Monday, August 22, 2016 09:45 AM-10:00 AM: Session 1 (Ballroom) AN INEXPENSIVE METHYLATION-BASED ENRICHMENT METHOD ENABLES GENOMIC-SCALE POPULATION-LEVEL GENOTYPING OF ANIMALS FROM THEIR FECES. K. L. Chiou, C. M. Bergey (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 10:45 AM-11:00 AM: Session 1 (Ballroom) RELATEDNESS AND DISPERSAL IN HIGHLAND COLOMBIAN WOOLLY MONKEYS (LAGOTHRIX LAGOTHRICHA LUGENS) AT CUEVA DE LOS GUÁCHAROS NATIONAL PARK. E. J. Páez Crespo, P. R. Stevenson, A. Link Ospina, A. Di Fiore (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 11:30 AM-11:45 AM: Session 1 (Ballroom) PARAGALAGO: A NEW GENUS FOR THE EASTERN DWARF GALAGOS. J. C. Masters, F. Genin, S. Couette, C. P. Groves, S. D. Nash, L. Pozzi (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 10:30 AM-10:45 AM: Session 2 (325-326) USING TOPIC MODELING TO INVESTIGATE THE STRUCTURE OF NATURALISTIC BEHAVIOR IN RHESUS MACAQUES. S. Madlon-Kay, S. Larson, M. Montague, N. Snyder-Mackler, K. Watson, J. Horvath, P. Skene, L. Brent, K. Heller, M. Platt (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 10:45 AM-11:00 AM: Session 2 (325-326) IS THE RED FACIAL COLORATION OF MALE RHESUS MACAQUES (MACACA MULATTA) SUBJECT TO INTRA-SEXUAL SELECTION? M. Petersdorf, A. V. Georgiev, S. Winters, D. Maestripieri, C. Dubuc, J. P. Higham (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 01:15 PM-01:30 PM: (201-203) BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SENSORY GENOMICS OF WHITE-FACED CAPUCHIN MONKEYS (CEBUS CAPUCINUS) IN A COMPARATIVE CONTEXT. A. D. Melin, J. D. Orkin, E. C. Garrett, M. J. Montague, R. Bankoff, G. Perry, W. C. Warren, S. Kawamura (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 02:00 PM-02:15 PM: (201-203) COLOR VISION IN WILD INDRI SHOWS NOVEL VARIATION AMONG LEMURS. R. L. Jacobs, T. S. MacFie, E. E. Louis, A. L. Baden, N. I. Mundy, B. J. Bradley (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 02:45 PM-03:00 PM: (201-203) SUBSISTENCE STRATEGY AND THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN OLFACTORY RECEPTOR GENOTYPES. E. C. Garrett, C. C. Veilleux, R. J. Bankoff, J. D. Orkin, N. J. Dominy, G. H. Perry, A. D. Melin (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 03:00 PM-03:15 PM: (327) GENETIC OUTCOMES OF CONTEMPORARY AND ANCIENT HYBRIDIZATION IN GUENONS (TRIBE CERCOPITHECINI). K. M. Detwiler, J. A. Hart, T. B. Hart, A. J. Tosi (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 03:15 PM-03:30 PM: (201-203) THE ROLE OF LOCAL ADAPTATION IN THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN TASTE. C. C. Veilleux, E. C. Garrett, N. J. Dominy, G. H. Perry, A. D. Melin (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 04:30 PM-04:45 PM: (327) PATTERNS OF PAST ADMIXTURE IN PAPIO INFERRED FROM RAD-SEQ DATA. A. Burrell, T. Disotell, C. Bergey (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 04:45 PM-05:00 PM: (327) SEROTONIN-RELATED GENES AND PATHWAYS DISPLAY OUTLIER PATTERNS OF INTROGRESSION IN A BABOON HYBRID ZONE. C. M. Bergey, J. E. Phillips-Conroy, T. R. Disotell, C. J. Jolly (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 05:00 PM-05:15 PM: (327) HYBRIDIZATION AND THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF PAPIONIN MONKEYS. C. J. Jolly (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 03:00 PM-03:15 PM: Session 3 (206-207) ECTOPARASITISM IN BLACK-AND-WHITE RUFFED LEMURS (VARECIA VARIEGATA) IN SOUTHEASTERN MADAGASCAR. S. Zohdy, L. A. Durden, A. L. Baden (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 06:15 PM-06:30 PM: Session 5 (324) CONSERVATION OF THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED BROWN SPIDER MONKEY (ATELES HYBRIDUS) IN COLOMBIA. A. G. de Luna, A. Link (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 06:45 PM-07:00 PM: Session 6 (201-203) SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON SURVIVAL IN FEMALE BLUE MONKEYS. N. A. Thompson, M. Cords (Oral Presentation)

