Doctoral Dissertation Research: Conflict Management and Dominance Style in Captive Bonobos

冲突管理是研究动物如何应对社会冲突和/或降低其成本的科学。冲突管理的形式包括妥协、分享、容忍、预防冲突、和解和冲突后的第三方联系。对一个物种的冲突管理模式的完整理解包括对其优势风格的理解。统治风格的概念假设，物种和关系可以被置于从专制到平等主义的连续体中。与专制模式相比，平等主义冲突管理模式预计会包括竞争环境中的支配者对下属的双向攻击、和解、安慰和宽容的比率更高。在这里，研究人员将研究圈养矮黑猩猩的冲突管理模式和统治风格。根据几项研究的结果，我们假设矮黑猩猩会表现出强烈的平等主义统治风格。俄亥俄州哥伦布动物园的16只矮黑猩猩将被观察进行这项研究。具体来说，将考察三个主题：矮黑猩猩在多大程度上表现出(1)平等主义统治风格，(2)安慰，以及(3)在食物供应引起的可预见的紧张时期之前和期间预防冲突。这个项目的学术价值包括促进我们对灵长类社会系统的本质和多样性的理解，特别是非人类灵长类动物中的攻击性和缔造和平的模式。更全面地了解我们最近的灵长类近亲的攻击性模式，可能会更好地理解人类攻击性模式的进化。黑猩猩通常是现代人攻击性模式的活生生的模型。然而，矮黑猩猩是一种研究较少的物种，但与人类有着同样密切的亲缘关系，它们进化出了独特的紧张调节和和平机制。与冲突管理相关的行为在黑猩猩身上很少被研究，特别是为了将它们放在更广泛的统治风格框架中。因此，该项目将提供比目前可用于黑猩猩的更完整的冲突管理概况，并将进一步阐明在人类进化模型中，黑猩猩应该在多大程度上与黑猩猩相结合。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括加强动物园研究和本科生参与研究。该项目的成果和影响将与公众分享(通过在动物园通讯上发表出版物，向动物园图书馆捐赠出版物，向参观团体、动物园管理员和讲解员介绍)，以及向动物园工作人员介绍，他们将有机会利用这些成果来(1)将它们纳入自己的管理方案，(2)通过资金和公共教育促进保护倡议，以及(3)获得对动物园运营和未来动物园研究的支持。此外，本地本科生将通过参与这一项目的数据收集获得宝贵的经验。具体地说，这个机会将允许正在考虑从事动物行为职业的学生参与一个高级研究项目，在获得大学学分的同时发展他们的简历，并对自己的未来做出更明智的选择。

Conflict management is the study of the ways in which animals cope with social conflict and/or reduce its costs. Forms of conflict management include compromise, sharing, tolerance, conflict prevention, reconciliation, and third-party post-conflict affiliation. A complete understanding of a species' conflict management patterns includes an understanding of its dominance style. The dominance style concept posits that species and relationships can be placed on a continuum ranging from despotic to egalitarian. As compared with despotic patterns, egalitarian conflict management patterns are expected to include higher rates of two-way aggression, reconciliation, consolation, and tolerance for subordinates by dominants in competitive contexts. Here, the researchers will examine patterns of conflict management and dominance style in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus). Bonobos are hypothesized to display strong egalitarian dominance style, based on the results of a few studies. A group of sixteen bonobos at the Columbus Zoo, Ohio, will be observed for this study. Specifically, three topics will be examined: the extent to which bonobos display (1) an egalitarian dominance style, (2) consolation, and (3) conflict prevention before and during predictable periods of tension caused by food provisioning. The intellectual merit of this project involves advancing our understanding of the nature and diversity of primate social systems, particularly aggressive and peacemaking patterns in non-human primates. The evolution of human aggressive patterns may be better understood with a more complete understanding of the aggressive patterns of our nearest primate relatives. Chimpanzees commonly serve as a living model for modern human aggressive patterns. Bonobos, however, represent an understudied, yet equally closely related species to humans that have evolved unique tension-regulating and peacemaking mechanisms. Behaviors associated with conflict management have rarely been studied in bonobos, particularly with the intent to place them into the broader framework of dominance style. This project will therefore provide a more complete conflict management profile than is presently available for bonobos and will shed additional light on the extent to which bonobos should be further integrated with chimpanzees in models of human evolution. The broader impacts of this study involve the enhancement of zoo research and the involvement of undergraduates in research. The results and implications of this project will be shared with the public (via publications in zoo newsletters, donations of publications to the zoos' libraries, and presentations to visiting groups, zookeepers and docents), and to the zoo staff, who will have the opportunity to use them to (1) incorporate them into their own management protocols, (2) promote conservation initiatives through funding and public education, and (3) obtain support for zoo operations and future zoo research. In addition, local undergraduate students will gain valuable experience by participating in data collection for this project. Specifically, this opportunity will allow students who are considering careers in animal behavior to participate in an advanced research project, to develop their curriculum vitae while earning university credits, and to make more informed choices about their futures.