Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Cognitive Development in Bonobos and Chimpanzees

倭黑猩猩（Pan paniscus）和黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes）与人类有着同样的亲缘关系，但它们在人类和潘属的最后共同祖先（LCA）中表现出截然不同的模式。倭黑猩猩与黑猩猩的区别一直被认为是幼童型的，或像青少年一样，这一假说的支持主要来自于头骨形态学，但也来自于倭黑猩猩行为的某些要素。目前尚不清楚倭黑猩猩是否也表现出相对于黑猩猩的认知童态。这一假设将通过对倭黑猩猩和黑猩猩认知发展的调查来验证。这项拟议的研究将系统地比较这两个物种的婴儿在各种认知任务上的表现，这些任务以前在人类和成年猿中使用过。研究结果将支持一种假设，即倭黑猩猩在与黑猩猩的LCA相比，经历了广泛的童形特征选择。更一般地说，这项工作将阐明在最近的猿进化中，发育参数是如何变化的，包括人类的哪些特征是独特的。这一建议包括原始研究，综合了不经常联系的领域：人类学，进化生物学和发展心理学。研究结果将有助于深入了解人类认知和行为的进化、跨物种认知的比较个体发生以及发育时间变化对认知特征的影响。这项研究将在非洲猿类保护区进行，通过提供资金来照顾这些猿类，并在黑猩猩和倭黑猩猩的范围国家提供就业机会，为保护做出贡献。保护区是一种重要的保护资源，为类人猿提供了避难所，否则它们将成为丛林肉贸易的受害者。与刚果博士生的持续合作将增加类人猿保护区作为研究地点的前景，在那里当地学生可以发展技能，使他们能够为人类进化和类人猿保护的国际科学对话做出贡献。

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are equally related to humans but present contrasting models of the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and the genus Pan. Bonobos' distinctions from chimpanzees have been argued to be paedomorphic, or juvenilelike, with support for this hypothesis coming largely from cranial morphology but also from certain elements of bonobo behavior. It is currently unknown whether bonobos also exhibit cognitive paedomorphism relative to chimpanzees. This hypothesis will be tested by an investigation of cognitive development in bonobos and chimpanzees. The proposed research will systematically compare infants of both species on a variety of cognitive tasks previously utilized in humans and adult apes. Results will inform the hypothesis that bonobos have undergone selection for a broad spectrum of paedomorphic traits relative to their LCA with chimpanzees. More generally, this work will illuminate how developmental parameters have changed in recent ape evolution, including what features of humans are unique. This proposal consists of original research synthesizing areas that have not frequently been linked: anthropology, evolutionary biology, and developmental psychology. The results will provide insight into the evolution of human cognition and behavior, the comparative ontogeny of cognition across species, and the effects of shifts in developmental timing on cognitive traits. This research will be carried out at African ape sanctuaries, contributing to conservation by supplying funding to care for these apes and providing employment in range countries of chimpanzees and bonobos. Sanctuaries are a key conservation resource, providing refuge for apes that otherwise would have been casualties of the bushmeat trade. Ongoing collaboration with Congolese doctoral students will increase the prospects of ape sanctuaries as research sites where local students can develop skills that will allow them to contribute to international scientific dialogue on human evolution and great ape conservation.