Monday, August 22, 2016 06:00 PM-06:15 PM: Session 8 (327) DEMOGRAPHY AND LIFE HISTORY IN WILD WHITE-BELLIED SPIDER MONKEYS (ATELES BELZEBUTH). K. M. Milich, A. Link, A. Di Fiore (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 10:30 AM-10:45 AM: (325-326) ENDOCRINE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING PHENOTYPIC VARIATION IN INFANT CARE IN THE RED-BELLIED LEMUR, EULEMUR RUBRIVENTER. S. R. Tecot, J. Constanzo, E. Eadie, K. Jacobson, C. Hawley, S. Razanajatovo, A. S. Arroyo, A. L. Baden (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 10:45 AM-11:00 AM: (324) THE PHYSIOLOGY OF CAPTIVE GELADAS HIGHLIGHTS THE EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATIONS OF WILD GELADAS (THEROPITHECUS GELADA). C. McCann, A. Amann, T. Bergman, A. Lu, L. Swedell, J. Beehner (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 09:45 AM-10:00 PM: (325-326) PRE-PUBERTAL GROWTH WITHIN THE GENUS CHLOROCEBUS: POPULATION-SPECIFIC VARIATION AND LIFE HISTORY EVOLUTION IN A WIDE-SPREAD TAXON. T. R. Turner, C. A. Schmitt, J. Danzy Cramer, J. G. Lorenz, J. P. Grobler, N. Freimer (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 02:15 PM-02:30 PM: (Ballroom) WHY BE JUVENILE? THE ROLE OF ENERGETICS AND SOCIALITY IN PRIMATE DEVELOPMENT. A. Schreier, N. Barrickman, F. Andersen (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 02:45 PM-03:00 PM: (Ballroom) VIGILANCE FOR THREAT IN INFANCY MODIFIES EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY ON SALIVARY ALPHA-AMYLASE/CORTISOL ASYMMETRY IN JUVENILE RHESUS MACAQUES. T. M. Mandalaywala, L. A. Petrullo, K. J. Parker, D. Maestripieri, J. P. Higham (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 02:45 PM-03:00 PM: (327) THE CHIMPANZEE GENOSCAPE AND THE EVIDENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY-DRIVEN ADAPTATION IN CAMEROON. M. K. Gonder, J. Dordel, M. W. Mitchell (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 05:00 PM-05:15 PM: (327) LOW POLYMORPHISM IN THE SEX CHROMOSOMES OF MANY SPECIES OF MACAQUE (MACACA). B. J. Evans, D. J. Melnick (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 05:15 PM-05:30 PM: (327) COMPARATIVE GENOMICS OF THE OLD WORLD MONKEYS: GENOME SEQUENCING ACROSS A DIVERSE RADIATION. J. Rogers, M. Raveendran, R. A. Harris, Y. Liu, S. C. Murali, D. Hughes, C. J. Jolly, J. Phillips-Conroy, G. Silvestri, T. R. Disotell, D. M. Muzny, R. A. Gibbs, K. C. Worley (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 05:45 PM-06:00 PM: (327) COMPARATIVE GENOMICS OF INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSES TO INFECTION IN PRIMATES. L. B. Barreiro, J. Kohn, R. L. Lanford, Z. P. Johnson, J. F. Brinkworth (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 06:30 PM-06:45 PM: (327) GENOMIC VARIATION AMONG AFRICAN GREEN MONKEY (VERVET) SUBSPECIES. W. Warren, H. Svardal, M. Montague, A. Jasinska, T. Turner, R. K. Wilson, M. Nordborg, N. Freimer (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 02:45 PM-03:00 PM: Session 14 (325-326) MOUNTAIN GORILLA SKELETAL PROJECT IN RWANDA (GORILLA BERINGEI BERINGEI): VALUE OF PRESERVING NATURALLY-ACCUMULATED SKELETAL REMAINS FROM LONG-TERM FIELD STUDIES. S. C. McFarlin, M. R. Cranfield, T. G. Bromage, A. B. Eriksen, D. Hunt, S. P. Nawrocki, K. Arbenz-Smith, A. Umuliisa, F. Ndagijimana, T. S. Stoinski, A. Mudakikwa (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 02:30 PM-02:45 PM: Session 15 (324) REVISITING THE SOCIAL VS. ECOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF PRIMATE BRAIN SIZE. A. R. DeCasien, S. A. Williams, J. P. Higham (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 03:30 PM-03:45 PM: Session 15 (324) FREE-RANGING FEMALE RHESUS MACAQUES (MACACA MULATTA) LOOK LONGER AT IMAGES OF MALES WITH HIGH FACIAL MASCULINITY: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM CAYO SANTIAGO. K. A. Rosenfield, C. Dubuc, A. V. Georgiev, J. P. Higham, D. Maestripieri, S. Semple (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 06:45 PM-07:00 PM: Session 17 (206-207) WHEN FISSION-FUSION IS NOT ENOUGH: PATTERNS OF AGGRESSION AND DOMINANCE RELATIONS IN TWO SPECIES OF SPIDER MONKEYS LIVING IN CONTRASTING ENVIRONMENTS. S. Ramirez Amaya, A. Link, A. Di Fiore (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 05:00 PM-05:15 PM: Session 18 (205) INFLUENCES OF SUNRISE AND MORNING LIGHT ON BEHAVIOR OF FOUR SYMPATRIC NEW WORLD PRIMATES (ALOUATTA, ATELES, CALLICEBUS, LAGOTHRIX). M. Snodderly, K. Ellis, A. Link, E. Fernandez-Duque, S. Alvarez, L. Abondano, A. Di Fiore (Oral Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) A COMPARISON OF THE NUTRITIONAL CONTENT OF FOREST FOODS AND CROP RAIDED MAIZE PITH CONSUMED BY CHIMPANZEES (PAN TROGLODYTES SCHWEINFURTHII) IN GISHWATI FOREST, RWANDA. A. Rundus, A. Kamanzi Shimwa, J. Rothman, T. Starn, S. Nyandwi, R. Chancellor (Poster Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) EVOLUTION OF PRIMATE CORTICAL UPPER LAYER NEURONS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NEURON NUMBERS AND DIFFUSION MR TRACTOGRAPHY ACROSS MAMMALS. C. J. Charvet, S. J. Mongold, M. A. Raghanti, Y. D. Kim, A. J. van der Kouwe, E. Takahashi, C. C. Sherwood (Poster Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) DENTAL EMERGENCE IN A NATURALLY-ACCUMULATED SKELETAL COLLECTION OF VIRUNGA MOUNTAIN GORILLAS (GORILLA BERINGEI BERINGEI) FROM RWANDA. M. M. Vakiener, M. R. Cranfield, T. S. Stoinski, K. Arbenz-Smith, D. J. Reid, T. G. Bromage, A. Mudakikwa, S. C. McFarlin (Poster Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DENTAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICAN PAPIONINS. S. A. Lemmers, J. M. Setchell, G. T. Schwartz, D. J. Reid, R. M. Bernstein, S. R. Leigh, B. Ngoubangoye, A. Herbert, W. Dirks (Poster Presentation)

