Doctoral Dissertation Research: Play Signaling and Play Behavior in Free-ranging Rhesus Monkeys on Cayo Santiago

博士论文研究：圣地亚哥岛自由放养恒河猴的游戏信号和游戏行为

• 批准号: 0622357
• 负责人: Carol Berman
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0622357&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Play; Signaling

This project will investigate the possible use of play signals for reducing potential social risks of play in free-ranging rhesus monkeys on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico by (1) identifying play signals (i.e., gestures that precede and predict the occurrence of play behavior) in addition to the well known play face, (2) examining whether specific play signals transmit information about specific types of play and/or are used at different distances from the receiver, and (3) examining whether signal frequency and intensity varies with aspects of the social relationship between the partners that are related to the risk that play will result in a negative outcome (aggression, refusal or maternal intervention). Social play, and particularly play fighting, poses an interesting question of how players know that their partner's intentions are playful rather than aggressive. One way for potential play partners to avoid confusion about playful intentions is through the use of play signals. However, the fact that many species have more than one play signal and that some play signals vary within species, raises an additional functional question. If the function of play signals is to merely communicate playful intent, why do animals need a variety of play signals? Could different play signals represent different types of play much like words represent different activities or ideas? Do monkeys signal more vigorously when proposing potentially more risky types of play? Some primate species, including rhesus macaques, have exhibited evidence that young animals regulate their play behavior to avoid physical or social risk by self-handicapping and by refusing high intensity play. Both self-handicapping and play refusal imply knowledge about the risks of high intensity social play. In this study, the applicant will examine the extents to which rhesus monkeys understand the social risks of play and use signals flexibly in a manner that reduces risk. Play with opposite sex, unrelated and younger partners (particularly when their mothers are present) is more likely to have a negative outcome than play with same sex, related peers. Thus this study will test the prediction that variation in signaling frequency and intensity is associated with partner age, sex, relatedness and/or the presence of mothers. The intellectual merits of this project involve increasing our understanding aspects of primate social cognition, including representational signaling, intentionality, knowledge about social risk and the use of foresight to avoid risk. The function of gestural signals, particularly play signals, has rarely been studied within the context of a naturally-organized social group. As such, it will contribute to our understanding of the evolution of social cognition. It will also provide critical data and hypotheses for experimentalists pursuing future research on this topic. The broader impacts of this project involve the enhancement of the research on Cayo Santiago, the expansion of the use of post-conflict/matched control methodology to social communication, and the dissemination of findings to the public, zoo staff, and university students interested in evolutionary and cognitive ecology. It will also form the basis of a Ph.D. dissertation and provide opportunities for research participation for two local undergraduate students.

该项目将调查可能使用游戏信号来降低自由放映的恒星猴子在Cayo Santiago上的潜在社会风险（3）检查信号频率和强度是否随伴侣之间与游戏风险相关的社会关系的各个方面而变化，这会导致负面结果（侵略，拒绝或孕产妇干预）。社交比赛，尤其是打架，提出了一个有趣的问题，即玩家如何知道自己的伴侣的意图是好玩而不是侵略性的。潜在的游戏伙伴避免对嬉戏意图感到困惑的一种方法是使用游戏信号。但是，许多物种具有多个游戏信号，并且某些游戏信号在物种中有所不同，这引发了一个其他功能问题。如果游戏信号的功能仅仅是传达嬉戏意图，为什么动物需要各种游戏信号？不同的游戏信号能否像词一样代表不同类型的戏剧代表不同的活动或想法？猴子在提出潜在风险的游戏类型时会更有力地发出信号吗？一些灵长类动物（包括恒河猕猴）表现出证据表明，幼小的动物调节其游戏行为，以通过自我障碍和拒绝高强度发挥来避免身体或社会风险。自我障碍和发挥拒绝，都意味着有关高强度社交游戏风险的知识。在这项研究中，申请人将研究恒河猴以降低风险的方式灵活地了解游戏和使用信号的社会风险。玩异性，无关和年轻的伴侣（尤其是当母亲在场的时候）比与同性，相关的同龄人更有可能产生负面结果。因此，这项研究将测试以下预测：信号传导频率和强度的变化与伴侣的年龄，性别，相关性和/或母亲的存在有关。该项目的智力优点涉及增加我们对灵长类动物社会认知的理解方面，包括代表性信号，意图，对社会风险的知识以及远见卓识来避免风险。在自然组织的社会群体的背景下，很少研究手势信号的功能，尤其是播放信号。因此，它将有助于我们理解社会认知的演变。它还将为实验者提供关键数据和假设，从而追求对此主题的未来研究。该项目的更广泛的影响涉及加强有关圣地亚哥Cayo的研究，扩展冲突/匹配的控制方法对社会交流的使用以及向公众，动物园工作人员和对进化论和认知生态感兴趣的大学生传播发现。它也将构成博士学位的基础。论文并为两名当地本科生的研究参与提供了机会。