How many friends you have and what groups you hang with can have profound consequences for your health and survival — whether you’re a human or a nonhuman primate. Geladas are no exception. Female geladas form differentiated social relationships, which means that they have preferred social partners (usually their close relatives; Tinsley Johnson et al., 2014). We are studying the socioecological causes and fitness consequences of these social relationships as well as why females live in units that range in size from 2 to 12 adults. The goal if this research is to paint a detailed picture of how sociality evolved in humans and other animals.

Our Relevant Publications

• The Goldilocks effect: female geladas in mid-sized groups have higher fitness
• Quantifying uncertainty due to fission-fusion dynamics as a component of social complexity
• Social Knowledge and Signals in Primates
• Chest color and social status in male geladas (theropithecus gelada)
• A simple method for measuring colour in wild animals: validation and use on chest patch colour in geladas (Theropithecus gelada)
• The socio-genetics of a complex society: female gelada relatedness patterns mirror association patterns in a multilevel society