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) WHY DO FEMALES PREFER DARK RED FACED MALE RHESUS MACAQUES? R. Petersen, J. P. Higham (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 10:15 AM-10:30 AM: (201-203) RING TAILED LEMUR, BROWN LEMUR AND RED-RUFFED LEMUR SPATIAL LEARNING IN GOAL DIRECTED FORAGING TASKS. V. Hamilton, F. Dolins, E. Cunningham (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 09:45 AM-10:00 AM: Session 21 (325-326) CORRELATED FUNCTIONS AND OUTCOMES OF INTERGROUP AGGRESSION IN WILD REDTAIL MONKEYS (CERCOPITHECUS ASCANIUS) IN KIBALE NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA. M. Brown (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 10:00 AM-10:15 AM: Session 21 (325-326) FACTORS INFLUENCING INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION IN INTERGROUP CONTESTS IN WILD BLUE MONKEYS, CERCOPITHECUS MITIS. E. Nikitopoulos, M. Cords (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 10:15 AM-10:30 AM: Session 21 (325-326) INTRAGROUP AGGRESION IN WILD SPIDER MONKEYS (ATELES BELZEBUTH) IN YASUNÍ NATIONAL PARK, ECUADOR. S. Álvarez Solas, A. Di Fiore, A. Link (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 11:30 AM-11:45 AM: Session 23 (327) GENOME-WIDE VARIANTS AMONG THE POPULATION OF CAYO SANTIAGO RHESUS MACAQUES (MACACA MULATTA). M. J. Montague, N. Snyder-Mackler, S. Madlon-Kay, K. K. Watson, L. J. Brent, J. H. Skene, J. E. Horvath, M. L. Platt (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 03:15 PM-03:30 PM: (Ballroom) NUTRITIONAL GEOMETRY OF EAST AFRICAN APES: GORILLA AND PAN DIETS COMPARED. R. C. O'Malley, J. M. Rothman, C. M. Murray, M. L. Power (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 03:15 PM-03:30 PM: (201-203) IS FEMALE DOMINANCE REFLECTED IN FORAGING PATTERNS AND NUTRIENT INTAKES OF DIADEMED SIFAKAS (PROPITHECUS DIADEMA)? M. T. Irwin, J. Raharison, C. Chapman, J. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 04:45 PM-05:00 PM: (Ballroom) DIFFERENCES IN MATERNAL INVESTMENT BETWEEN GOMBE CHIMPANZEES (PAN TROGLODYTES SCHWEINFURTHII) AND LUIKOTALE BONOBOS (PAN PANISCUS). S. M. Lee, G. Hohmann, E. V. Lonsdorf, S. C. McFarlin, M. A. Stanton, C. M. Murray (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 04:45 PM-05:00 PM: (324) THE EVOLUTION OF PRIMATE EARLY RESPONSES TO INFECTION. J. Brinkworth, J. Kohn, R. E. Lanford, Z. P. Johnson, L. B. Barreiro (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 05:45 PM-06:00 PM: (324) CIS-REGULATORY EVOLUTION IN A WILD PRIMATE: DISEASE-ASSOCIATED GENETIC VARIATION DRIVES DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF MHC-DQA1 IN-VITRO. N. D. Simons, G. Eick, M. J. Ruiz-Lopez, C. A. Chapman, T. L. Goldberg, K. N. Sterner, N. Ting (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 05:15 PM-05:30 PM: Session 29 (Ballroom) HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY OF CERCOCEBUS MANGABEYS: A NEW DISPERSAL HYPOTHESIS BASED ON MORPHOLOGICAL DATA. C. C. Gilbert, L. Devreese (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 06:15 PM-06:30 PM: Session 29 (Ballroom) GUENON LOOKING TIME BIASES AND THE EVOLUTION OF SPECIES DISCRIMINATION. S. Winters, J. P. Higham (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 06:30 PM-06:45 PM: Session 29 (Ballroom) HOW IMPORTANT ARE PLEISTOCENE REFUGIA TO MODERN LEMUR BIODIVERSITY IN NORTHWESTERN MADAGASCAR? J. C. Tinsman (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 06:45 PM-07:00 PM: Session 29 (Ballroom) BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSES REVEAL THE ROLE OF FOREST CONTRACTION AND EXPANSION IN SPECIES DIVERSIFICATION OF GALAGOS (PRIMATES: GALAGIDAE). L. Pozzi (Oral Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) THE IMPACT OF HARSH HABITAT CONDITIONS ON A POPULATION OF NORTHEAST BORNEAN ORANGUTANS (PONGO PYGMAEUS MORIO) IN WEHEA FOREST, EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA. S. N. Spehar, A. M. Ashbury, R. Delgado, Y. Rayadin (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) A NETWORK ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL PREFERENCES IN WILD BLACK-AND-WHITE RUFFED LEMURS. A. L. Baden, T. H. Webster (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) TERRESTRIAL BEHAVIOR AMONG WILD ORANGUTANS (PONGO PYGMAEUS MORIO) IN WEHEA FOREST, EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA. A. M. Ashbury, S. N. Spehar, Y. Rayadin, M. R. C. Posa, M. A. van Noordwijk (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) THE NATIONAL CHIMPANZEE BRAIN RESOURCE. C. C. Sherwood, T. M. Preuss, W. D. Hopkins (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) PRELIMINARY SURVEY RESULTS OF BLACK-AND-WHITE RUFFED LEMURS (VARECIA VARIEGATA) IN THE RANOMAFANA REGION, SOUTHEASTERN MADAGASCAR. A. N. Mancini, A. L. Baden (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) ENERGETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF SAVANNA-WOODLAND FOODS FOR WESTERN CHIMPANZEES (PAN TROGLODYTES VERUS) AT FONGOLI, SENEGAL. S. M. Lindshield, J. M. Rothman, S. Ortmann, J. D. Pruetz (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION DOES NOT EXPLAIN CONSUMPTION OF ANTHROPOGENIC FOODS BY VERVET MONKEYS IN A HUMANIZED MATRIX. E. C. Cancelliere, C. A. Chapman, D. Twinomugisha, J. M. Rothman (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) POLYMORPHIC ERUPTION SEQUENCES OF PERMANENT TEETH IN EXTANT GUENONS (TRIBE CERCOPITHECINI) AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CANINE ERUPTION SEQUENCES AND CANINE SIZE IN FEMALE CERCOPITHECIDS. R. Matsuda Goodwin, W. Pardi (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) WITHIN GROUP VARIATION IN THE GUT MICROBIOME OF THE UGANDAN RED COLOBUS (PROCOLOBUS RUFOMITRATUS TEPHROSCELES) FROM KIBALE NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA. D. M. Christie, N. D. Simons, M. J. Ruiz-Lopez, C. A. Chapman, T. L. Goldberg, K. Stagaman, B. J. Bohannan, N. Ting (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) BETWEEN AND WITHIN GROUP VARIATION IN THE GUT MICROBIOME OF A BLACK-AND-WHITE COLOBUS MONKEY (COLOBUS VELLEROSUS). E. C. Wikberg, D. Christie, P. Sicotte, N. Ting (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SEVERAL WILD SIAMANG GROUPS FROM THE WAY CANGUK RESEARCH AREA MAY INDICATE AN OUTBREAK OF A LETHAL INFECTIOUS DISEASE. S. Lappan, M. Sibarani, N. Andayani (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) INFLUENCE OF EDGE EFFECTS ON PRIMATE POPULATIONS AND THEIR HABITAT IN A FRAGMENTED RAINFOREST IN COSTA RICA. A. Schreier, N. Barrickman, L. Bolt, N. Pryor, M. Barton, M. Franco (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) NOVEL SKILL ACQUISITION IN RUFFED LEMURS (VARECIA SPP.): PRELIMINARY DATA FROM SMARTA COLOR VISION STUDY AT DUKE LEMUR CENTER. R. Vagell, V. J. Vagell, S. J. Tepper, I. M. Avery, R. L. Jacobs , J. Gordon, A. L. Baden (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) A PRELIMINARY STUDY INVESTIGATING THE GUT MICROBIOME OF TWO SYMPATRIC ENDEMIC PRIMATES, RED COLOBUS (PROCOLOBUS PENNANTII) AND BIOKO DRILL (MANDRILLUS LEUCOPHAEUS POENSIS), ON BIOKO ISLAND, EQUATORIAL GUINEA. B. Featherstone, M. K. Gonder, J. Dordel, S. Miller, M. Mitchell, D. Cronin, P. Sesink Clee, D. Venditti (Poster Presentation)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) GENETIC ESTIMATION OF BONOBO (PAN PANISCUS) COMMUNITY SIZE AT IYEMA, DRC. C. M. Brand, F. J. White, M. T. Waller, M. L. Wakefield, M. J. Ruiz-Lopez, N. Ting (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 11:30 AM-11:45 AM: (327) DEFINITIONS IN PRIMATE COMMUNICATION AND THE FALLACY OF INTENTIONALITY. J. Higham (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 09:45 AM-10:00 AM: Session 30 (Ballroom) FACTORS INFLUENCING REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN A KINDA X CHACMA BABOON HYBRID GROUP IN KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, ZAMBIA. M. M. McDonald, J. Phillips-Conroy, C. J. Jolly (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 10:15 AM-10:30 AM: Session 30 (Ballroom) MATING, PATERNITY, AND REPRODUCTIVE SKEW IN WILD WHITE-BELLIED SPIDER MONKEYS (ATELES BELZEBUTH). A. Di Fiore, A. Link (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 09:45 AM-10:00 AM: Session 31 (205) SEASONALITY OF MOVEMENT AND DIET IN FOREST-DWELLING OLIVE BABOONS (PAPIO ANUBIS) IN UGANDA. C. A. Johnson, J. M. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 11:00 AM-11:15 AM: Session 31 (205) EFFECTS OF HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION ON THE ACTIVITY BUDGET, RANGING ECOLOGY AND HABITAT USE OF BALE MONKEYS (CHLOROCEBUS DJAMDJAMENSIS) IN THE SOUTHERN ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS. A. Mekonnen, P. J. Fashing, A. Bekele, R. A. Hernandez-Aguilar, E. K. Rueness, N. Nguyen, N. C. Stenseth (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:15 PM-01:30 PM: (325-326) VARIATION IN INDIVIDUAL NUTRIENT INTAKE IN GENERALIST AND SPECIALIST HERBIVORES: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERPRETING THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF PLASTICITY IN APE AND CERCOPITHECOID DIETARY NICHE BREADTH. J. E. Lambert, J. M. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:30 PM-01:45 PM: (325-326) DIFFERENT TO BE THE SAME: INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN DIET AMONG WILD BORNEAN ORANGUTANS (PONGO PYGMAEUS WURMBII) IN A PEATLAND HABITAT REFLECTS REGULATION OF MACRONUTRIENT BALANCE. E. R. Vogel, J. M. Rothman, S. E. Alavi, T. D. Bransford, S. S. Utami Atmoko, W. M. Erb, M. A. van Noordwijk, D. Raubenheimer (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:30 PM-01:45 PM: (327) CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE ENDANGERED RED-BELLIED GUENON (CERCOPITHECUS ERYTHROGASTER ERYTHROGASTER) IN THE DAHOMEY GAP. M. G. HOUNGBEDJI, S. C. DAKPOGAN, E. AKPLA, B. A. DJOSSA, G. A. MENSAH, R. MATSUDA GOODWIN (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:45 PM-02:00 PM: (327) THE THREATENED STATUS OF THE WHITE-THIGHED COLOBUS (COLOBUS VELLEROSUS) IN WEST AFRICA NEEDS TO BE GLOBALLY UPGRADED TO ENDANGERED. R. Matsuda Goodwin, J. O. Orimaye, F. E. Okosodo, B. G. Ogunjemite, M. G. Houngbedji, E. Akpla (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:00 PM-02:15 PM: (327) UPDATING THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF BIOKO’S DIURNAL PRIMATES USING POPULATION DENSITY ESTIMATES AND HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELING. D. T. Cronin, P. R. Sesink Clee, J. R. Owens, D. Fernández, M. Grande-Vega, C. Riaco, M. Fero Meñe, J. M. Esara Echube, J. E. Fa, G. W. Hearn, M. K. Gonder (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:15 PM-02:30 PM: (327) PRIMATES OF THE TSHUAPA-LOMAMI-LUALABA (TL2) REGION: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO’S NEWEST CONSERVATION LANDSCAPE. J. Hart, P. Ayali, P. Niehoff, M. Mirambo, T. Hart, K. Detwiler (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:30 PM-02:45 PM: (325-326) BODIES, TEETH, AND HORMONES: DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES IN CAPTIVE AND WILD BABOONS (PAPIO ANUBIS). R. M. Bernstein, J. E. Phillips-Conroy, C. J. Jolly (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:30 PM-02:45 PM: (327) SYSTEMATICS OF RED COLOBUS MONKEYS FROM THE TL2 REGION (TSHUAPA, LOMAMI, LUALABA RIVER BASINS), DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. M. E. Chaney, C. A. Ruiz, J. A. Hart, T. B. Hart, K. M. Detwiler, A. J. Tosi (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:45 PM-03:00 PM: (325-326) STRESS, DENTAL DEVELOPMENT, AND LIFE HISTORY IN MANDRILLS (MANDRILLUS SPHINX). W. Dirks, S. A. Lemmers, B. Ngoubangoye, A. Herbert, J. M. Setchell (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:45 PM-03:00 PM: (327) THE USE OF ANIMATED VIDEOS FOR PRIMATE CONSERVATION EDUCATION: PROTECTING MONKEYS AND BONOBOS IN THE TL2 REGION (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO). C. M. Gomes, P. Ayali, K. Detwiler, J. Hart, T. Hart (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 03:15 PM-03:30 PM: (327) PHENOTYPIC DIVERSITY AND MATING IN GOMBE NATIONAL PARK'S CERCOPITHECUS HYBRID ZONE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION. E. Tapanes, K. M. Detwiler (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:00 PM-04:15 PM: (327) USING IMPROVED MEASURES OF AVAILABLE NITROGEN TO PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THE PROTEIN-TO-FIBER MODEL FOR COLOBINE BIOMASS. K. D. Evans, C. A. Chapman, W. J. Foley, C. A. Johnson, J. M. