PROVIN Adam

Many primates live in stable and permanent social groups, where individuals interact regularly with each other. Social groups are structured according to dominance hierarchies and kinship ties, leading to modular social networks of relationships. Primates have the capabilities to recognize individually each of their group members and to classify them into categories based on dominance rank (up or down the hierarchy compared to themselves), affiliative ties (strong vs weak bonds), and kinship (kin vs non-kin). This social awareness allows individuals to interact consequently and adequately.

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More generally, in these social societies, social skills may be related to survival and reproduction. However, little is known about the extent to which the type of social network, the biases in dominance, kinship and social preference are linked to the degree of social awareness, especially in species with a relaxed social life and dense diverse social networks, like Sulawesi macaques, compared to species where social awareness has been studied, showing either a fragmented social organisation (fission-fusion, chimpanzees) or an intolerant social style (baboons). 

Concept of social tolerance by B.Thierry (Thierry B. Unity in diversity: Lessons from macaque societies. Evol Anthropol. 19 déc 2007;16(6):224‑38.)

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The objectives of the project are 1/ to assess the degree of social awareness in a tolerant primate species with a relaxed social life and dense diverse social networks, 2/ to relate this degree of social awareness to the hierarchy, the degree of social preference and the degree of kin bias and 3/ to the degree of variation in the ecological environment (natural hence variable vs. semi-free ranging hence stable) which has an influence on the expression of social decision-making. 

PhD student (A.Provin) taking behavioral data in a macaque group

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We will study two populations of macaques in different conditions: one group of crested macaques living in the wild in the Tangkoko Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia and one group of Tonkean macaques living in captivity at the CdP, Strasbourg, France. We will carry out behavioural observations in order to establish social networks and dominance hierarchies and will conduct cognitive experiments (like playback and stimuli presentations) to test the degree and use of social awareness in different contexts.

Alarm call of a female (Jamur) in front of a python picture