Table of contents
Research Interests
- Within-group cooperation and between-group conflict
- Animal movement ecology
- Geographical variation in primate socio-ecology
As behavioural biologist with a background in spatial ecology, I am interested in the way in which animals use their environment over space and time, and how this shapes their (social) behaviour. Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies I have, among others, looked into patterns of local space use, dispersal, bio- and phylo-geography, and geographical variation in orang-utan biology (from genes and ecology to culture). I also employ phylogenetic comparative methods, naturalistic observations and field-experiments to study cooperation and conflict in group-living, non-human primates in order to gain insights into the evolutionary origins of human warfare.
Research Projects
Inkawu Vervet Project (IVP)
Development of R-library to analyse simultaneous movement data (with Dr. Kevin Buchin and Stef Sijben, MSc)
Teaching
BIO 209: Discovering Statistics using R (together with Dr. Karin Isler, spring term, 6 ECTS points) Students are made familiar with fundamental statistical concepts, taking a hands-on approach using the R software environment. The importance of (visually) exploring data and assumptions receives a lot of attention before basic statistical tests are introduced, such as comparing means, correlation (logistic), regression and GLM analyses. In addition, theory and application of phylogenetic comparative methods are taught as well.
Students are strongly encouraged to use their own laptops during the course. In case this is not possible, please contact me at least one month in advance to ensure that a sufficient number of machines can be reserved from the UZH IT services.
Purchase of the book “Discovering Statistics using R”, by Field, Miles & Field is mandatory.
Publications
Zurich Open Repository and Archive
ZORA Publication List
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Publications
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Orientation toward humans predicts cognitive performance in orang-utans Scientific Reports, 7, 40052. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep40052
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Curiosity boosts orang-utan problem-solving ability Animal Behaviour, 134, 57–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.10.005
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Male food defence as a by-product of intersexual cooperation in a non-human primate Scientific Reports, 6, 35800. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep35800
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Female monkeys use both the carrot and the stick to promote male participation in intergroup fights Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 283, online. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1817
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Cognitive differences between orang-utan species: a test of the cultural intelligence hypothesis Scientific Reports, 6, 30516. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30516
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Deriving movement properties and the effect of the environment from the Brownian bridge movement model in monkeys and birds Movement Ecology, 3, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-015-0043-8
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Endocrinological correlates of male bimaturism in wild Bornean orangutans American Journal of Primatology, 77, 1170–1178. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22453
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Collective action and the intensity of between-group competition in nonhuman primates Behavioral Ecology, 26, 625–631. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv001
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Validation of an acoustic location system to monitor Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) long calls American Journal of Primatology, 77, 767–776. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22398
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Male monkeys fight in between-group conflicts as protective parents and reluctant recruits Animal Behaviour, 110, 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.006
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Communal range defence in primates as a public goods dilemma Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 370, 20150003. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0003
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The collective action problem in primate territory economics Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 280, 20130081. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0081
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Multi-year lactation and its consequences in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67, 805–814. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1504-y
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Large brains buffer energetic effects of seasonal habitats in catarrhine primates Evolution, 66, 191–199. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01434.x
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Detecting movement patterns using Brownian bridges In I. Cruz, C. Knoblock, P. Kröger, E. Tanin, & P. Widmayer (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (pp. 119–128). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2424321.2424338
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Parentage-based pedigree reconstruction reveals female matrilineal clusters and male-biased dispersal in nongregarious Asian great apes, the Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) Molecular Ecology, 21, 3352–3362. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05608.x
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Female philopatry and its social benefits among Bornean orangutans Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66, 823–834. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1330-7
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Culture and geographic variation in orangutan behavior Current Biology, 21, 1808–1812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.017
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Determinants of paternity success in a group of captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) International Journal of Primatology, 32, 415–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-010-9478-3
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Location and group size influence decisions in simulated intergroup encounters in banded mongooses Behavioral Ecology, 109, 501–505. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arr010