Collaborative Research: The Function and Mechanism of Male Relationships In A Primate System

社会关系模型有助于解释社会群体如何形成以及为什么会在灵长类物种中形成、维持和变化。这些模型通常关注一个社会群体中的男性人数，以及男性彼此之间是合作还是竞争。这个项目调查了野生灵长类物种的社会行为、人口学、荷尔蒙和系谱，以了解男性社会关系的原因和后果。该项目将通过提供关于一个知之甚少的栖息地的濒危灵长类动物的宝贵知识，并向当地居民示范保护的经济价值，来支持保护工作。这项研究将通过就业和培训机会支持新一代科学家和保护专业人员。本科生和研究生将参与数据收集和分析，获得在美国和国外的实践研究经验，建立他们的研究工具包，并磨练他们的批判性思维能力。此外，该项目将通过为少数族裔和第一代本科生创造指导机会，增加生物人类学的多样性。值得注意的是，通过将一名高中教师纳入研究，该项目将改善K-12科学课程的开发。最近来自更多物种的数据导致研究人员对标准灵长类行为模式的一些方面提出了质疑。尽管男性社会关系的模型试图将男性中存在的社会多样性纳入其中，但这些模型仍然难以解释为什么许多灵长类种群同时表现出单一男性和多男性的社会群体，并预测这些可变的分组模式何时发生。此外，虽然男性的影响被纳入到女性社会关系模型中，但男性社会关系模型往往将女性视为惰性资源，很少考虑女性的影响。马达加斯加的Verreaux‘s sifaka为研究雄性联系和结合的解释提供了一个极好的机会，因为该物种以多雄性群体的可变存在和雌性对雄性的优势而闻名。该项目将使用最新的分析工具检查多个社会群体多年来的行为、人口统计、遗传、健康、荷尔蒙和体型数据，以检验新的和现有的假设，并提供和开发一个能够解释动态长期模式的西法卡社会模型。它将探索如何修改当前模型的多个新建议，包括(1)超越简单的合作-竞争二分法的更广泛和细致入微的模型，(2)女性在影响男性交往模式和社会关系中的作用，以及(3)从认为一个群体中的雄性数量对于一个物种来说是稳定的，转变为对可变和动态的分组模式的新强调。

Models of social relationships help to explain how and why social groups form, are maintained, and vary across primate species. These models typically focus on the number of males present in a social group and whether males are cooperative or competitive with each other. This project investigates the social behavior, demography, hormones, and genealogy of a wild primate species to understand the causes and consequences of male social relationships. The project will support conservation efforts by contributing valuable knowledge about an endangered primate in a poorly understood habitat and exemplifying to local residents the economic value of conservation. The research will support a new generation of scientists and conservation professionals via employment and training opportunities. Undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in data collection and analysis, gaining hands-on research experience in the US and abroad, building their research toolkits, and honing their critical thinking skills. Additionally, the project will increase diversity in biological anthropology by creating mentoring opportunities for minority and first generation undergraduates. Notably, by including a high school teacher in the research, the project will improve K-12 scientific curriculum development.Recent data from a greater diversity of species has led researchers to question aspects of standard primate behavior models. Although models of male social relationships have sought to incorporate the social diversity that is present among males, these models continue to struggle to explain why numerous primate populations exhibit both single-male and multi-male social groups, and to predict when these variable grouping patterns occur. Moreover, while male influences are incorporated into models of female social relationships, models of male social relationships often treat females as inert resources and rarely account for female influences. Verreaux's sifaka in Madagascar provides an excellent opportunity to investigate explanations of male association and bonding because the species is renowned for both the variable presence of multi-male groups and female dominance over males. This project will examine behavioral, demographic, genetic, health, hormone, and body size data from multiple social groups over multiple years using the latest analytical tools to test new and existing hypotheses, and to inform and develop a model of sifaka societies that accounts for dynamic long-term patterns. It will explore multiple new suggestions for how current models can be modified, including (1) a more expansive and nuanced model that moves beyond a simple cooperation-competition dichotomy, (2) a role for females in influencing male association patterns and social relationships, and (3) a shift from viewing the number of males in a group as stable for a species to a new emphasis on variable and dynamic grouping patterns.