"Patterns of social development have proven to vary widely within species, and to have important long-term effects on adult traits and fitness. This is especially true in species that have complex societies, such as spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). These animals have been well-studied over their entire lives, their ontogenetic development can be partitioned into distinct stages, and these hyenas are strongly affected by anthropogenic disturbance. My research uses social network analysis (SNA) to explore the social development of spotted hyenas in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Furthermore, I test how social development affects the fitness of individuals, and how human disturbance affects their development and adult traits. My research has demonstrated that male and female hyenas develop their social positions along different ontogenetic trajectories. Social rank affects the social development of females more than it affects that of males in this species. Their dimorphic patterns of social development also appear to prepare male and female hyenas for their different life-history trajectories of dispersal by males versus female philopatry in the natal clan. Furthermore, the longevity of females is affected by the social positions they hold as juveniles, particularly the positions they hold during the period before puberty but after they become independent of the communal den. My research has also shown that human disturbance is affecting spotted hyena development and behavior. Individuals who grow up in areas characterized by low anthropogenic disturbance are bolder than those from areas of high disturbance. This is consistent across ontogeny and different contexts, and boldness has significant effects on their survival. Additionally, human disturbance affects the overall social structure of entire clans, with clan members from areas of low-disturbance being more strongly and indirectly connected than those in high-disturbance areas, indicating that the high-disturbance clan is less cohesive than clans in low-disturbance area. Human disturbance also affects the social development of juveniles in ways that influence their survivorship. These findings elucidate the complexities of social development and its life-long consequences, something that has rarely been done for long-lived animals in the wild. Furthermore, they highlight how anthropogenic disturbance is affecting behavior in a highly plastic, gregarious carnivore, and my results could thus have important implications for carnivore conservation."--Pages ii-iii.
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