big challenges in mammal societies
The focus of my current research is to understand the big societal challenges we face by studying their analogues in social animals, particularly Kalahari meerkats. These include:
- Warfare. Meerkats frequently encounter rival groups, and these encounters often escalate to full battles. What are the causes and consequences of this striking collective violence? By studying inter-group battles, what can we learn about the warmongering that continues to violently punctuate human history?
- Health inequalities. In many animal societies (including our own), some individuals enjoy perfect health, while others are plagued by stress and disease. Where do these health inequalities come from? What consequences do they have for individuals, societies, and populations as a whole?
- Wealth inequalities. While we might think of wealth and poverty being uniquely human traits, in fact animals can also 'own' property including territories, food stores, burrows etc. Such material wealth appears to be particularly prevalent in social species, where resources can be defended as a group and passed down to the next generation. Do meerkats show inequalities in wealth as extreme as we see in humans? What are the origins of these inequalities? Are they stable across generations, and how do they affect the fates of group members?
the ecology and evolution of the unique mutualism between honeyguides and humans
My work with Claire Spottiswoode at the University of Cambridge clarifies the unique mutualistic foraging partnership between human honey-hunters and the greater honeyguide. Honeyguides lead honey-hunters to bees, where the humans gain access to the bees' nest using fire and axes. The humans harvest the honey, and leave a piece of beeswax to reward the honeyguide. Our work investigated how this partnership evolved, how it is maintained, and how it impacts the honeyguide's health.