The Primate Diaries

About

My research background is in primatology and human behavioral ecology. This provides a worldview in which I see modern human behavior in the context of evolutionary history. In a similar way to how history and culture influence modern life due to the traditions that have accumulated over historical time, genetically influenced behaviors exist in humans and other primates that have developed over evolutionary time. However, since I am also well versed in cultural anthropology I am not a genetic determinist. Culture matters, but broad trends exist across cultures and across species that transcend this kind of learned behavior. My laboratory research has also included work in molecular neuroscience and phylogenetics, so while my interests are primarily "big picture" I have background and experience in how this plays out in the microrealm.

My main research focus has been on the great apes known as bonobos, or "pygmy" chimps. This critically endangered species is known for being remarkably peaceful and cooperative compared to their more aggressive chimpanzee cousins. Both are our nearest common ancestor and share more than 94% of our DNA. My thesis work focused on maternal behavior in dominant bonobo females. Since bonobos are a female dominated species there is great pressure on high ranking mothers to spend time grooming other females in their network. This is time consuming and means that mothers must sometimes make a choice between spending time focusing directly on their infants and spending time maintaining status in their social network. This work was presented before the American Society of Physical Anthropologists and published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology as "Career or Family?: Maternal style and status-seeking behavior in captive bonobos (Pan paniscus)." I continued my research into primate behavior and evolution for my PhD work and subsequently published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

I am now pursuing my doctorate in the History and Philosophy of Science focusing on evolutionary biology. I am especially interested in how cooperation and morality were explained from an evolutionary standpoint ever since Darwin. The most important figure in this history is the Russian prince, naturalist and political radical Peter Kropotkin. He argued that cooperation between members of a group in the animal world is the norm rather than the exception and is a crucial factor in the evolution of social species, humans especially. Recent research, particularly in primates, has shown that cooperation is an integral part of their social lives and may be more important than competition in the evolution of our primate family. Nature "red in tooth and claw" may apply between different species, but helping others has been crucial in allowing our ancestors to survive.

This research may have important implications for our troubled modern world. In these pages I aim to explore the connections between science, politics and history from my unique vantage point as an anthropologist, a historian and a primate. Hopefully you'll enjoy the view from my perch. Feel free to contact me at primatediaries@gmail.com.