Many lemurs exhibit what is known as "female dominance". However, power involves more than physical fighting abilities. Animals can also use leverage to obtain resources. My recent research has suggested that female power in lemurs may include leverage. This interdisciplinary project uses economic and political theory to explore social relationships in lemurs. The objective of this research is to examine some of the factors relating to power that can lead to variation in social relationships in wild Verreaux's sifaka. Who wins conflicts? Does it vary by context? Because females are only larger than males during the rainy season, does female power change during the dry season? Do females have leverage during the mating season? How do the power dynamics change when females have infants? Research on grooming reciprocity in this population of sifaka suggests that individuals may be exchanging services. How does the exchange of services influence power dynamics?
Behavioral and morphological data have been collected on a wild population of Verreaux's sifaka. Most of the data have been entered into a relational database. However, some additional data need to be pulled from the original datasheets. The assistant will help code this additional behavioral data and help conduct data analysis. The assistant will also help prepare the publication that will result from this research by conducting a literature search, reading drafts of the manuscript, and formatting the manuscript for submission to a scholarly journal.
none required but preffered if the students has taken a course in primate behavior or animal behavior