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:15 PM-04:30 PM: (327) NUTRITIONAL STRATEGIES OF FEMALE BLUE MONKEYS CERCOPITHECUS MITIS IN VARIOUS HABITATS IN KAKAMEGA, KENYA. M. Takahashi, J. M. Rothman, M. Cords (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:30 PM-04:45 PM: (327) PARASITE INFECTION IN WILD BLUE MONKEYS (CERCOPITHECUS MITIS) IN KIBALE NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA. R. A. Jones, M. Brown (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:45 PM-05:00 PM: (Ballroom) PREGNANCY DATING, MEASURES OF FETAL GROWTH, AND OBSTETRICAL PHYSIOLOGY OF OWL MONKEYS (AOTUS NANCYMAAE) HOUSED AS BREEDING PAIRS. T. J. Kuehl, A. G. Brady, W. B. Baze, L. E. Williams, G. W. Tustin, M. N. Uddin, C. R. Abee (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:45 PM-05:00 PM: (325-326) ENDURING INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN SOCIAL AFFILIATION PROFILES OF ADULT FEMALE BLUE MONKEYS. M. Cords (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:45 PM-05:00 PM: (327) DIET, ACTIVITY PATTERNS, AND RANGING ECOLOGY OF DE BRAZZA’S MONKEYS (CERCOPITHECUS NEGLECTUS) IN YAYU COFFEE FOREST BIOSPHERE RESERVE, ETHIOPIA. A. A. Aligaz, A. B. Simegn, P. J. Fashing, A. R. Hernandez, A. M. Kassie (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 05:15 PM-05:30 PM: (201-203) VIRUSES OF WILD CERCOPITHECOID PRIMATES ACROSS AFRICA: OPENING PANDORA'S BOX. T. Goldberg, S. D. Sibley, M. Lauck, D. Hyeroba, C. A. Chapman, J. Kuhn, W. M. Switzer, A. Bailey, G. Weny, R. Ghai, M. Thurber, A. Tumukunde, T. Friedrich, D. H. O'Connor, N. Ting (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:00 PM-02:15 PM: Session 26 (205) BODY GROWTH VARIABILITY IN WILD GORILLAS (GORILLA GORILLA GORILLA, GORILLA BERINGEI GRAUERI AND GORILLA BERINGEI BERINGEI). J. Galbany, D. Abavandimwe, D. Caillaud, R. Nishuli, A. Mudakikwa, F. Ndagijimana, T. S. Stoinski, T. Breuer, S. C. McFarlin (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:15 PM-01:30 PM: Session 33 (324) ANTHROPOGENIC STRESS IN FEMALE CHACMA BABOONS IN A COMMENSAL POPULATION IN THE CAPE PENINSULA OF SOUTH AFRICA. S. Chowdhury, L. Swedell (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:30 PM-01:45 PM: Session 33 (324) CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE IN THE BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF ATELES AND PAN. A. Link, A. Di Fiore (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 01:45 PM-02:00 PM: Session 34 (205) APPLIED RESEARCH FOR CONSERVATION, EDUCATION, AND POLICY: PRIMATOLOGISTS AT THE FOREFRONT. R. Delgado (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 02:30 PM-02:45 PM: Session 34 (205) COMMUNICATION FOR CONSERVATION: REDUCING CHANCES FOR DISEASE TRANSMISSION TO GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES THROUGH BETTER MESSAGE FRAMING TO TOURISTS. S. J. Gessa, J. M. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 04:30 PM-04:45 PM: Session 34 (205) SLOW LORIS TRADE IN VIETNAM: EXAMINING DRIVERS AND SCALES OF TRADE WITH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH. M. E. Blair, M. D. Le, H. M. Thach, A. Panariello, N. B. Vu, M. Birchette, E. J. Sterling, G. Sethi (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 06:15 PM-06:30 PM: Session 37 (Ballroom) THE CHIMPANZEE GUT MICROBIOME IN A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT. M. W. Mitchell, M. K. Gonder (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 06:30 PM-06:45 PM: Session 37 (Ballroom) EVOLVED METABOLIC STRATEGIES IN GREAT APES AND HUMANS. H. Pontzer, M. H. Brown, S. R. Ross (Oral Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) HEALTH CORRELATES OF PERSONALITY IN FREE-RANGING FEMALE CHACMA BABOONS (PAPIO URSINUS). S. Foerster, J. Valdivieso, L. Swedell, S. L. Monfort, A. Weiss (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) SEASONAL VARIATION IN ENERGY INTAKE OF FEMALE CHIMPANZEES: COMPARING ESTIMATES OF TIME SPENT FEEDING VERSUS NUTRIENT INTAKE. M. Uwimbabazi, R. W. Wrangham, Z. P. Machanda, N. L. Conklin-Brittain, J. M. Rothman, G. I. Basuta (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) HORMONAL CORRELATES OF INTER-GROUP INTERACTIONS AMONG REDTAIL MONKEYS (CERCOPITHECUS ASCANIUS) IN KIBALE NATIONAL PARK: OXYTOCIN AND TESTOSTERONE. A. V. Jaeggi, B. C. Trumble, M. Brown (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) IS FACE SHAPE (WIDTH-TO-HEIGHT RATIO) RELATED TO MALE COMPETITIVE ABILITY AND FECUNDITY IN RHESUS MACAQUES, MACACA MULATTA? A TEST ON CAYO SANTIAGO. K. A. Rosenfield, A. V. Georgiev, C. Dubuc, M. Emery Thompson, J. P. Higham, A. V. Ruiz-Lambides, E. Maldonado, D. Maestripieri (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) DISTRIBUTION AND THREATS OF THE THREE ENDEMIC PRIMATES SPECIES (BALE MONKEY, BOUTOURLINI’S BLUE MONKEY AND GELADA BABOON) IN ETHIOPIA. A. A. Aligaz, P. J. Fashing, A. M. Kassie, A. B. Simegn (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) BUCCAL DENTAL MICROWEAR AND THE DIETS OF MOUNTAIN GORILLAS AND GOLDEN MONKEYS FROM VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, RWANDA. J. Galbany, O. Imanizabayo, D. Tuyisingize, A. Pérez-Pérez, A. Mudakikwa, M. R. Cranfield, T. G. Bromage, T. S. Stoinski, S. C. McFarlin, A. Romero (Poster Presentation)

