Doctoral Dissertation Research: Socio-ecological influences on the development of primate social behavior

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

What factors help and hinder individuals in becoming socially competent and successful members of their community? This is an important but difficult question to tackle in humans. One way to approach the question is to look at closely related and socially sophisticated primates to focus on how competence develops at the start of an individual's life. This project draws upon anthropology, psychology, and cognitive research to study wild olive baboons, their social and ecological environments during infancy, and the way these interact to influence social development. In addition to providing important comparative data for understanding human social development, the project also supports graduate student training, ongoing primate conservation efforts, and community education and outreach. During this 12-month project, behavioral data will be collected on approximately 60 infants across two baboon troops at the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project (UNBP) in Kenya, to study the effects of maternal responsiveness and secondary attachments on the development of social awareness. The mother is the first contact and the first social model for an infant, but baboons also form strong relationships with adult males in their group. These latter relationships may be particularly important in one troop in which mothers are weaning their infants early since the spread of an invasive cactus that provides plentiful food year-round. There is therefore an opportunity to compare the development of social competence in a group not yet affected by the extra food and one that is. Rich ecological and historical data on these groups is available from UNBP, providing context for interpreting the results of the study and clarifying how infant social development is influenced by the group's and the mother's broader ecological setting. This research will add to the body of knowledge on primate development, may inform human caregiving practices, supports training of a female graduate student, and contributes to local community education and conservation efforts.