Research Interests
I am a primate ecologist with interests that combine primate socioecology, conservation biology, and environmental anthropology. My focus is on the behavioral and ecological flexibility of nonhuman primates in response to human-induced changes in their environment. Following much current work in environmental anthropology, I envision humans as an integral part of these environments. As a result, I am particularly interested in the interface of primate ecology and human ecology and the implications for conservation. This latter interest represents a new approach in anthropological primatology—ethnoprimatology.
For the past seven years my research focus has been the Sulawesi macaques of Indonesia. The island of Sulawesi is situated within the biogeographical zone of Wallacea—an area that has been prioritized by Conservation International as one of the 25 Biodiversity Hotspots. Seven of the 19 pecies of macaques are found only on the island of Sulawesi. I am particularly interested these primates for two reasons: (1) the dearth of information on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of wild populations, and (2) increasing anthropogenic disturbance of Indonesian forest habitats.
My dissertation research addressed questions concerning the impact of anthropogenic habitat alteration on the ecology of tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana), and the conservation implications of overlapping resource use between villagers and the macaques (read report in ASP bulletin). As a postdoctoral research fellow at the Behavioral Biology Lab at the University of Chicago, I collected census data on wild populations of booted macaques (Macaca ochreata) in the Faruhumpenai Nature Reserve in South Sulawesi to assess their distribution and current conservation status.
I have also conducted research on howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in Panama and pig-tail macaques (Macaca nemestrina) at Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.
Current Research:
I have three current research objectives. First, I plan to build upon my postdoctoral research on the booted macaques of South and Southeast Sulawesi by collecting baseline data on their behavioral ecology and by confirming hybridization of the Sulawesi macaques in areas of overlap.
Second, I will investigate specific questions that will ultimately contribute to a comparative socioecology of the genus Macaca. For example, do Sulawesi macaques regularly exhibit fission-fusion grouping patterns? Are there particular ecological conditions in which subgrouping might be more likely to occur? What is the role of Sulawesi macaques in tropical forest regeneration, particularly of tree species that are economically and/or culturally significant for humans? These questions reflect key themes in contemporary primatology, and as such, will make excellent thesis topics for SDSU graduate students.
Third, given my interest in the interface of environmental anthropology and primate conservation, I plan to build upon the ethnographic component of my dissertation research by examining the acquisition and transmission of environmental knowledge and attitudes towards conservation among the indigenous Lindu in Lore Lindu National Park.