Ecology and Endocrinology of Chimpanzee Aggression

本研究将探讨野生黑猩猩的攻击性与年龄、性别、内分泌状态和能量可用性的季节性变化之间的关系。从2004年到2009年，研究小组将汇编一份基巴莱国家公园卡尼亚瓦拉社区黑猩猩行为和生态的每日记录。Kanyawara社区是一个由50只黑猩猩组成的社会群体，Wrangham自1988年以来一直在监测，并且已经习惯了人类的存在。除了系统地记录广泛的行为外，研究团队还将以每月约100个的速度收集尿液样本。由一九九七年至二零零九年，我们会提供约11 000个尿液样本。研究人员将测试这些样本中睾酮、皮质醇、孕酮和雌二醇的浓度。研究人员将测试关于类固醇产生与行为（例如群间攻击、狩猎或地位竞争）以及行为环境（例如有吸引力的女性与不太有吸引力的女性的交配竞争）之间关系的假设。为此，他们将创建一个关系数据库和数据管理系统。这将允许调查的问题，相对长期的，罕见的，和复杂的相关过程中黑猩猩行为生物学。长期的问题包括男性内分泌状态如何随统治地位而变化，攻击频率如何随年龄变化，以及女性核心区域如何以及为什么随着时间的推移而变化或保持稳定。关于罕见事件的问题包括睾丸激素的分泌与配偶保护、边境巡逻或狩猎有何关系。复杂相关的过程包括行为、政党组成和位置之间的关系。总之，这项研究将提供有关黑猩猩广泛行为的信息，包括生殖策略，生活史和社会关系，并将寻求从当地生态学的角度以及与其他种群的比较来了解它们。

Ecology and endocrinology of aggression in chimpanzees.Richard Wrangham This study will investigate how aggression among wild chimpanzees is related to age, sex, endocrine status and seasonal variation in energy availability. From 2004 to 2009 the research team will compile a daily record of chimpanzee behavior and ecology within the Kanyawara community of Kibale National Park. The Kanyawara community is a social group of 50 chimpanzees that Wrangham has monitored since 1988, and that are well habituated to the presence of humans. In addition to systematically recording a wide range of behaviors, the research team will also collect urine samples at a rate of about 100 per month. A total of about 11000 urine samples will be available from 1997 to 2009. The concentrations of testosterone, cortisol, progesterone and estradiol will be assayed in these samples.The researchers will test hypotheses about the relationship of steroid production to behavior (e.g. intergroup aggression, hunting, or status competition), and to behavioral contexts (e.g. mating competition for attractive vs. less attractive females). To do so, they will create a relational database and data management system. This will permit investigations of questions about relatively long-term, infrequent, and complexly related processes in chimpanzee behavioral biology. Long-term questions include how male endocrine status changes with dominance rank, how the frequency of aggression changes with age, or how and why female core areas shift or remain stable over time. Questions about infrequent events include how testosterone output is related to mate-guarding, to border patrols, or to hunting. Complexly related processes include relationships among behavior, party composition, and location. In sum, this research will provide information on a wide range of chimpanzee behaviors, including reproductive strategies, life-histories and social relationships, and will seek to understand them in terms of local ecology and in comparison to other populations.