Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, USA.
Evol Anthropol. 2013 Jul-Aug;22(4):174-85. doi: 10.1002/evan.21361.
In 1999, the edited volume Primate Communities presented several studies that examined broad-scale patterns of primate diversity. Similar studies were being conducted on nonprimate taxa; advances in data availability and statistical approaches were allowing scientists to investigate a variety of new questions and to reexamine classical questions in novel ways. While such studies on nonprimate taxa have continued at a steady pace, they have only crept forward for primate species (Fig. 1). In the intervening time, the field of macroecology (Box 1) rapidly developed and has resulted in several books and the establishment of new research institutes. We suggest that examining primate communities, especially in a macroecological context, is an important line of research for our field to embrace and an area where biological anthropologists can provide major contributions. We review the current state of research, describe new datasets and research tools, and suggest future research directions.
1999 年，编辑出版的《灵长类动物群落》收录了几项研究，这些研究考察了灵长类动物多样性的广泛模式。对非灵长类动物类群也进行了类似的研究；数据可用性和统计方法的进步使科学家能够研究各种新问题，并以新的方式重新研究经典问题。虽然对非灵长类动物类群的此类研究一直在稳步进行，但对于灵长类物种而言，它们只是在缓慢推进（图 1）。在此期间，宏观生态学领域（框 1）迅速发展，并出版了多本书籍，成立了新的研究机构。我们认为，研究灵长类动物群落，特别是在宏观生态背景下，是我们学科领域应该接受的一个重要研究方向，也是生物人类学家可以做出重大贡献的一个领域。我们回顾了当前的研究状况，描述了新的数据集和研究工具，并提出了未来的研究方向。
