Developmental Integration and the Ecology of Life Histories in Phylogenetic Perspective

在人类生物学和其他物种生物学中，最重要的是充分理解构成发展基础的复杂过程，包括这些过程的综合及其进化基础。虽然我们知道童年关键时期的经历对未来的生长、繁殖、健康和行为有着重要而持久的影响，但这一系统的基本生物学原理仍然知之甚少。这对人类来说尤其突出，因为人类的幼年期是所有动物中最长的。通过结合系统发育的方法来研究我们最亲近的近亲黑猩猩的身体、激素和行为发育，我们可以进一步了解这一发育的关键时期，并确定不同的发育轨迹如何相互作用以及与环境相互作用以产生成年特征。黑猩猩和人类的比较将为生物学影响与生态和社会环境相结合产生成人特征的方式提供一个模型，并有助于理解人类生活史的独特特征何时以及如何在我们的血统中出现（例如早期断奶，长期依赖父母的支持，以及青春期的快速生长）。通过使用一系列新颖的非侵入性技术，本研究将首次实现对野生黑猩猩发育的详细记录，并为灵长类动物（包括人类）发育科学的比较系统发育方法提供基础。要分析的轨迹包括身体生长（线性生长、体重、肌肉质量和出牙）、营养（护理强度的行为测量、母婴能量平衡的激素测量和母婴饮食的同位素测量）、激素（睾酮、皮质醇、雌二醇、黄体酮、DHEAS和c肽）和行为的多个维度。待测试的假设将评估母亲状况、早期生活营养、压力和相关因素如何影响发育的时间和速度，以及激素在这些相互作用中的作用。研究结果对于理解生理和行为上的性别差异非常重要。最终，理解这些关系将使我们能够更好地推断与人类进化谱系中栖息地、生态和形态变化相关的生活史变化。许多国内和国际更广泛的影响与该项目有关。该研究产生的数据将用于促进美国K-12教育，与纽约和新墨西哥州的教师合作，改进课程，培养科学素养和欣赏能力。美国和乌干达的本科生和研究生的教育和培训将通过将这些学生纳入该项目，并通过将所产生的数据用于未来的研究而得到促进。国际合作和能力建设以及濒危物种的保护将通过以下方式得到促进：为保护基巴莱国家公园提供经济激励（创造就业机会、培训、研究费用）、支持反偷猎和生态旅游项目，以及对乌干达小学生进行野生动物和栖息地保护方面的教育。

Of central importance in the science of human biology, as well as that of other species, is full understanding of the complex processes that underlie development, including both the integration of these processes and their evolutionary bases. While experiences during the critical period of childhood are known to have important and lasting effects on future growth, reproduction, health and behavior, the fundamental biology of this system remains poorly understood. This is especially salient for the human species, which has the longest juvenile phase of any animal. By incorporating a phylogenetic approach that examines physical, hormonal, and behavioral development in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, we can advance understanding of this critical period of development, and determine how different developmental trajectories interact with each other and with the environment to produce adult traits. Comparison of chimpanzees and humans will provide a model for the ways in which biological influences combine with the ecological and social environments to generate adult characteristics, and contribute to understanding when and how unique features of human life history arose in our lineage (such as early weaning, prolonged reliance on parental support, and the adolescent growth spurt). By using a series of novel, non-invasive techniques, this study will achieve the first detailed documentation of the development of wild chimpanzees, and provide the basis for a comparative, phylogenetic approach to the science of primate, including human, development. Trajectories to be analyzed include physical growth (linear growth, body weight, muscle mass, and tooth eruption), nutrition (behavioral measures of nursing intensity, hormonal measures of maternal and infant energy balance, and isotopic measures of maternal and infant diet), hormones (testosterone, cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, DHEAS and C-peptide), and multiple dimensions of behavior. Hypotheses to be tested will assess how maternal condition, early life nutrition, stress, and related factors influence the timing and rates of development, and the role of hormones in these interactions. The results will be important for understanding sex differences in physiology and behavior. Ultimately, understanding these relationships will allow us to better infer life history shifts associated with changing habitats, ecologies, and morphologies in the hominin evolutionary lineage. Numerous domestic and international broader impacts are tied to the project. Data generated by the research will be utilized to promote K-12 education in the U.S., working with teachers in both New York and New Mexico to enhance curricula and foster science literacy and appreciation. Education and training of both U.S. and Ugandan undergraduate and graduate students will be fostered through incorporation of these students into the project, and through utilization of the generated data for future research. International collaboration and capacity building, as well as conservation of endangered species, will be promoted by providing economic incentives for protection in Kibale National Park (job creation, training, research fees), supporting anti-poaching and ecotourism programs, and educating Ugandan primary school children about wildlife and habitat conservation.