Most primates live in relatively stable social groups, and for many species these groups occupy partially overlapping homeranges. This non-exclusivity raises fundamental questions about when and how groups temporally partition the landscape. The central hypothesis of this study is that group-level social dominance hierarchies function to resolve intergroup resource competition, thus proximately affecting the allocation of resources among social groups and ultimately affecting differences between groups in the average individual fitness of group members. Investigating the influence of group-level dominance on the dynamics of space use over time is the focus of this research on a well-characterized population of savannah baboons (Papio cynocephalus) in the Amboseli basin of east Africa. In addition to utilizing long-term ecological, life history, and behavioral data available through the Amboseli Baboon Research Project, researchers will collect novel data using modern geographic information system (GIS) tools to (1) automatically record the locations of numerous groups on a pre-determined, synchronous schedule and (2) delineate resources and habitats within the study system. These approaches will, for the first time, permit detailed analyses of both the interrelated movements of multiple groups within this population and the temporal and spatial relationship among the ecological resources for which they compete. Results will thereby provide data essential to examining landscape-level questions such as how group-level dominance patterns affect where and when groups move in relation to one another, what role these hierarchies have in mediating when groups have access to limited resources, and the influence of spatial context on resource selection and exploitation. Because baboons are considered valuable analogs to hominins, findings will have significance relevant to the spatial ecology of both modern primates and human ancestors. A dedicated website component will be developed to present the research findings and implications through interactive mapping applications that illustrate dynamic space-use and movement patterns.
