Joseph T. Feldblum

I research the social and reproductive behavior and social structure of chimpanzees, taking advantage of the unparalleled long-term study of the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania, which is now in its 58th year. 
 
I am interested in sexual selection and the influence of demography on the efficacy of different sexually-selected reproductive tactics in primates.  In particular I am pursuing research on sexual coercion and alternative reproductive tactics among male chimpanzees.  I am also investigating the predictors and adaptive value of male relationships in chimpanzees, using recently-developed network-based methods to analyze long-term data and data collected during my field work.
 
Finally, I am interested in the evolution of group living and the determinants of social cohesion, prompting comparative work investigating the predictors of community structure across different communities of east African chimpanzees.  I plan to extend these efforts by using the network structure of groups to investigate the costs and benefits of group living, with a view to making broader comparisons among non-human primate and human groups.