2017 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Understanding the link between environmental pressures, sociality and health
| Project/Area Number |
17F17803
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ROMANO DE PAULA VALERIA 京都大学, 霊長類研究所, 外国人特別研究員
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-11-10 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | social evolution / primate societies / behavioral ecology / complex systems / wildlife epidemiology / agent-based modeling / social network analysis / animal conservation |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
With only 5 months of post-doctoral research, this project has a good set of achievements: i) first part of the modelling concluded. The individual-based model has been tested and is prepared for the implementation of environmental parameters; ii) protocol of experiments on social transmission was developed and sent to evaluation from a set of international experts, which collaborate with of our research; iii) collaboration with a Brazilian University to provide support on the development of epidemiological models. Main activities include the application of our models to the conservation of an endangered primate species in Brazil; iv) chapter on “Social behaviour and infectious diseases” written to the Encyclopedia of Animal Behaviour, 2nd edition (2nd author).
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
This project aims to investigate the establishment of group structure under different ecological constraints (i.e. pathogen and information transmission, predation risk, intra-group competition). Our approach is designed to use a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches, namely social networks and modelling (computational experimental evolution). While the individual-based model is already developed and, on the way to its implementation, we succeed to establish an international collaboration to develop experiments with fruit flies that will allow us to be the first to access the influence of pathogen avoidance mechanisms and information transmission in real systems. Besides, we have formalized a collaboration between our institute and a Brazilian university.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
-include elements from the environment (spatially explicit availability of resources, predation and infection risk) and demographic factors (e.g. group dynamics) in the individual-based model. Parameters (e.g. emigration rate) are based on real data collected from wild primates, such as Japanese macaques
-pilot study to investigate the response of fruit flies to substrates contaminated with distinct species of bacteria
-experiments of information and pathogen transmission with fruit flies. Characterize routes of social transmission, rate of social learning, development of social structure, social network analysis
-disseminate results through scientific publications and conference presentations, work on outreach and education in Japan and in Brazil
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