Behavioral Flexibility in Primates

Clara B. Jones, Ph.D. has studied spiders, fish, monkeys, and humans, including work in the field, in zoological gardens, and in the laboratory. Most of her research, beginning in 1973, has been conducted on the howling monkeys of Central America. Her publications primarily relate to sexual selection, reproductive competition, social organization, interindividual conflicts of interest, dispersal, and evolution in heterogeneous regimes. She has also contributed to the literature on primate conservation and population biology.

• to Intraindividual Variation of Primate Behavior.- The Costs and Benefits of Behavioral Flexibility to Inclusive Fitness: Dispersal as an Option in Heterogeneous Regimes.- Primate Signatures and Behavioral Flexibility in Heterogeneous Regimes.- Social Cognition and Behavioral Flexibility: Categorical Decision-Making as a Primate Signature.- Female Primates as “Energy-Maximizers” in Heterogeneous Regimes.- Male Primates: “Time-Minimizers” in Heterogeneous Regimes.- Intersexual Interactions in Heterogeneous Regimes: Potential Effects of Antagonistic Coevolution in Primate Groups.- Sociosexual Organization and the Expression of Behavioral Flexibility.- Behavioral Flexibility: Interpretations and Prospects.

From the reviews: "The behavioral flexibility of primates is widely appreciated, but it is rare to find a book like this one, which treats the topic with the analytical attention it deserves. Clara Jones draws heavily on examples ... to illustrate why considers the ability to respond to changing conditions to be one of the signature traits of primates. ... Behavioral Flexibility in Primates is a slim volume whose 138 pages of text are supplemented with a helpful glossary of technical terms and references ... ." (Karen B. Strier, International Journal of Primatology, Vol. 27 (2), April, 2006)