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)
The Orangutan Network
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
Download Options
Publications
-
Cognitive differences between orang-utan species: a test of the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Scientific Reports, 6:30516.
-
Collective action and the intensity of between-group competition in nonhuman primates. Behavioral Ecology, 26(2):625-631.
-
Communal range defence in primates as a public goods dilemma. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 370(1683):20150003.
-
Deriving movement properties and the effect of the environment from the Brownian bridge movement model in monkeys and birds. Movement Ecology, 3(18):online.
-
Male monkeys fight in between-group conflicts as protective parents and reluctant recruits. Animal Behaviour, 110:39-50.
-
Endocrinological correlates of male bimaturism in wild Bornean orangutans. American Journal of Primatology, 77(11):1170-1178.
-
Validation of an acoustic location system to monitor Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) long calls. American Journal of Primatology, 77(7):767-776.
-
The collective action problem in primate territory economics. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 280(1759):20130081.
-
Multi-year lactation and its consequences in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67(5):805-814.
-
Detecting movement patterns using Brownian bridges. In: Cruz, Isabel; Knoblock, Craig; Kröger, Peer; Tanin, Egemen; Widmayer, Peter. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems. Redondo Beach, CA: Association for Computing Machinery, 119-128.
-
Female philopatry and its social benefits among Bornean orangutans. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66(6):823-834.
-
Large brains buffer energetic effects of seasonal habitats in catarrhine primates. Evolution, 66(1):191-199.
-
Location and group size influence decisions in simulated intergroup encounters in banded mongooses. Behavioral Ecology, 109(2):501-505.
-
Culture and geographic variation in orangutan behavior. Current Biology, 21(21):1808-1812.
-
Sex-biased dispersal and volcanic activities shaped phylogeographic patterns of extant orangutans (genus: Pongo). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 28(8):2275-2288.
-
Species-specific patterns in fecal glucocorticoid and androgen levels in zoo-living orangutans (Pongo spp.). General and Comparative Endocrinology, 172(3):446-457.
-
Determinants of paternity success in a group of captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). International Journal of Primatology, 32(2):415-429.
-
Effects of Pleistocene glaciations and rivers on the population structure of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 107(50):21376-21381.
-
A critical assessment of two species distribution models: a case study of the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops). Journal of Biogeography, 36(12):2300-2312.