Thirty minutes before the talk coffee and cookies will be
available in
Bear Hall 211 at 2:30.
Title: Paternity Testing for Baboons and Biologists
Speaker: Michael Lavine
Duke University
Abstract: Baboons are promiscuous, both
males and females. Therefore, when an infant is born, it's not
obvious who the father is. Biologists can tell by DNA testing;
but can the baboons tell?
A team of biologists studying baboons in the wild spends time every day
recording baboon activity. Every once in a while, when a baboon
juvenile needs assistance an adult male comes to the rescue, becoming
the juvenile's "ally". Using data on allies, we address the
following questions.
1) Do adult males aid their own children more than other
juveniles?
2) Do adult males aid the children of their sexual partners more
than
other juveniles?
3) Does the tendency to become an ally depend on age or social
rank?
4) Are some adult males more helpful than others?
5) Do some males give aid as a courting strategy? (If I
help your child
now, will you spend more time with me during your
next ovulation cycle?)
Parallels to human behavior are drawn at your own risk.