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Overview of kin selection in nonhuman primates

WU Linlin,GUO Songtao,QI Xiaoguang,ZHANG Pei,LI Baoguo   

  • Online:2013-02-27 Published:2013-08-20

非人灵长类的亲缘选择

吴林林 郭松涛 齐晓光 张培 李保国   

  1. 西北大学生命科学学院

Abstract: Kin selection is one of the most important research topics in animal evolution. Nonhuman primates are particularly suitable subjects for kinship studies because of their complex social networks. Kin selection is based on kin recognition and usually shown in primates through kin-biased social behaviors. This paper provides an overview of the mechanisms underlying kin recognition and the effects of kinship on social behaviors in nonhuman primates. Familiarity and phenotype matching are viewed as the most likely mechanisms of kin recognition. Neither is mutually exclusive and it is probable that both are used in combination to recognize one’s kin. Kinship is the primary force in patterning social behaviors within primate groups and it influences affiliative,aggressive and sexual behaviors in many species,although those influences are not identical between different groups. This means that kin selection theory helps to explain the distribution of social behaviors.We discuss the similarities and differences between these two mechanisms and the limitations of kin selection theory for primate groups.Studies on kin selection in nonhuman primates have been progressing for decades,most recently through molecular genetics techniques. Nonetheless,the difficulty of assessing the values of b and c in Hamilton’s equation and the limited number of studied primate orders are still issues to be solved in the future

Key words: Kin recognition, Kinship, Nonhuman primates, Social behaviors

摘要: 亲缘选择是动物进化的重要研究领域之一,非人灵长类因具有丰富的社会网络,是亲缘选择研究领域的重要类群。动物进行亲缘选择的前提是亲缘识别,并常通过社会行为的亲缘偏向表现。因此,本文从非人灵长类的亲缘识别机制和亲缘关系对其社会行为的影响两方面进行了综述:熟悉性和表现型匹配是目前普遍认同的非人灵长类亲缘识别机制,同时这两种机制并不相互排斥,它们可能共同在灵长类的亲缘识别中起作用;在非人灵长类中,亲缘关系是影响社会行为模式的主导因子,它影响着多种灵长类个体的友好行为、攻击行为和性行为的选择,同时亲缘偏向行为在不同物种中表现不尽相同,说明亲缘选择理论可以部分解释灵长类的行为,但存在一定的局限性。本文分析了两种亲缘识别机制的异同以及在实际研究中利用亲缘选择理论解释非人灵长
类社会行为的局限及可能原因。目前,对非人灵长类社会中的亲缘选择研究正逐步深入,其中分子遗传学技术的应用是重要的推动力量。同时,依然存在诸如汉密尔顿规则参数估计和新大陆猴的亲缘选择研究案例的难点,有待研究者进一步探究。

关键词: 非人灵长类, 亲缘识别, 亲缘关系, 社会行为