Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Analysis of Behavioral Flexibility and Intra-Group Feeding Competition in the Sanje Mangabey (Cercocebus sanjei), Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania

该研究结果有助于更好地理解行为灵活性和社会行为的空间维度，并将大大增加对野生白尾猴行为的有限认识。从这项研究中得到的证据表明，桑杰白头猴的行为灵活性可以预测这种地方性灵长类动物的长期种群生存能力，并将为坦桑尼亚对这种濒危物种的保护管理规划提供信息。该项目将通过提供灵长类动物行为和生态监测研究技术方面的培训，为当地发展做出贡献。环境中食物分布和丰富程度的波动被认为会影响社会群体成员之间对这些资源的竞争水平和类型。灵长类动物的社会生态模型预测了这些波动如何反过来影响成年女性的社会关系。现有的模型经过了修订和扩展，但模型的预测与在某些灵长类物种中观察到的行为之间仍然存在不匹配。本项目测试行为灵活性是否可以缓解群体内的喂养竞争，并在社会关系中发挥关键作用。具体而言，本研究考察了Sanje白眉猴（Cercocebus sanjei）在不同竞争环境中为缓解资源竞争而使用的社会和喂养策略。采用局部动物和群体扫描相结合的方法收集饮食和行为数据。这些研究包括：(1)优势如何影响个体在群体中的空间位置和觅食效率；(2)导致个体间间距和亚群变化的生态条件；(3)觅食行为和颊袋使用的灵活性。利用研究组所在范围内的植被样带和物候样地监测资源分布和可用性，并使用手持GPS定位器收集每日测距数据。

Results from this study contribute to a better understanding of behavioral flexibility and spatial dimensions of social behavior, and will add considerably to the limited knowledge of wild Cercocebus mangabey behavior. Evidence from this study of significant behavioral flexibility in the Sanje mangabey could predict enhanced long-term population viability of this endemic primate, and will inform Tanzania's conservation management planning for this endangered species. The project will contribute to local development by providing training in both primate behavior and ecological monitoring research techniques.Fluctuations in the distribution and abundance of food items in the environment are thought to impact the level and type of competition for these resources experienced between members of a social group. Primate socioecological models predict how these fluctuations, in turn, affect adult female social relationships. Existing models have undergone revisions and extensions, but mismatches remain between the models' predictions and the behavior observed in some primate species. This project tests whether behavioral flexibility can mitigate intra-group feeding competition and act as a critical influence on the social relationships exhibited. Specifically, this research examines social and feeding strategies used by the Sanje mangabey (Cercocebus sanjei) to alleviate competition for resources, within a variant competitive context. A combination of focal animal and group scans are used to collect dietary and behavioral data. These investigate (i) how dominance affects spatial position of individuals within the group and foraging efficiency, (ii) the ecological conditions responsible for variable inter-individual spacing and subgrouping, and (iii) flexibility in foraging behavior and cheek pouch use. Resource distribution and availability are monitored using vegetation transects and phenology plots within the study groups home range, and daily ranging data are collected using handheld GPS locators.