Kinship and sociability in eastern grey kangaroos
The main objective of my doctoral research at the University of Queensland was to quantify how the overlap of kin in both time and space affects association patterns in eastern grey kangaroos, according to age, sex and reproductive status. At the same time, I evaluated individual variation in sociability and the fitness costs and benefits of individual differences in social behaviour. The study area is at Wilsons Promontory National Park in Victoria, Australia, where we have marked over 1250 animals. The kangaroos exist at high density in a large, open, population and my present research involves mother-offspring vocal communication and the factors influencing age at weaning. |