Sex-mediated gene flow of grayfoot chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) in a highly seasonal habitat in Gorongosa National Park

Investigating primates’ behavioral variation at the inter-population level is important for the understanding of the evolutionary processes leading to species-specific patterns. The study of behavioral diversity among populations also contributes to improving’ primate conservation efforts. Dispersal patterns tend to be similar among close phylogenetic lineages but may vary in response to individual-based responses. Here, we investigate dispersal patterns of chacma baboons ( Papio ursinus griseipes ) living in Gorongosa National Park (GNP) and the Catapu Forest Reserve (CFR) in central Mozambique. The park consists of a mosaic landscape, located in a seasonally variable area. GNP was the epicenter of a major war, which severely reduced most apex predators resulting in limited mammalian predation on baboons and a steep increase in number of groups and/or group’s fission. We used a genetic dataset of 121 non-invasive DNA samples analyzed for uni- and bi-parentally inherited markers aiming to characterize the spatial distribution of genetic variation and investigate the extent and direction of sex-mediated gene flow at different time scales. We found high levels of genetic diversity as estimated using autosomal microsatellite loci data and no evidence for a significant contraction of the population size in the last generations. A very distinct mitochondrial DNA haplotype was sampled in CFR. We found evidence for historical and instantaneous male-biased dispersal and female philopatry, estimated among localities and at short distances in GNP, respectively. Our study highlights the strong conservation of sex-biased dispersal patterns and philopatry in chacma baboons and suggests that dispersal behaviors in chacma baboons are resilient to environmental changes and seasonality.