 Apes exhibit incredible variation in grouping patterns. Various mechanisms regulate social interactions among individuals in social groups, yielding clearly recognizable social structures and discernible patterns at the population level. Group living also generates opportunities for dispersal between groups, group fission events and between-group interactions. From an evolutionary perspective, social structures have an effect on the transmission of genes from one generation to the next, and thus result in a discernable pattern in the genetic profile of populations.
In recent years, researchers have investigated these patterns in primates and described the underlying mechanisms, while addressing questions involving hierarchical structures, cooperative bonds and reproductive strategies. To better understand the population genetic structure of primates, it is important to consider microevolutionary mechanisms acting on the group level, as well as temporal changes in biogeography and demography.
In the Department of Primatology we focus on two major aspects of population structures. First, behavioral observations of social interactions between individuals allow us to address questions about the mechanisms affecting social structures within a group over the short term (more on this). Second, genetic investigations provide a means us to make inferences concering the evolutionary histories of primates. (more on the lab)
Current research topics of interest include:
- Understanding social interactions and structures by analyzing the behavior of individuals in groups
- Factors affecting the stability of social groups
- Analysis of the ecological factors influencing the current distribution of and temporal changes in primate populations
- Investigating how social structures affect the distribution of genetic variation in primate populations
- Inference of likely geographical barriers to gene flow
- Modeling the demographic history of primate populations using genetic markers
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