Primate Ecology and Conservation ─ A Handbook of Techniques

The study of primate ecology and conservation has advanced rapidly in recent years. This practical volume brings together a group of distinguished primate researchers to synthesize field, laboratory, and conservation management techniques for primate ecology and conservation. The synthesis focuses on new and emerging field methods alongside a comprehensive presentation of laboratory and data analysis techniques, as well as the latest methods for determining conservation status and conservation management. This book's particular focus is on innovative ways to study primates in a changing world, including emerging methods such as non-invasive genetic techniques and advanced spatial modeling. In addition to synthesizing field and lab methods, the authors also discuss data interpretation, as well as important guiding questions and principles for students and researchers to consider as they plan research projects in primate ecology and conservation such as: how to choose a field site, acquire research permits, connect with local authorities, communities and researchers, and many other considerations. Although three chapters are dedicated to conservation methods, consideration of conservation status and threats to primate populations are considered throughout this volume where appropriate. This latest publication in the Techniques in Ecology and Conservation Series aims to provide a practical empirical reference text with an international scope, appropriate for graduate students, researchers, and conservation professionals across the globe.

Eleanor J. Sterling, Ph.D., is the Director of the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC). She studies the distribution patterns of biodiversity in tropical regions of the world and has more than 25 years of field research experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where she has conducted surveys and censuses, as well as behavioral and ecological studies of primates, whales, and other mammals. Dr Sterling has served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University since 1997, and as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology from 2002-2012. She sat on the Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology from 2001-2010 and was the Chair of the Society's Education Committee from 2005-2010. She received her B.A. from Yale College in 1983 and her M. Phil and Ph.D. in Anthropology and Forestry and Environmental Studies from Yale University in 1993.

Nora Bynum, Ph.D., is the Associate Vice Provost of Global Strategy and Programs at Duke University. For the past 15 years, Nora has worked in international capacity building and training in the Americas, Asia, and Africa, while continuing to conduct research on primates in Indonesia and Mexico, and research on phenology, seasonality and climate change in tropical forests of Costa Rica. Nora is also an Adjunct Professor at Duke University, where she has taught since 1995. She serves as Chair of the Board of the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) and as Chair of the Education Committee for the Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in Anthropology and Forestry and Environmental Studies, and her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Duke University.

Mary E. Blair, Ph.D., is a Biodiversity Scientist at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History. Her current research integrates molecular techniques with geographic information systems (GIS) modeling to understand the behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary responses of primates to environmental change. She completed her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Primatology at Columbia University, where her dissertation research focused on how habitat fragmentation affects dispersal and the distribution of genetic variation among populations of the endangered Central American Squirrel Monkey in Costa Rica. She was an American Association of University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Writing Fellow and received her B.A. in Biology and Anthropology from Swarthmore College.