Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: The Role of Female Mate Choice in Mantled Howling Monkey Reproduction

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，本研究将探索披风嚎叫猴（Alouatta palliata）中雌性配偶选择的作用。性选择理论目前正处于范式转变的过程中。很明显，传统上把雌性动物描述为交配的被动参与者是不正确的，但关于雌性的生殖策略，包括雌性配偶选择的程度，还有很多未知之处。一些研究人员质疑雌性选择配偶的能力，因为雄性试图控制交配。然而，也有人质疑雌性选择的作用，因为雌性经常试图与多个雄性交配。披毛嚎叫猴是研究性选择这些重要方面的一个极好的物种。雌性披风嚎叫与多个雄性交配，但据报道，在生育力高峰时期，占主导地位的雄性会控制交配。尽管有这种控制的尝试，但最近的分子遗传学数据表明，在其社会群体中，占统治地位的雄性往往不是后代的父亲。行为观察将用于评估哥斯达黎加太平洋庄园成年雌性披毛嚎叫的亲和力和交配偏好。这些偏好将被测试，以确定它们是否与观察到的交配模式和遗传父权模式一致。这项研究的结果将用于评估雌性披风嚎叫的配偶选择能力，以及对雄性繁殖成功的影响。这项研究的智力价值体现在女性生殖策略对发展新的性选择范式和理解女性性行为的重要性上。影响雌性交配决定的因素以及雌性在面对雄性控制的情况下进行配偶选择的能力不仅对雌性的适应性有深远的影响，而且对雄性的适应性也有深远的影响。这个项目将提供关于男女生殖策略之间相互作用的宝贵资料。除了协助培训一名研究生外，该项目的更广泛影响还包括通过与哥斯达黎加学生的国际合作和培训，为代表性不足的群体提供机会。此外，该项目将有助于在La Pacifica重新建立一个研究机构，这是一个研究披风嚎叫猴的宝贵地点。

With support from the National Science Foundation, this study will explore the role of female mate choice in mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Sexual selection theory is currently in the midst of a paradigm shift. It is clear that the traditional portrayal of female animals as passive participants in mating is incorrect, but much is still unknown about female reproductive strategies, including the extent of female mate choice. Some researchers have questioned the ability of females to exercise mate choice because of attempts by males to control mating. However, others have questioned the role of female choice because females often attempt to mate with multiple males. Mantled howling monkeys represent an excellent species in which to study these important aspects of sexual selection. Female mantled howlers mate with multiple males, but dominant males have been reported to control mating during times of peak fertility. Despite this attempted control, recent molecular genetic data demonstrate that the dominant male is often not the sire of offspring in his social group. Behavioral observations will be used to assess the affiliative and mating preferences of adult female mantled howlers at Hacienda La Pacifica, Costa Rica. These preferences will be tested to determine whether they are consistent with observed patterns of mating and with patterns of genetic paternity. The results of this study will be used to assess the ability of female mantled howlers to exercise mate choice as well as the consequences for male reproductive success. The intellectual merit of this study is demonstrated by the importance of female reproductive strategies to the development of a new sexual selection paradigm and to an understanding of female sexuality. The factors influencing female mating decisions and the ability of females to exercise mate choice in the face of attempted male control have profound consequences not only for female fitness but also for male fitness. This project will provide valuable information regarding this interaction between male and female reproductive strategies. In addition to assisting the training of a graduate student, the broader impacts of this project include providing opportunities for underrepresented groups through international collaboration with and training of Costa Rican students. In addition, the project will help to re-establish a research presence at La Pacifica, a valuable site for the study of mantled howling monkeys.