Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Development of Efficient Foraging Behavior in Aye-Ayes

博士论文改进：指猴高效觅食行为的发展

• 批准号: 0332975
• 负责人: Carel van Schaik
• 金额: $ 0.65万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-11-01 至 2004-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0332975&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Development; Efficient

This project will investigate the factors that limit the development of efficient tap-foraging skills in immature aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) at the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC). Using experimental methods, this study will assess the age at which adult-level foraging proficiency is reached, and will determine whether lack of experience, small body size, and/or poor neuromuscular control prevent young aye-ayes from foraging efficiently. Results will test whether the time needed to learn complex foraging skills can explain the remarkably slow development of the aye-aye.Study of the ontogeny of lemur foraging efficiency has important implications for understanding the evolution of slow development, or slow life history, in other primates, including humans. Human life history features, including a long juvenile period and lifespan, may be explained by a dietary shift towards more specialized, hard-to-obtain foods (e.g. meat, larvae). Additionally, human behaviors, such as food sharing with offspring, can be associated with slow life history. Recently, anthropologists have begun to test this hypothesis with long-term data from hunter-gatherer groups, with specific attention to the relative importance of experience and size to foraging efficiency. Following in this vein, the proposed project will be among the first to experimentally test hypotheses for life history evolution. Because aye-ayes, like humans, are also characterized by a relatively slow life history and a specialized, nutrient-rich diet, this study is directly relevant to our understanding of derived human life history traits.More broadly, this research project will provide multiple opportunities for promoting education and participation in research. Preliminary data have been collected with the help of three student research assistants trained in behavioral observations and data collection techniques using hand-held computers. The proposed research will continue to provide opportunities for education and training of student research assistants. Additionally, the DUPC is an educational facility that provides information about lemurs and their ecosystems to thousands of visitors annually. Visitors to the center will have the opportunity to observe data collection sessions and to learn about this research project via educational materials.This research is also more broadly applicable to understanding human dietary development. Like non-human primates and other mammals, humans have been observed to learn about food socially. Eating patterns, including obesity and dieting, appear to develop gradually throughout childhood. Understanding the development of foraging behaviors in non-human primates can help us understand the underlying stages of human dietary development, and may provide insight into preventative treatment of food-related disorders.Finally, this research will provide helpful information for the reintroduction of aye-ayes and other mammals into the wild, and thus has important implications for conservation. While the release of animals within their current or former range is becoming increasingly important in conservation and wildlife management, primates in particular appear to rehabilitate less successfully than other mammals. Discerning how primates learn to forage will help us predict at what age young animals reach foraging proficiency adequate for independent survival, and whether reintroduced animals will be able to forage in a novel environment. This is particularly relevant for the aye-aye, which is highly threatened by habitat loss and hunting.

该项目将在杜克大学灵长类动物中心 (DUPC) 调查限制未成熟指猴 (Daubentonia madagascariensis) 高效敲击觅食技能发展的因素。 本研究将使用实验方法评估达到成年水平觅食能力的年龄，并将确定缺乏经验、体型较小和/或神经肌肉控制不良是否会妨碍年轻指猴有效地觅食。 结果将测试学习复杂的觅食技能所需的时间是否可以解释指狐猴发育异常缓慢的现象。狐猴觅食效率的个体发育对于理解其他领域缓慢发育或缓慢生活史的进化具有重要意义。灵长类动物，包括人类。 人类生命史特征，包括较长的青少年期和寿命，可以通过饮食向更专业、更难以获得的食物（例如肉类、幼虫）的转变来解释。 此外，人类行为，例如与后代分享食物，可能与缓慢的生活史有关。 最近，人类学家开始用狩猎采集群体的长期数据来检验这一假设，特别关注经验和体型对觅食效率的相对重要性。 本着这一精神，拟议的项目将成为首批通过实验检验生命史进化假设的项目之一。 由于指猴与人类一样，也具有相对缓慢的生活史和专门的、营养丰富的饮食的特点，因此这项研究与我们对衍生的人类生活史特征的理解直接相关。更广泛地说，该研究项目将提供多种促进教育和参与研究的机会。 在三名受过行为观察和使用手持计算机数据收集技术培训的学生研究助理的帮助下收集了初步数据。 拟议的研究将继续为学生研究助理的教育和培训提供机会。 此外，DUPC 是一个教育设施，每年向成千上万的游客提供有关狐猴及其生态系统的信息。 该中心的参观者将有机会观看数据收集会议，并通过教育材料了解该研究项目。该研究也更广泛地适用于了解人类饮食发展。 与非人类灵长类动物和其他哺乳动物一样，人类通过社交方式了解食物。 饮食模式，包括肥胖和节食，似乎是在整个童年时期逐渐形成的。 了解非人类灵长类动物觅食行为的发展可以帮助我们了解人类饮食发展的基本阶段，并可能为食物相关疾病的预防性治疗提供见解。最后，这项研究将为重新引入眼睛提供有用的信息。狐猴和其他哺乳动物进入野外，因此对保护具有重要意义。 虽然在保护和野生动物管理中释放当前或以前活动范围内的动物变得越来越重要，但灵长类动物的康复似乎不如其他哺乳动物成功。 了解灵长类动物如何学习觅食将有助于我们预测幼年动物在什么年龄达到足以独立生存的觅食能力，以及重新引入的动物是否能够在新环境中觅食。 这对于指猴尤其重要，它们受到栖息地丧失和狩猎的高度威胁。