Primatology Research Group

Experts in primate behaviour, welfare, ecology, evolution and conservation

We collaborate with national and international organisations.

The Primatology Research Group is one of the largest primatology groups in the world and has a broad range of research expertise including primate behaviour, welfare, ecology, evolution and conservation. We are involved in research on primates in Tanzania, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Malaysia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Germany and within the UK.

Our expertise

Conservation

Communication

Behavioural ecology

Social behaviour and cognition

Captive welfare

Health

Collaborations

The Primatology Research Group has a wide range of collaborators including the following national and international organisations:

Postgraduate (PhD) Students

2023-2026 Matt Gardiner: How socioecology shapes social phenotypes in young macaques
2018-2021 Mattia Bessone: Assessing the conservation status of the bonobo (Pan paniscus): a range-wide approach towards a new action plan
2018-2021 Mélodie Kreyer: Medicinal plant use by bonobos (Pan paniscus) in the Congo Basin, DRC and implication for conservation
2017-2020 Camille Giuliano: Seasonal responses to food and water scarcity associated with living in a savannah-woodland environment in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Implications for hominin adaptations to open habitats
2017-2020 James Waterman: Intra- and inter-group relations in Sulawesi crested black macaques
2017-2020 Anne-Sophie Crunchant: Communication and coordination: Remote acoustic monitoring and locating of chimpanzee vocalisations to reveal party movements
2017-2020 Russell Delahaunty: Using UAVS with multispectral sensors to assess ape habitats
2016-2019 Noemie Bonnin: Chimpanzee nest detection and distribution in Tanzania
2016-2019 Emmeline Howarth: Attention bias in non human primates
2016-2019 Simon Stringer: Seed dispersal & forest regeneration by three sympatric primates
2016-2019 Ed McLester: Shaped by the savannah: a comparison of intra-group strategies of coordination in savannah and forest-dwelling red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius)
2015-2018 Harriet Thatcher: Socio-ecology and anthropogenic disturbance in vervet monkeys
2015-2018 Ed Parker: Behavioural ecology of samango monkeys
2014-2017 John Abernethy: Nest preference and distribution in Sumatran orangutans 

Facilities and field sites

World class lab facilities including GIS, genetics, state-of-the-art drone technology and bioacoustics.

Field sites

A field-based research station situated in western Tanzania that hosts international scientists with an interest in primate behavioural ecology and conservation. Two modules across both Primate Behaviour and Conservation and Wildlife and UAV Technology MSc programmes are hosted there, with students learning field techniques and conducting independent studies. Dissertation fieldwork can also be conducted there for those students who are interested.

Past funding

NC3Rs, EU-COST PrimTRAIN, the Primate Society of Great Britain, the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, Laboratory Animals Science Association, National Science Foundation, Wenner Gren Foundation, Arcus Foundation, United States Fish and Wildlife Great Ape Fund, The Nature Conservancy, The Jane Goodall Institute, National Geographic Society, United Nations Environmental Programme, Denver Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, Indianapolis Zoo, Chester Zoo.

Our MSc programmes

Academic staff and publications


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