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Primate Behavior and Ecology (Syllabus session #3 Ometepe)

Instructor: Dr. Giuseppe Donati
Department of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution
Unit of Anthropology
Via S. Maria, 55, 56126, Pisa Italy
mailto:gdonati@brookes.ac.uk
Telephone: mobile: ++393477368095; office: ++390502215690; home: ++390584913287
If you wish to speak to me by telephone, then please email me to arrange a time.

Introduction

Welcome to Nicaragua! This course will integrate formal lectures on primate behavioural ecology, with the opportunity to practice field methods in a tropical forest environment surrounded by a scenic landscape. In addition to training in behavioural and ecological data collection techniques in primatology, you will also be given a brief overview of the technological advances made in recent decades and their integration with standard field techniques. Days will generally be structured as follows: There will be a methods introduction in the morning followed by the practice of these methods until mid-day. Lectures on basic primatology will be held in the afternoon.. This schedule aims to give you an understanding of the forest structure and the availability of its resources on one hand, the ethology of its primates and their ecological role on the other hand. This theoretic and practical background will prepare you for intensive data collection towards the second part of the course. Each day we will meet before the evening meal to discuss the day’s experience and share any tips for good data collection, as well as ways to overcome difficulties in the field.

Throughout this course, the importance of the study of primates for the following themes will be emphasised:

* to understand how primate anatomy and behavior relate to their environments, as well as an understanding of the evolutionary processes that shaped primate adaptations.
* to recognise the role of primates within the forest ecosystem.
* to emphasise the conservation status of primates, and their potential importance as flagship or keystone species in the preservation of human impacted environments.

Assessment/ Grading

Your final mark will be based on the following, and determined out of a total of 310 points:

* one exam (100 points) – 30%
* field exercises (10 points each, 70 points) – 25%
* a written report of your project (100 points) – 30%
* an oral presentation of the project (25 points) – 10%
* co-operation, participation and ability to work with others (15 points) – 5%

Coursework marking can be moderated to accommodate non-US marking systems.

Required Textbooks

The following books are essential for supplementary understanding of primate behaviour and ecology, as well as field techniques in primatology. They should be accessible through your university bookshop, and also on the internet at www.amazon.com or www.amazon.co.uk.

Strier, Karen B., Primate Behavioral Ecology, Allyn and Bacon Publishing, 2000 (ISBN
0-205-20019-2)
Patterson, J.D., Primate Behavior, Second Edition, 2001 (ISBN 1-57766-165-6)

SYLLABUS

Tentative course schedule (subject to change). Attendance is mandatory at all lectures, methodology talks and field exercises.

20 July Lecture: Orientation regarding safety, procedures and behaviour at Ometepe, course goals, and course requirements.
Method: use of maps of the forest around the field station, get acquainted with the trail system
Introductory talks: by students, TA and lecturer.
21 July Lecture: Introduction to the Primates
Method: discussion on the preparation for a field study (ethnoprimatology, habituating, trapping, handling and marking primates etc.)
Field exercise: compass and binocular use in the forest (mapping)
22 July Lecture: The Evolutionary History of the Primates.
Method: equipment and computer programmes used for the study of primate behaviour – a basic introduction.
23 July Lecture: Primate Social Organisation
Method: what is an ethogram? Case study of the Ometepe Primates
Field exercise: observe an animal species of your choice, and construct a basic ethogram
24 July Lecture: Primate Locomotion and Positional Behaviour
Method: conducting behavioural observations
Field exercise: practice observation methods in the field
25 July Lecture: Non-human Primate Diet and Nutrition
Method: how to sample primate diet (insect collection, faecal analysis, nutritional analysis, etc.)
26 July Lecture: Primate Life History and Reproduction
Method: determining primate home ranges and travel patterns, including use of GPS
Field exercise: home range determination exercise with compass, GPS and a computer programme
27 July Lecture: Primate Communities and Community Ecology
Method: botanical sampling for primate studies
Field exercise: practice techniques in habitat description and phenology
28 July Lecture: The Primates of Nicaragua
Method: censusing primate and mammal populations
Field exercise: census walk and survey of the diurnal mammals of Ometepe
29 July Lecture: The Natural History of the Mammals of Nicaragua
Method: studying animals at night
Field exercise: census walk and survey of the nocturnal mammals of Ometepe
30 July Lecture: Primate Conservation
Method: determining IUCN Redlist Categories
Group discussion of project titles, preparation of research proposals and data sheets for data collection
31 July background reading for research project; finish research proposals and data sheets for data collection
1 August preparation for the exam
2 August exam
3 August intensive data collection for final project; additional field method instruction will be incorporated throughout the next week in small groups
4 August data collection
5 August data collection
6 August data collection
7 August data collection
8 August data collection
9 August data collection
10 August work with instructor and teaching assistant(s) and co-operate with students to write up final project
11 August finish writing up and hand in final project at 6pm
12 August presentation of the results of the field project
13 August discussion on what we have learnt during the course