Alessandra Schnider

The aim of my master’s thesis is to determine the possible effect of relatedness on cooperation. Cooperation is a rather puzzling behaviour and has still not been fully understood. Kin Selection is one of the proposed mechanisms to explain cooperation. There is already ample evidence that cooperative behaviour is directed towards kin. Most studies though have only estimated relatedness through the mother. In my thesis I want to find out if genetical relatedness has an impact on the frequency and quality of performed cooperation. To answer my question I am working with a wild population of vervet monkeys in South Africa.