Thursday, August 25, 2016 07:00 PM-09:00 PM: (Exhibit Hall) SPATIOTEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF OVER GROUND WALKING IN ZOO-HOUSED GREAT APES. E. M. Finestone, M. H. Brown, S. R. Ross, H. Pontzer (Poster Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 10:00 AM-10:15 AM: (Ballroom) USING ACOUSTIC MONITORING TO IMPROVE TROPICAL FOREST PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT. J. M. Linder, C. Astaras, P. H. Wrege, D. W. Macdonald (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 10:45 AM-11:00 AM: (327) EVIDENCE-BASED CONSERVATION OF THE CROSS RIVER GORILLA (GORILLA GORILLA DIEHLI). R. A. Bergl, A. Dunn, A. Fowler, I. Imong (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 11:15 AM-11:30 PM: (327) THE EFFECTS OF HUMANS ON PRIMATE NUTRITIONAL LANDSCAPES. M. A. Bryer, J. M. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 09:45 AM-10:00 AM: Session 40 (325-326) PREDICTORS OF SOCIAL FORAGING TACTIC USE AND WITHIN GROUP SPATIAL POSITION IN WILD VERVETS, CHLOROCEBUS PYGERYTHRUS. M. B. Blaszczyk, C. B. Haunhorst, P. J. Haskew, S. C. Beebe, N. J. Mazumdar, J. A. Nasenbeny, A. Di Fiore (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 10:30 AM-10:45 AM: Session 40 (325-326) DO FOOD AND RELATIONSHIP QUALITY AFFECT FISSION DECISIONS IN WILD SPIDER MONKEYS (ATELES GEOFFROYI)? L. Busia, C. M. Schaffner, J. M. Rothman, F. Aureli (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 11:00 AM-11:15 AM: Session 40 (325-326) VIEW FROM THE TOP: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOMINANCE RANK AND NUTRIENT INTAKE IN PAPIO ANUBIS, KIBALE NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA. S. Cassalett, C. A. Johnson, J. M. Rothman (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 10:30 AM-10:45 AM: Session 41 (324) THE TANA RIVER RED COLOBUS MEDIATE METABOLIZABLE ENERGY INTAKE THROUGH BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATIONS. L. C. Loyola, T. M. Moore, L. P. Turcotte, R. A. Delgado, Jr. (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 01:30 PM-01:45 PM: (325-326) ANTHROPOID PRIMATE PEDAL ECOMORPHOLOGY: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS. O. Thomas, W. Harcourt-Smith, R. Raaum, C. C. Roseman, H. Pontzer (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 02:15 PM-02:30 PM: (325-326) CLIMBING TO THE TOP: VERTICAL LAYERING OF LEAF NUTRIENTS WITHIN TREE CROWNS AND ITS IMPACT ON THE SOCIOECOLOGY OF FOLIVOROUS MONKEYS. J. M. Rothman, C. A. Chapman (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 02:30 PM-02:45 PM: (325-326) HOW RELIABLE ARE COLOR AND SOFTNESS AS FRUIT NUTRITIONAL CUES? INTEGRATING FOOD PROPERTIES AND FORAGING DATA FROM COSTA RICAN CAPUCHINS IN A DRY TROPICAL FOREST. R. E. Williamson, J. M. Rothman, S. Kawamura, A. D. Melin (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 03:00 PM-03:15 PM: (325-326) LANDSCAPE-LEVEL TROPHIC EFFECTS OF GELADAS: A HERBIVORE AERIAL CENSUS RE-SURVEY APPROACH IN THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS. R. J. Burke, A. Atickem, P. J. Fashing, A. Mekonnen, N. Nguyen, K. J. Willis (Oral Presentation)

