According to Jane Brockmann, who directs NSF's animal behavior research program, "This study puts together the behavior and physiology of individuals with the genetic and demographic structure of groups and populations. It will substantially increase our understanding of the evolution of complex social behavior."
NSF's physical anthropology office jointly funds the project.
It is, Brockmann said, the latest chapter in an ongoing 31-year study that has followed six generations from 11 baboon troops, representing more than 1,000 individuals. By developing innovative, non-invasive ways to collect hormonal and genetic data, and by developing a shared database of behavior, Altmann and Alberts, she said, have allowed new questions to be studied and have helped train many university students in Kenya and the U.S.
With continued NSF support, Alberts and Altmann plan to examine more baboon questions of their own: Does the presence of a father affect whether an infant or juvenile survives? How do father-offspring relationships form? Could it be that mothers play a role by selecting for friendly fathers in the first place?
"These relationships," said Altmann, "probably can form in a variety of ways."
To learn more, she and Alberts will examine physiological factors associated with baboon behaviors and life history by using fecal analysis to assess variations in levels of reproductive and stress hormones.
Silk, meanwhile, wants to see what causes variations among the size and composition of social relationships among female baboons. "And adult males," she said, "may be an important part of females' social networks."
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Contact: Sean Kearns
skearns@nsf.gov
703-292-7963
National Science Foundation
10-Sep-2003