 Primate Research Center. Parasite species diversity, prevalence and density will be compared between seasonality (birth vs. mating and rainy vs. dry), demography, and status in the dominance hierarchy. This research will broaden the understanding of the relationship between parasites and wildlife hosts and can be translated into wildlife management and conservation practices in <em>Macaca</em> and other mammal species
Grooming exchange: Cooperation and supply and demand among free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) on Cayo Santiago
Erica Dunayer, Ph.D candidate, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Dr. Carol Berman, University at Buffalo, SUNY
This doctoral dissertation will investigate cooperative exchanges in order to test predictions from several competing evolutionary hypotheses about cooperation. Specifically, the project will examine how well reciprocal grooming exchanges resemble those predicted by several competing theoretical hypotheses (kin selection, reciprocal altruism, biological markets theory, and social bond investment), in one comprehensive and integrated analysis. Additionally, there will be a more detailed investigation of biological markets theory. By focusing on exchanges of grooming for mates or infant handling, this study will also test a key prediction that exchanges conform to supply and demand relationships. The extent to which apparent supply and demand relationships may be artifacts of, or mediated by, stress responses will be examined behaviorally and physiologically.