The objective of my thesis is to investigate the ultimate drivers and proximate mechanisms behind sociality in the unique social system of Cape ground squirrels, a promiscuous, egalitarian South African rodent species. Using a top-down approach, my thesis will be partitioned into the following chapters:

1) Environmental buffering: the adaptive capacity of sociality for buffering adverse climatic conditions.
2) Social structure of family groups: kinship discrimination and sex-biased dispersal.
3) Social cognition: male vs female cognitive capacity.
4) the role of Oxytocin in Cape ground squirrel sociality.

By consolidating these distinct perspectives on sociality, I work towards a comprehensive framework integrating environmental drivers, social network structures and underlying mechanisms of a system characterized by features that are underrespresented in previous research on sociality. With this framework, I aim to further our understanding of the role of promiscuity, sex-biased dispersal and social hierarchies in the evolution of flexible social systems. 

Through my PhD research project, I have learned a wealth of new techniques, including behavioural observation, social network analysis, RFID indentifiers, various experimental setups,  genetic analysis, hormone analysis, non-invasive technologies (GPS & proximity collars). I am learning what it means to finish a research project from conception to publication. By being in charge when the PI is not on location, I am learning about the responsibilities of running a field site, supervising undergraduate students (as a teacher’s assistant) and what it means to manage a research lab (and improve on the workflow in the lab). In addition, learning to communicate effictively with collaborators/co-authors) and professors from other diciplines has broadened my scope on the field of animal behaviour.  

To learn more about the work that comes out of Dr. Waterman’s research lab, you can visit the lab website here!