Jason M. Kamilar

2017-2018 ISSR Scholars Project Title: How is Sociality and Group Structure Related to Kinda Baboon Microbiome Diversity?

We need a broader context to understand the evolution of the human microbiome (i.e. the bacteria and other micro-organisms found on and in the body), especially with regard to the effects of sociality. Humans exhibit uniquely complex social systems, but the basic structure of human social interactions is also observed in other primate species. This study will be among the first to quantify and test hypotheses to explain variation in the microbiome diversity of a highly social nonhuman primate, the “Kinda” baboon of Zambia.