Doctoral Dissertation Research: The reproductive ecology of the Kinda baboon

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Many models of primate behavior and evolution have relied heavily on the generally well-studied baboon genus. However, the relatively understudied Kinda baboon exhibits unique physical and social traits compared to other baboon species, suggestion a wider variety of reproductive strategies that should be considered in baboon models. This project will collect new data on the Kinda baboon to understand the evolution of their unusual biology, facilitating future comparative studies into the evolution of mating system diversity among primates including our own hominin lineage. This project will facilitate the training of graduate and undergraduate students in multiple aspects of research including field data collection and processing, computational methods, and laboratory work. The project will support international research collaborations, science outreach to students and local communities, conservation efforts, and data dissemination through various media. Kinda are the only baboon species for which we lack detailed biological data, and are an excellent species on which to test predictions of evolutionary models in primatology. Kinda baboons have a unique suite of characteristics, including reduced sexual dimorphism and male-driven intersexual social relationships, suggesting that baboons exhibit more variation in their reproductive strategies than previously thought. This project will test the hypothesis that compared to other baboons, Kinda baboons evolved traits indicative of weaker direct, and stronger indirect, male-male competition. This project has two major objectives, to: 1) characterize the mating system and types of reproductive competition observed in a population of Kinda baboons; and 2) characterize the consequences of these characteristics for female sexual signaling. We will achieve this through: i) the characterization of female reproductive life-history; ii) hormonal assessment of reproductive profiles; iii) the calculation of female reproductive synchrony and male reproductive skew; and iv) the reliability of female sexual signals in advertising female fertility. Since data on these parameters exist for other baboon populations, we will be able to compare our results to those of other baboon taxa. This project will result in the first detailed longitudinal dataset on wild Kinda baboon reproduction, particularly in relation to physiology and sexual signaling. The project will facilitate future comparative studies into the evolution of mating system diversity among primates and other animals. Further, exploring the behavioral and life-history correlates of reduced sexual dimorphism, a characteristic observed in Kinda baboons and also in hominins, will provide important insights into the evolution of hominin reproductive strategies and the selective pressures leading to the derived suite of modern human traits.