ANT203H5 Lecture Notes - Estrous Cycle, Common Chimpanzee, Breastfeeding
Document Summary
The composition of the social group: number of individuals. Number of females: age structure, relatedness of individuals. Early studies focused on ecological descriptions contrasting arboreal and terrestrial primates. Six primate niches: nocturnal insect eaters, arboreal leaf eaters, arboreal omnivores, semiterrestrial leaf eaters, semiterrestrial omnivores, primates living in arid environments, these categories have been elaborated on over the years. The study of behavior from an ecological and evolutionary perspective: feeding strategies, social strategies, reproductive strategies. Considerations of the cost and benefits to different strategies: e. g. , living in groups is good for noticing predators and defending food resources, but bad in that there are intragroup conflicts. Hierarchies and reconciliation behaviors are means to cope. At sexual maturity, males leave the unit in which they were born, but stay within the clan. Usually, they become a follower of another unit hearding juvenile or sub-adult females together to form their own new unit.
