RESEARCH INTERESTS
THE PANAF
Chimpanzees demographic patterns vary in meaningful ways, and this has broad implications for practically every aspect of chimpanzee society, from feeding to mating and grooming. I aim to explore the factors that drive demographic variation in chimpanzees.
I do this using camera trap videos of chimpanzees, so the first step was to test how well camera traps work for measuring demographic variation. I have done several studies to test this, and now we're exploring broad patterns of demographic variation across the ~40 sites of the PanAf.
THE BULINDI CHIMPANZEE AND COMMUNITY PROJECT
Chimpanzee behavioral diversity is on display perhaps nowhere more than in human-altered habitats. My PhD research focused on a population affected by forest fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance. I continue to collaborate with researchers who study this chimpanzee population in order to conserve these endangered chimpanzees and better understand their behavioral responses to rapidly changing environments. Chimpanzees throughout their geographic range experience increasing human pressures, so by better understanding how they respond to such pressures, we can better conserve them.