Matrilineal Kinship and Primate Behavior

Abstract

Abstract Previous reviews of the impact of maternal kinship on primate behavior (Gouzoules 1984, Gouzoules & Gouzoules 1987, Walters 1987, Bernstein 1991, but see Silk 2001) have focused on a limited number of the cercopithecine taxa (i.e., macaques, baboons, and vervets) even though it is generally recognized that the female philopatric “cercopithecine model” is representative of only one phylogenetic branch of the primate order as a whole (Gouzoules & Gouzoules 1987, Strier 1994). This situation has arisen due to the excellent observational conditions for many cercopithecine species culminating in numerous long-term studies of kinship. In contrast, most noncercopithecine primates are generally much more difficult to study due to difficult terrain and/or poor visibility. As a result, relatively few researchers endeavored to take on the challenge of specifically identifying and following individuals longitudinally within social groups of these understudied species until the last decade or so. Hence, our overall knowledge regarding the impact of maternal kinship on primates is biased and limited. However, recent mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype testing on wild ape groups has given us the opportunity to test some assumptions regarding the impact of maternal kinship on behavior in some male philopatric primate groups (e.g., bonobos and chimpanzees). Additionally, in the last decade, researchers have begun to explore maternal kinship relationships among female philopatric platyrrhine species previously unstudied due to the paucity of habituated social groups (e.g., Cebus).

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