Behavioral ecology, social dynamics and population recovery of neotropical primates

我的最终研究目标是了解非人类灵长类动物的两性如何以及为什么通常生活在稳定的，全年的社会群体中，这在哺乳动物中很少发现。具体来说，我研究竞争与合作如何影响生殖成功，觅食模式和多男性，多女性社会的人口动态。我特别感兴趣的是，是什么让一些个人、团体和群体比其他人更成功。 自1983年以来，我跟踪了三种猴子（卷尾猴，吼猴和蜘蛛猴）居住在哥斯达黎加瓜纳卡斯特保护区（ACG）的圣罗莎区。特别关注卷尾猴，我的研究计划探讨了男性女性和女性女性竞争的方式在该物种的生态，人口和生活史限制内运作。我们记录交配和生殖策略，种群动态和觅食行为的性别差异。为了获得数据，我们使用观察方法和非侵入性技术（例如，粪便和尿液取样）。我们的研究是对新热带灵长类动物进行的最长时间的实地研究之一。在接下来的5年里，我们将整合GIS分析，新的实验室技术和合作，整合来自不同现场的生活史和人口数据集。 ACG是一个主要的恢复项目的网站，以再生热带干旱森林以前被几个世纪的农业和伐木活动干扰。在过去的27年里，我的团队记录了灵长类动物种群回归这些再生森林，记录了种群恢复中的物种和性别差异。我们对这些猴子的生殖和生态模式的长期研究涉及到灵长类动物中社会性的适应价值和男女竞争与合作的动态。同时，我们对它们种群增长模式的研究对于恢复栖息地中哺乳动物种群的保护管理计划具有应用价值。

My ultimate research goal is to understand how & why nonhuman primates of both sexes usually live in stable, year-round social groups, a trait rarely found in mammals. Specifically, I study how competition & cooperation affect reproductive success, foraging patterns & population dynamics in multi-male, multi-female societies. I am particularly interested in what makes some individuals, groups & populations more successful than others. Since 1983, I have tracked three species of monkeys (capuchins, howler & spider monkeys) residing in the Santa Rosa sector of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica. Focusing in particular on capuchins, my research program examines the ways in which male-female & female-female competition operate within the ecological, demographic & life history constraints of the species. We document mating & reproductive strategies, population dynamics & sex differences in foraging behavior. To obtain data, we use a combination of observational methods & non-invasive techniques (e.g., fecal & urine sampling). Ours is one of the longest running field studies of neotropical primates. In the next 5 years, we will incorporate GIS analyses, new lab techniques & collaborations that integrate life history & population datasets from diverse field sites. ACG is the site of a major restoration project to regenerate tropical dry forest previously disturbed by centuries of agricultural and logging activities. Over the past 27 years, my team has documented the return of primate populations to these regenerating forests, documenting species & sex differences in population recovery. Our long-term study of reproductive & ecological patterns in these monkeys goes to the heart of debates about the adaptive value of sociality & the dynamics of male-female competition & cooperation in primates. As well, our study of their population growth patterns has applied value with respect to conservation management programs for mammalian populations in recovering habitats.