Friday, August 26, 2016 02:30 PM-02:45 PM: Session 45 (206-207) MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS AND MULTIPLE SIGNAL CONCORDANCE IN THE PYOW LOUD CALL OF MALE BLUE MONKEYS. J. L. Fuller (Oral Presentation)

Kelsey Pugh

Kelsey is a PhD candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center studying relationships among fossil apes, and locomotor evolution within the ape and human group.

This past summer I did fieldwork in Northern Hungary at a site run by Dr. David Begun of the University of Toronto. This fossiliferous area is well known among anthropologists because several fossil primates have been found here, including Rudapithecus, a fossil ape, and Anapithecus, a pliopithecoid. It was a productive field season, and although I didn't personally find any primate fossils, I did excavate a beautifully preserved suid (pig) mandible.

Dr. Jay Kelley and Kelsey Pugh excavating a suid mandible (Photo Credit: D. Shapiro)

Darcy Shapiro, Kelsey Pugh, and a field school student looking for fossils (Photo credit: A. Beresheim)

Jen Tinsman

Jen is a PhD candidate at Columbia University studying the landscape genomics of endangered lemurs.

I study the genetics of a species of critically endangered lemur, the blue eyed­black lemur, and its sister species, the black lemur (pictured). I'm looking to see how the critically endangered species adapted to its hotter and drier ecological niche, and whether it has the adaptive capacity to respond to ongoing climate change. I spent four months in northwestern Madagascar last summer collecting non­invasive samples from throughout both species ranges.

Sandra Winters

Sandra is a PhD candidate at New York University studying the role of face patterns in the maintenance of reproductive isolation in guenons.

I traveled to CERCOPAN primate sanctuary in Calabar, Nigeria. I conducted preliminary experiments with the guenons at the sanctuary in preparation for my dissertation research, which focuses on the role of guenon face patterns in the maintenance of reproductive isolation. I also photographed the guenons at CERCOPAN for morphological analyses and collected hair, blood, and microbiome samples from all primates at the sanctuary (guenons and mangabeys), for use in a variety of other research projects.

Photographing monkeys.

My 1000th hair sample!

Working on experimental methods.

Holly Fuong

Holly is a 1st year PhD student at Columbia interested in how animals respond to risk based on their social and natural environments.

In August 2015 I had the amazing opportunity to visit Kakamega Forest in western Kenya, the site of my advisor's (Dr. Marina Cords) long­term research on blue monkeys. I visited Kakamega to familiarize myself with the biology and interactions among vertebrate species in the ecosystem, in hopes of getting some early inspiration for my PhD project. Maressa, Nic, several field managers/assistants, and I also led an activity on population ecology at a local school.

Megan Petersdorf

Megan is a 3rd year PhD student at New York University studying the evolution of reproductive strategies in primates.

I spent June through August 2015 in Zambia at Kasanka National Park undertaking pilot research for my PhD dissertation on Kinda baboons. I spent the summer learning about the baboons and testing the feasibility of my field methodology, which includes photography, audio recording, behavioral data collection, and non­invasive fecal and urine collection.

Multi­tasking in the field.

My first baboon urine sample!

Jennifer Eyre

Jenny is a PhD candidate at New York University who is interested in the evolution of the modern human pelvis and mechanism of birth.

In May of 2015 I traveled to South Africa with fellow NYU student Cody Prang and our advisor, Dr. Scott Williams. We collected data on fossil hominins in the collections of the University of the Witswatersrand ("Wits") and the Ditsong Museum of Natural History. We were also able to find time to visit several fossil hominin sites, including Sterkfontein, Malapa, as well as the Rising Star cave system, where the new species Homo naledi was recently discovered. We were lucky in having Dr. Marina Elliott, one of the scientists responsible for excavating the material at Rising Star, to give us a tour.

Cody and Jenny at the Malapa hominin site where the species Australopithecus sediba was discovered in 2008.

Cody hard at work in the vault at Wits.

Kristen Ramirez

Kristen is a 3rd year PhD student at CUNY Graduate Center studying the evolution of locomotion, specifically the hand and arboreality in hominoids.

As a 3rd year preparing a dissertation proposal for a biomechanics heavy project I figured it would be best to learn biomechanics first. Transmitting science offers many great short courses relevant to evolutionary biologists. During the January 2016 session held in Sabadell, Spain, just outside of Barcelona, I enjoyed the coffee­fueled marathon of lectures and activities led by experts in mechanics, functional anatomy, evolution, and bone biology just as much as conversations with
classmates who study the spectrum of vertebrates from dinosaurs to cetaceans over fresh olives and serrano ham. We did spend the better part of our days learning, discussing, and practicing new software, and walks through Catalonian streets were the perfect backdrop to contemplate what we learned in class.

Natalie O’Shea

Natalie is a 2nd year CUNY Graduate Center student studying craniofacial growth and development.

I spent summer 2015 excavating the skeletal remains of mountain gorillas in the Virunga mountains. See my previous post for more about my fieldwork!

