Behavioural development has received little attention in primates, despite having important influences on infant mortality, interbirth intervals, and therefore, growth of populations. Gorillas have long developmental periods, exhibit strong maternal bonds and integrate into intricate social systems, making them an ideal species in which to investigate non-human primate development. Gorillas exist across a range of habitats, and differences in behaviour, both within and between species reflect socioecological differences, for example, in the availability and distribution of food. Consequently, by using gorillas as a model, opportunities also exist to investigate environmental constraints on the development of independence. This study provides the first detailed analysis, with reference to ecological factors, of the development of behavioural skills and relationships in wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Behavioural development of western lowland gorillas is then compared with published accounts of development in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) to determine the extent to which differing ecology influences behaviour. The study was conducted at Mbeli Bai in the Republic of Congo, a large, marshy clearing, visited by gorillas predominantly for feeding purposes. Data were collected using scan, focal, all-occurrence and ad libitum sampling methods from 58 gorillas below 8 years of age. Spatial relationships, suckling, and the nature of interactions involving immature individuals were analysed. The distribution of time between different behaviours by immatures, and the development of independent feeding and travelling behaviour was also investigated, and all were tested for differences as a result of immature age, sex and social group, or the mother's parity. Towards the end of infancy, individuals showed competent feeding behaviour in the bai. However, western lowland gorillas were not weaned until the juvenile period, and until this time, close association was common between mothers and offspring. With increasing independence from the mother there was limited investment in relationships with other individuals, and instead, a greater emphasis was placed on developing skills through play, alloparenting and agonistic interactions. When results were compared with those of mountain gorillas, there was evidence of increased investment in relationships, particularly with the silverback, by immature mountain gorillas, which was assumed to reflect lower rates of natal dispersal by mountain gorillas, and the greater likelihood that relationships with individuals in the natal group could prove useful in the future. Suckling and close proximity to the mother continued until later ages in western lowland gorillas, resulting in clear differences between them mountain gorillas in the duration of investment by mothers. More frugivorous western lowland gorillas required increased levels of investment by the mother before independence could be achieved, demonstrating the effect that resource availability can have on behavioural development in species where resources are widely and unpredictably dispersed.

Differential psychologists rightly identified evolutionary theory as a unifying framework for explaining the origins and persistence of individual differences in a wide array of human psychological characteristics. Psychological diversity occurs on multiple levels, including between species, populations, generations, and individuals. Each level reveals the outcome of evolutionary processes at different temporal scales. I embrace a range of methods and results from quantitative and population genetics, developmental evolution, and phylogenetically grounded comparative psychology to explore how personality evolves in humans and nonhuman primates. At the level of species, I compared personality structure derived from rater assessments for four species of macaques and found a consistent, core set of personality dimensions (Dominance, Confidence, and Friendliness) describing these species. At the population level, I studied the relationship in humans between fertility/longevity trade-offs and the average personality of a country and found that Neuroticism and Agreeableness exhibit adaptively plasticity to life-history conditions. At the level of families, I estimated the quantitative genetic structure of personality in orang-utans and found that, like humans, a large portion of the phenotypic variance was explained by non-additive genetic effects. I examined between generation changes in personality by testing whether personality traits in humans are genetically correlated with fitness and found that in modern environments personality evolves very slowly. Finally, I translated current conceptual models of biological reactivity and stress response into mathematical models of developmental evolution and determined that evolution would select highly resilient phenotypes but that variation could be maintained by skew in the distribution of underlying genetic factors. From these results I broadly conclude that primate personality structure is generally conserved among species, mean personality levels change only very slowly between human generations, and that this evolution results in a genetic basis of personality that is characterized by epistasis. The evolution of individual differences has much to gain from the rigorous application of evolutionary methodology.

