法将包括两种白眉猴物种的行为采样以及生态采样，以监测其环境中食物的可用性。 本研究的结果将增进我们对灵长类社会性演化的了解。 此外，这项研究将提供第一个长期的数据，社会组织和觅食策略在两个同域白眉猴物种。 收集的行为数据可以与形态学和分子数据一起使用，以解决白眉猴与其他旧世界猴子（如狒狒和猕猴）的亲缘关系和令人困惑的问题。

This study will investigate the determinants of group size, cohesion, and inter-group spacing in two mangabey species, Cercocebus galeritus agilis and Cercocebus albigena, that live in the same areas of the Mondika Research Station, Central African Republic. These two mangabey species reportedly differ in their grouping patterns despite their morphological and ecological similarities. C. albigena reportedly lives in relatively stable social units, whereas C. galeritus groups often fragment into subgroups, yet at other times aggregate into large hordes (or 'supergroups'). The study proposed here will test hypotheses of how specific ecological factors (such as fluctuations in food availability) and social factors (such as dominance hierarchies, and the presence of infants and estrus females) influence group size, cohesion, and spacing. Methods will include behavioral sampling of the two mangabey species as well as ecological sampling to monitor the availability of food in their environment. Results of this study will enhance our understanding of the evolution of primate sociality. In addition, this study will provide the first long-term data on social organization and foraging strategies in two sympatric mangabey species. The behavioral data collected can be used with morphological and molecular data to address the puzzling issue of mangabey phylogeny and affinities with other old world monkeys such as baboons and macaques.