Group-fusion and Hybridization Between Anubis and Hamadryas Baboons at Gola, Ethiopia
1993
Shimelis Beyene (Addis Abeba University, Addis Abeba (Ethiopia))
Census was made on group size and composition of 19 baboon groups, along a 130 km long transect, across the anubis-hamadryas baboons hybrid zone to assess the extent of hybridization. One of the baboon groups surveyed, the Gola group, was unique in having several individuals of different age-sex classes that appeared "pure" anubis and "pure" hamadryas in their external morphology and some hybrids. All other baboon groups surveyed in this and other studies, on the other hand, consisted of individuals that were either predominantly anubis (with 1 or 2 hamadryas males) or predominantly hamadryas (with few anubis-like females and/or males) or predominantly hybrids. The composition of the Gola group appears to suggest that this group may have been formed by the fusion of previously independent anubis and hamadryas groups into a single, stable group. Preliminary observations on mating patterns show that group-fusion can be one of the possible avenues for hybridization between anubis and hamadryas baboons. The pattern of gene flow may be more complex and the rate of hybridiaztion more rapid in this mixed group than in groups with few cross-migrants.
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