The study of animal personality, i.e. consistent individual differences in animal behaviour, is a rapidly growing research field. The construct of personality has been studied in many different scientific disciplines including ethology, behavioural ecology, psychology, animal management and physiology. Studying personality using a comparative framework is important for establishing whether phylogeny and/or ecology are a driving force in personality development. The applied use of personality assessments to aid captive animal management could also have far reaching ramifications, as recent studies have demonstrated that personality has relationships with variables such as health, welfare and breeding success. Within the animal personality literature three main methods of assessing personality have been developed: i) coding behavioural data under natural conditions, ii) coding animals’ responses during novelty tests and iii) rating animals on sets of behaviourally defined traits. In the current study personality was investigated in three primate species, Sulawesi black crested macaques (Macaca nigra), barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) and common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). The two macaque species are closely related, being from the same genus, but show some differences in their ecology and behaviour while S. sciureus are phylogentically distinct but exhibit some similarities to the two macaque species in certain aspects of their ecology and behaviour. The aims of the study were twofold: i) establish whether phylogeny or socioecology has an impact on the development of personality structure by comparing the study species with other primate species, and ii) evaluate the use of personality assessments as a tool for the management of the study species in captivity. Personality was assessed using the trait rating method. Questionnaires consisting of 38 personality traits, with accompanying definitions, were sent to all European institutions holding any of the study species. Keepers were required to rate animals on each trait using a 1 – 7 interval scale. Personality assessments were tested for inter-observer reliability. For each species a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was carried out using only traits that exhibited good inter-observer reliability and scores for animals on each of the resulting components (personality dimensions) were calculated. Construct validity of the personality dimensions was assessed by evaluating the relationships between personality dimension scores and, i) behaviour under natural conditions, and ii) behaviour during a novel object test. In order to assess the management implications of personality assessments further analyses were carried out using the personality dimension data, i) a MANOVA was used to assess whether personality dimension scores were affected by Zoo, Age and Sex, ii) Generalised Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) were used to assess which, if any, specific Zoo variables effect mean personality scores, iii) multiple regression and ANOVA analyses were carried out to establish whether personality dimension scores could predict breeding variables in M. nigra, iv) parent-offspring regressions were used to assess the heritability of personality dimensions in M. nigra, and v) correlation and General Linear Model (GLM) analyses were used to assess whether personality dimension scores effected behavioural measures of enrichment use in aM. nigra group. Twenty four traits in M. nigra (N= 64), 25 traits in M. sylvanus (N= 62) and 18 traits in S. sciureus (N= 69)were rated reliably by human observers. When reliable traits were entered into a PCA for each species, results revealed three personality dimensions for M. nigra, Sociability, Dominance, and Emotionality; four personality dimensions for M. sylvanus, Sociability, Dominance, Emotionality and Human-Animal Sociability (HA-Sociability); and three personality dimensions for S. sciureus, Sociability, Dominance, and Cautiousness. Construct validity of each species personality ratings, in terms of relationships with observable behaviour, was demonstrated for each species. Validity was affected by contextual variables such as Zoo, Age and Sex, which, as personality can vary with the variables (see below) was to be expected. MANOVA results showed that the variable ‘Zoo’ had significant effects on personality dimension scores in all three species. Further investigation using GLMMs revealed that i) in M. nigra mean Sociability scores were higher in groups with a lower mean age, ii) in S. sciureus mean Sociability scores were higher in groups where keepers had a high mean experience (months) working with the animals, and iii) again in S. sciureus mean Cautiousness scores were higher in groups with a small total group size. Multiple regression showed that personality dimension scores could not predict breeding success variables in either male or female M. nigra individuals. Of the three variables that could affect the breeding success of a male/female partnership, Male, Female and Zoo, only Male identity significantly affected breeding success but this could not be assessed against personality.Of the three M. nigra personality dimensions only one, Sociability, appears to have a heritable component. There were no significant correlations between personality dimension scores of individual M. nigra and measures of enrichment use across a range of enrichment devices. Repeated measures GLM revealed that while the individuals did spend significantly different amounts of time interacting with each of the enrichment devices this did not vary as a function of either repetition number or personality. When comparing the three study species with other primate species, the Sociability and Dominance dimensions were comparable with previous research on non-human primates (NHP), except that aggressive-type traits found in other studies were not present in the Dominance dimension in M. nigra and M. sylvanus. This may be attributed to data suggesting they have more tolerant social systems compared to other primate species. The Emotionality dimension was similar across the two macaque species and was comparable to analogous dimensions in other NHP species. The Cautiousness dimension in S. sciureus was found to be similar to dimensions such as fearfulness and bold/shy in other NHP species. The HA-Sociability dimension found in M. sylvanus could not be compared with other primate studies as, to date, there has been limited investigation of human-directed personality dimensions in captive primates. Quantitative analyses using partial Mantel tests were conducted to evaluate if either phylogenetic similarity or similarity in socioecological variables significantly correlated with similarities in personality structure for 11 primate species (including the three study species). The results of this analysis were inconclusive as neither phylogenetic similarity nor socioecological similarity had a significant correlation with personality similarity. However the effect of socioecology was approaching significance, indicating that, selection pressures related to socioecology may play an important role in shaping personality structure but further data collection on a wider range of species is needed to explore these relationships further. In terms of the management of the study species in the current study, it was demonstrated that the captive environment, particularly the social environment and human-animal relationships (HARs), has a significant impact on personality and so personality could prove to be a valuable management tool. Breeding success of M. nigra could not be predicted by personality and this could be an indicator that M. nigra actually adapt to life in captivity relatively well compared to some other species.

