Thesis/Dissertation Guide For Postgraduates Of Northwest University

Food pressure is the key to the stability of social structure in primate.Understanding competition and cooperation model among individuals is the basic content to study the respond of individuals to food pressure in a group.In primate social systems,there are social structres,which make indivuals are not randomly interaction in social relations and individuals at different social structures show clearly division in social relations.Social structure would cause the nonuniform distribution of social resources such as food.Whether natural selection pressure will be various because of social structures which lead to the differentiation within the group?Whether the natural selcetion pressure affect inidivuals or social structure level above indivuals?This is a new challenge for natural selection theory.Some scholars believe that natural selection pressure acting on the individual level,as natural select theroy said:survive of the fittest;others argued that natural selection pressure acting on the group level,which contributed to Group selection.Golden snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus roxellana)groups live in mutilevel society(MLS),which exists at least two social levels.Symmetric cooperation relationship does not exist between one-male multi-females units(OMUs)because hierachy occures among OMUs within a group.Female individuals contacts each other frequently within OMU,however,less between the units.This species is the perfect model to study the natural selection pressure on a structured and multileveled socieity,and cooperation&competition within MLS.Our research aimed to understand under food competition,how females cooperate within OMU in clusterd and scattered food patchs,and explore food resource pressure diffusion path in MLS.Our study focus on the sightly provisioned Golden snub-nosed monkey group in Qinling Mountains,mimic natural food distribution,research on the ecological basis for cooperation at different levels.In certain circumstances of total food,control food distribution density and patch size of food distribution,designed two different model for food:food scattered distribution model,food clustered distribution model.From September 2015 to January 2016 in Qinling Zhouzhi nature reserve for 40 days of food uniform distribution model experiment:use focal animal sampling and all occurrence recording observation adult females within OMU during the active feeding period of competition and cooperation behavior relationship,cumulative observation time 14,480 minutes,collection attack yield behavior 367 times,collection genetics sample 62 copies.Using 18 microsatellite locis for genetic relationship analysis,we analysed the a totally 40-days food aggregation distribution model of experimental data from September 2013 to January 2014,and use cost-benefit method analysis in the individuals and units levels to study Golden snub-nosed adult females within OMU in Qinling Mountains and study on the competition and cooperation strategy,the results show that:1.Golden snub-nosed monkey groups in Qinling Mountains competition is the basic unit of a male and female social unit,breeding in the basic model of resource competition between food Contest competition,inside the adult females of the food resources is the basic mode for the Scramble competition;2.In certain circumstances of food,with the decreasing food distribution area,Golden monkeys within the large group of food increases competitive pressures,while adult females of the frequency of attacks increased in the OMU(t-test,t =-2.593,df=5.897,P = 0.042),but the proportion among females in conflict did not change significantly(t-test,t =-0.993,df= 10,P = 0.344),the frequency of combined attacking increased adult feamales within unit(t-test,t =-4.498,df=10,P = 0.001),by the cooperation of combined attacking within unit,the increasing food resource pressure can be released into competition between units.3.When the unit is competing for food resource,if adult females expend more competition cost(attack frequency(Chi-square,?2=80.444,P<0.001)and the number of females when attcking between the OMU(Chi-square,?2 = 329.176,P<0.001)),OMU will gain more benefit on feed competing?4.Female competition exists within the unit,but competing conflicts mainly coourrencing between units(food aggregation distribution models 84.12%,85.80%food uniform distribution model),all adult females in the unit will get benefit,and within the unit,different females foraging time was similar,no significant differences(ANOVA test,F4,80= 0.735,P =0.571)Although each time the number of females participating attack between the units different,but each of the total number of female participation in combined attacking,were similar in the unit(Chi-square,?2 = 2,694,P=0.610).Different adult female in the unit's cost-benefit are not significantly different,there is no rigid hierarchical distribution system within the unit.5.In the food competition,Genetic Alliance does not exist among adult females(r =0.077,P = 0.563);rigid distribution system does not exist within the unit,the female does not exist Level Alliance(r =-0.159,P = 0.238).Alliances between individuals within the unit is driven by food resource pressure may vary from location,mutual cooperation,under the influence of kinship and relationships of multiple,based on return on investment and the formation of the social structure of the OMU "equal"competition and cooperation strategy.