Evolutionary, Proximate, and Functional Primate Social Ecology

Abstract

Social ecology is separated into evolutionary, proximate, and functional subdivisions. In evolutionary social ecology, reconstructions are made of the differences in selection pressures responsible for causing genetically based differences between social organizations. Proximate social ecology is the study of relationships between variation in the immediate environment and variation in social organizations during the lifespan of the members in those social organizations. Functional social ecology is the study of effects of the immediate environment on social organizations and of how those effects are related to the inclusive fitness of individuals within the social organizations. This tripartite division makes it possible to order laboratory, colony, and field investigations of social ecological questions within a single conceptual framework. Consequently, the division may break down some of the barriers between studies of primate social ecology conducted in very different environments. Issues discussed include (1) the necessary link between developmental studies of social behavior and evolutionary social ecology, (2) the current empirical focus on proximate social ecology, (3) the current theoretical focus on evolutionary social ecology, and (4) the need for more studies empirically linking use of environment with social behavior.