Socioecology of Territorial Behavior in Wild Chimpanzees

这个项目调查了雄性黑猩猩(泛黑猩猩)领地行为背后的社会和生态因素。非洲各地的长期研究表明，黑猩猩群体间的敌意很普遍，但群体间战斗的频率和强度在种群之间和种群内随着时间的推移而不同，原因尚不完全清楚。最近对坦桑尼亚贡贝国家公园的长期数据进行了分析，提供了有趣的证据，表明雄性的领土行为可以增加配偶和后代的食物资源，从而导致更快的繁殖率。然而，目前还没有研究详细地研究雄性是否将领土努力集中在重要的食物资源上，或者相反，观察到的食物供应的增加是否只是其他因素的副产品，例如试图招募新的雌性。关于黑猩猩领地行为的问题，大多数长期研究的重点都集中在单一的社会群体(“社区”)上，这阻碍了回答这些问题的努力。为了充分了解影响群体间关系的因素，至少需要研究两个邻近的社区。这项研究将利用现有的长期数据和来自两个邻近社区的新观测数据来确定数字不对称、女性生殖状况以及食物资源的丰度和分布的影响。这项研究将从简·古道尔博士研究的33年来的长期记录中开发一个领土行为数据库，这些记录存储在明尼苏达大学简·古德尔研究所的灵长类研究中心，还将涉及收集关于黑猩猩行为以及食物资源丰富和分布的新的野外数据。黑猩猩的领土行为引发了许多人将其与原始人类战争进行比较。通过促进我们对黑猩猩领土行为的社会和生态基础的理解，这项研究将有助于解释人类战争的起源和进化。证明雄性黑猩猩积极竞争食物资源将增加对雄性保护资源重要性的认识。详细记录领土边界两侧的互动将填补在努力了解我们两个最亲密的在世亲戚之一的行为方面的一个重要空白。群体间暴力每年影响着世界各地数百万人的生活。通过阐明黑猩猩群体间暴力的根源，该项目将有助于确定人类群体间暴力的原因。该项目将有助于大学生和普通公众的教育，还将为冈贝和其他地点的黑猩猩保护提供重要信息。该项目将为坦桑尼亚经济欠发达地区提供就业、教育和培训。该项目的成果将在科学出版物和大众媒体上传播，并在简·古道尔研究所和灵长类研究中心的网站上公布。

This project examines the social and ecological factors underlying male chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) territorial behavior. Long-term studies across Africa have revealed that intergroup hostility is widespread among chimpanzees, but that the frequency and intensity of intergroup fighting vary among populations, and within populations over time, for reasons that are not yet fully explained. Recent analyses of long-term data from Gombe National Park, Tanzania have provided intriguing evidence that male territorial behavior can increase food resources for their mates and offspring, leading to faster rates of reproduction. No study has yet looked in detail, though, at whether males focus territorial effort on important food resources, or if instead the observed increases in food availability are simply a byproduct of some other factor, such as attempts to recruit new females. Efforts to answer questions about chimpanzee territorial behavior have been hampered by the focus of most long-term studies on a single social group ("community"). To fully understand factors affecting intergroup relations, at least two neighboring communities need to be studied. This study will use existing long-term data and new observations from two neighboring communities to determine the effects of numerical asymmetries, female reproductive status, and the abundance and distribution of food resources. This study will involve developing a database of territorial behavior from 33 years of long-term records from Dr. Jane Goodall's study, which are stored in the Jane Goodall Institute's Center for Primate Studies at the University of Minnesota, and will also involve the collection of new field data on chimpanzee behavior and the abundance and distribution of food resources.Chimpanzee territorial behavior has inspired many comparisons to primitive human warfare. By advancing our understanding of the social and ecological underpinnings of chimpanzee territorial behavior, this study will contribute to efforts to explain the origin and evolution of human warfare. Demonstration that male chimpanzees actively compete for food resources will add to a growing appreciation for the importance of resource defense by males. Documenting in detail interactions on both sides of a territorial boundary will fill an important gap in efforts to understand the behavior of one of our two closest living relatives.Intergroup violence affects the lives of millions of people around the world every year. By illuminating the roots of intergroup violence in chimpanzees, this project will help with efforts to identify the causes of intergroup violence in humans. The project will contribute to the education of university students and the general public and will also provide information important for chimpanzee conservation at Gombe and other sites. The project will provide employment, education and training in an economically underdeveloped region of Tanzania. Findings from the project will be disseminated in scientific publications and popular media and presented on websites of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Center for Primate Studies.