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The goal of this thesis is to determine how a fission-fusion social system affects the behavior of captive female gorillas and their dependents. At the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, the Western Lowland Gorillas live in an unusual social system that provides an exciting research opportunity. There are two adult female gorillas living at the zoo, one juvenile female, and one infant ... read moremale, in addition to two adult males. The adult males are always separated, and they take turns spending the day with the females and infant. In the wild, group composition does not change every day like it does for these females, so the Franklin Park Zoo provides a rare opportunity for a natural experiment. This thesis will provide insight into the effect that an adult male has on the behavior of other group members and seek to shed light on socioecological theory and captive gorilla welfare.
Thesis (B.A.)--Tufts University, 2023.
Submitted to the Dept. of Psychology.
Committee: Aniruddh Patel, Zarin Machanda.read less
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