Alex DeCasien

Alex is a 2nd year PhD student at New York University studying the evolution of primate brain size and sex differences in neuroanatomy and cognition

Last summer, I had the opportunity to spend two months in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I took 3D scans and linear measurements of the rhesus macaque skeletal collection housed at the Laboratory of Primate Morphology & Genetics at the University of Puerto Rico. This work will ultimately improve our understanding of intra-specific variation in sexual dimorphic traits, including body size, canine size, and muscle strength. And when I wasn't hanging out with monkey skeletons in the lab, I made sure to enjoy some beautiful beaches and delicious frozen beverages.

Susie Lee

Susie is a 3rd year PhD student at New York University interested in patterns of mother-infant relationships in non-human primates.

Last summer I visited Cayo Santiago to develop and test an ethogram for studying individual difference in maternal behaviors. Rhesus macaque females vary in terms of how much they pay attention to others’ infants, and how much they are motivated to handle those infants. Now I am working to develop a project to better study the behavioral and physiological variation surrounding infant handling interactions in rhesus macaques. I hope to bring more insight next time!

Image credit: Rosenberg and Trevathan, 2002

So how did we get here? Why did natural selection favor this strange situation? What stops selection acting to increase the size of the maternal birth canal?. One popular and long-standing hypothesis is termed “the obstetric dilemma”. Basically it posits that to be an efficient biped you need a narrow pelvis (Washburn, 1960). Selection should favor narrow hips for effective and efficient bipedalism and this in turn could constrain the width of the pelvis and thus the birth canal (see Warrener et al., 2015 for a good explanation of the biomechanics involved). In the image below you can see that during hominin evolution the pelvis has changed from being wide in early hominins like Australopithecus to narrow in modern humans. Combine a narrow pelvis with our famously big brains and you have a tricky situation when it comes to squeezing a big-headed baby out of a small birth canal.

Image credit: Rosenberg and Trevathan, 2002

This doesn’t mean that selection has favored maximizing the dimensions of the birth canal. It most certainly has. The human pelvis is sexually dimorphic, which means that men look different to women, and unsurprisingly women have a pelvis that is better adapted to birth. Adaptations include the delayed fusion of the pubic bone’s epiphysis to allow the pelvis to continue widening well into your twenties (Tague, 1994), the ability of the ligaments that hold the two pubic bones together at the front of your pelvis to relax during birth to increase the size of your birth canal (Putschar, 1976), and rotational birth which allows the baby to twist when being born to match the longest dimensions of its head to the widest dimensions of the birth canal (the dimensions of the birth canal are change from the inlet to the outlet) (Rosenberg and Trevathan, 1995).

Image credit: Rosenberg and Trevathan, 1995

So, problem solved, right? Our pelvis can’t get any wider because we would be inefficient walkers, and selection has acted to do everything it can to make sure we can give birth. Well, one problem with this scenario is that despite a lot of research it has not been shown conclusively that humans with wider pelves are any less efficient at walking than those with narrower pelves (Warrener et al., 2015; also see Dunsworth et al., 2012 for an alternate hypothesis).

That’s why instead of looking at constraints placed on the pelvis due to bipedalism (which are doubtless very important) I am going to investigate what role thermoregulation has played in pelvic morphology (Ruff, 1994). Having a narrower body is useful for shedding heat when you live in a hot climate because it increases the ratio of your surface area (skin) to your volume. The more surface area you have, the easier it is for you to get rid of excess heat by sweating or pumping blood to the surface to cool down (Charkoudian, 2003). This is termed Bergmann’s Rule (Bergmann, 1847). Thus we see narrower bodied humans in areas of the world with hot climates such as East Africa, and wider bodied humans in cold areas of the world, such as the Arctic (illustrated below with bears).

Image credit: Loftwork.com

However, although pelvic width does increase with increasing latitude (Ruff, 1994), no one has actually demonstrated that a wide pelvis makes any difference in the human body’s ability to thermoregulate. Therefore I am going to have volunteers run on a treadmill at various temperatures while I take measurements of their core temperature, using an innovative pill that will transmit their temperature to a recording device manufactured by HQInc.

Image credit: HQInc

I hope to find out if hip width coordinates with the ability to maintain a stable or low core temperature during strenuous exercise (such as hunting), as this would have been an advantage to individuals evolving in a hot climate. Hopefully this research will help to explain why, during our evolutionary history, there was a change from a broad pelvis to a narrow one, which made birth so laborious.

For a great review of this topic visit Dr. Bob Martin’s blog

Citations

Bergmann, C. (1847). Ueber die verhältnisse der wärmeökonomie der thiere zuihrer Grösse. Göttinger Studien 3, 595–708.

Charkoudian, N. (2003). Skin Blood Flow in Adult Human Thermoregulation: How It Works, When It Does Not, and Why. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 78(5), 603–612.

Dunsworth, H. M., Warrener, A. G., Deacon, T., Ellison, P. T., & Pontzer, H. (2012). Metabolic hypothesis for human altriciality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(38), 15212–15216.

Putschar, W.G. (1976). The structure of the human symphysis pubis with special consideration of parturition and its sequelae. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 45, 589–594.

Rosenberg, K., & Trevathan, W. (1995). Bipedalism and human birth: The obstetrical dilemma revisited. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 4(5), 161–168.

Rosenberg, K., & Trevathan, W. (2002). Birth, obstetrics and human evolution. BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 109(11), 1199–1206. 45, 589–594.

Ruff, C. B. (1994). Morphological adaptation to climate in modern and fossil hominids. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 37(S19), 65–107.

Tague, R. G. (1994). Maternal Mortality or Prolonged Growth: Age at Death and Pelvic Size in Prehistoric Amerindian Populations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 95, 27-40.

Warrener, A. G., Lewton, K. L., Pontzer, H., & Lieberman, D. E. (2015). A wider pelvis does not increase locomotor cost in humans, with implications for the evolution of childbirth. PLoS ONE 10(3), e0118903.

Washburn, S. L. (1960). Tools and human evolution. Scientific American 203, 63–75.