Welcome
Figure 0.1Mother and infant northern muriquis (Brachyteles hypoxanthus). A long period of infant dependency is a characteristic of primates, and gives them a chance to learn from their mothers and other group members. Photo by Pablo Fernicola/Projeto Muriqui de Caratinga
Primates are amazing animals for many reasons, including their social complexity, long lives, and impressive behavioral flexibility. They are the closest living relatives to humans, and everything we learn about them gives us some insights into ourselves. With more than 60 percent of all primates now threatened with extinction, there are many important ways in which we can use our understanding of primate behavioral ecology to help protect them and the habitats in which they live.
This Website provides supplementary information to enhance the information provided in the textbook. For each chapter I include an outline, a summary of key concepts, flashcards with the definitions of the key terms that are shown in bold font in the textbook, a study guide with some thought questions that can serve as the basis for brief essays, discussions, or future research. I have also included links to relevant open-access articles, news stories, and videos, and some of the tables and figures that I have designed for use in my own class on Primate Behavioral Ecology.
Acknowledgements to the Website:
Some of the video links and discussion questions were discovered by A.J. Hardie when they served as the Teaching Assistant for Primate Behavioral Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Fall 2019. Some of the ideas, including examples and exercises, are ones I co-opted from the Primate Behavior courses taught by Barbara Smuts and the Primate Ecology course taught by Mark Leighton during my years as a graduate student teaching fellow at Harvard. Others come from colleagues such as Martha Robbins and Jessica Lynch Alfaro, who added their unique signatures to the Primate Behavioral Ecology course when they taught it in my place during different semesters at UW-Madison. And yet others reflect feedback from the students in my courses over the years, and suggestions from colleagues who have taught with and reviewed earlier editions of this book. Although I could not incorporate all of their recommendations, I hope they will recognize their contributions here.
Invitation:
If you discover material that you would like to share or that you think would fit, please let me know and I will try to include it during regular updates to this site. Just as the textbook has improved with each edition thanks to suggestions from users such as yourself, so, too, I hope that this companion Website will be a living resource about the behavioral ecology and conservation of primates.
Book Information Complimentary Exam Copy