Genes Play Major Role in Primate Social Behavior

 

 

The biologists at the Oxford University discovered that "primate species tended to have the same social structure as their close relatives, regardless of how and where they live."

This contradicts the idea of ecology but supports the idea that social behaviors in primates are largely determined by genetics. 

More specifically, by discovering the roles of genes, the researchers have found what have been known and told are not likely true. These are the challenges: 

"social structure is shaped by environment - for instance, a species whose food is widely dispersed may need to live in large groups.

Complex societies evolve step by step from simple ones.

and the so-called social brain hypothesis: that intelligence and brain volume increase with group size because individuals must manage more social relationships."

 The article also describes the difference in social evolution between humans other primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas.