LTREB: Long-term behavioral and genetic analyses of a wild primate population

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

The long-term objective in this study is to develop a comprehensive picture of how behavior shapes population dynamics and individual life history outcomes in one population of wild mammals, the savanna baboons of the Amboseli basin in east Africa. The overall conceptual framework is concerned with how behavior affects survival and reproduction across the life time, as well as how behavior affects physiology and population genetics. Throughout their long-term work, the investigators have focused on a series of short-term goals that represent components of their long-term objective. With this LTREB project they overtly reach toward one longer-term goal. Specifically, they will follow the ongoing process of genetic admixture (hybridization) between a study population of primarily yellow baboons and neighboring populations of anubis (olive) baboons (a separate subspecies) in order to understand the way in which behavior impacts, and is in turn affected by hybridization. Their previous work has documented rather dramatic differences between hybrid and yellow baboons. This represents a unique opportunity to follow a natural process of population admixture over time, and to test hypotheses about its behavioral causes and consequences. This project is relevant to understanding speciation because of the role that hybridization can play in speciation. It is also relevant to understanding human evolution because of the close ecological parallels between baboons and humans, and the similarity between the baboon radiation in Africa and the evolutionary history of various human species. The proposed project will continue the investigators' long history of training American and Kenyan students, activities that are intimately connected with the research goals. Recent integration of research and education has focused on training for 13 post-doctoral fellows, 12 doctoral candidates, 5 Master's Degree students, 34 undergraduates, and 2 high school students. The investigators also actively collaborate with Kenyan scientists and are working with them on in-country capacity building.