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Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

A dissertation submitted to Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2012.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy. July, 2016. / Fossil primates are some of the most well represented fauna in South Africa’s fossil Plio-Pleistocene cave sites. Sterkfontein preserves the largest number of fossil primates and a large portion of these are cercopithecoid remains. This research project provides a taxonomic analysis of the abundant fossil cercopithecoid post-cranial limb elements discovered at the site. One thousand five hundred fourteen identifiable fossil cercopithecoid postcrania from the Sterkfontein caves are analysed. From these, five genera are identified from morphologically diagnostic postcranial elements; these are Papio, Parapapio, Theropithecus, Cercopithecoides and Cercopithecus. Theropithecus is identified in Member 4, earlier than previously known. It is established that size, form and function are important factors in taxonomic studies. They play a major role in taxonomic examinations; however, they cannot be treated as disconnected facets of a taxonomic exercise. Each plays an essential role in taxonomic analyses. The study confirms that the Member 4 environment, which illustrates the turn from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene and the most mosaic of all the Plio-Pleistocene sites of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, samples the most faunal variability in the Sterkfontein Cave deposits. This research supports the hypothesis that carnivores were not the main accumulating agent for the cercopithecoid fossil remains within the caves. The carnivores, however, impacted the fossil cercopithecoid assemblage. Leopards and hyaenas are identified as some of the carnivores which accumulated the fossil cercopithecoids within the Sterkfontein caves. The research has opened a new scope for taxonomic analysis of isolated fossil cercopithecoid postcrania in the southern African fossil cave sites. / LG2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Johannesburg, 2012 / This experiment was designed to evaluate whether an allogeneic fibrin-fibronectin protein concentrate (AFFP) can not only prevent ankylosis and root resorption of autotransplanted roots during healing but contribute to regenerate a periodontal attachment as well. In two adult male baboons (Papio ursinus), four horizontal alveoli, 2 to 3 mm deep, were prepared bilaterally in the buccal alveolar and basal bone adjacent to the first and second mandibular molars to receive the roots of the adjacent two molars. Following hemisection, the first and second mandibular molars were extracted, the coronal two-thirds of the roots were planed to remove the remnants of the periodontal ligament and cementum and a notch was placed at the junction between the planed and non-planed surfaces. The planed surfaces were demineralised with citric acid at pH 1 for 3 min. Before transplantation, the crowns were resected and the experimental roots and alveoli were coated with the AFFP prepared from pooled fresh-frozen baboon plasma. The animals were killed 55 days after the transplantations. Histometrical evaluation was performed on serial sections cut in a bucco-lingual direction parallel to the long axis of the transplanted roots. An analysis of variance, in relation to the extent of ankylosis and root resorption, revealed minimal differences between the treatments of experimental and control roots both in the planed and non-planed sections. In this primate autotransplantation model, the treatment with AFFP did not prevent ankylosis and root resorption and did not result in the establishment of a new periodontal attachment.