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Primate Behavior And Ecology (Syllabus session #1 Ometepe to summer TBA)

Intructor TBA

Course Description

This intensive course will cover the behavior and ecology of Old and New World Primates from an evolutionary perspective. Emphasis will be given to the two species present at Ometepe: white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) and mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata). This is an intensive field course in primate behavior, and is equivalent to an upper-level undergraduate course. Our days are typically spent rising before dawn to get to the field to begin our scheduled observations of howler monkeys or other field activity, eating lunch in the field, and returning mid-afternoon for a couple of hours to study/rest before dinner. Evenings are spent in classroom lectures and discussion. After the first week of the course, students will work with me and the course TA to develop an independent research project. After the project is approved, students collect a minimum of 30 hours data for their project.

The course is intensive, and there isn't much 'free' time to explore Nicaragua. [I recommend staying a week after the course ends to see some of the country if you are interested in that.] You'll learn a lot about primate behavior, field work in general and field primatology specifically.

Course Objectives

To understand the social and physical diversity within the order Primates
To understand the ‘rules’ of social behavior and the ecological influences on behavior
To understand the interplay of natural selection, environment, and behavioral adaptation in
nonhuman primates
To understand the methods used in primatological research and the issues involved in primate
conservation
Suggested Readings

Students should familiarize themselves before arriving at Ometepe BFS with general information about primates and tropical ecosystems. The following books are useful and available at many university libraries:

Dolhinow, P. & A. Fuentes. (1999). The Nonhuman Primates. Mountain View, CA:
Mayfield Publishing.
Janzen, D.H. (ed). (1983). Costa Rican Natural History. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Kricher, J.C. (1997). A Neotropical Companion, 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Rowe, N. (1996). The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates. New York: Pogonias Press.
Smuts, B.B., D.L. Cheney, R.M. Seyfarth, R. Wrangham, & T.T. Struhsaker (eds.).
(1987). Primate Societies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Required Readings – bring Strier text to Ometepe

Strier, K.B. (2003). Primate Behavioral Ecology, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Abbreviation S)
You will need to purchase a course-pack of readings once at Ometepe for $10. (Abbreviation R)

Course Outline

May 25 Arrival to Ometepe BFS; Introduction and orientation to the station, its rules,
regulations, course content, etc.

May 26 Lecture: Photo essay of the living primates
Field: Orientation walk to familiarize students with FS and forests; forest
etiquette

May 27 Lecture: What is a primate? Primate taxonomy and distribution
Field: Navigate trails, use of compass, habitat description

May 28 Lecture: Preliminaries necessary to all research (animal identification, ethogram,
observation)
Field: Trail and site mapping, plant phenology

May 29 Lecture: Natural selection, kin selection, and sexual selection
Field: Primate censusing, aging and sexing individuals

May 30 Lecture: Primate social organization
Field: Plant phenology & identification

May 31 Lecture: Dominance, social interactions, relationships
Field: Primate observations and ethogram

June 1 Lecture: Conflict and reconciliation; coalitions and alliances; Quiz #1
Field: Hike to waterfall

June 2 Lecture: Feeding ecology and foraging behavior
Field: Different ways of measuring food intake

June 3 Lecture: Male-male competition, mate choice
Field: Brainstorm ideas for independent research projects

June 4 Lecture: Field research designs
Field: Design research projects; present proposals in evening

June 5 Lecture: Infanticide, reproductive suppression, infanticide
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 6 Lecture: Development and behavioral flexibility
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 7 Lecture: Evolution of intelligence; Quiz #2
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 8 Lecture: Primate communication and cognition
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 9 Lecture: Social learning, tool use; culture
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 10 Lecture: Primate conservation
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 11 Lecture: Primates in captivity: regulations and considerations
Field: Data collection for independent research projects

June 12 - 14 Data collection for independent research projects

June 15 Comprehensive Final Exam
Data analysis and write-up of project

June 16 Data analysis and write-up of project

June 17 Research paper due; presentations of projects; end-of-course party

June 18 Departure from Ometepe BFS

June 19 Return home

Student Evaluation

You will be evaluated on the following:

A presentation of your research project 10%
Cumulative exam 25%
Written research paper 25%
Field notebook (both assigned and unassigned activities) 20%
Quizzes 10%
Group participation 10%
Group Activities and Seminars

Field and research techniques will be introduced primarily during the first week of the course. You will work closely with the instructor and teaching assistant to learn basic methods of field research. These activities will be both instructor-designed and student-designed. All techniques will be first introduced and discussed, then you will practice the techniques in the field. Skills to be taught include: trail and site navigating and mapping, habitat description, plant phenology, censusing, identifying subjects by age and sex, and primate observation and ethograms.

Group participation includes not only academic work (discussions, observations shared, etc.) but how well you facilitate group activities and foster good group dynamics.

Independent Research Projects

During the second week of the course, you will work up a proposal for your independent research project. We will discuss these, providing constructive feedback to each other. Prior to commencement of the research project, a proposal indicating the research question, design and expectations will be completed and presented to the class. During the latter part of the course, data will be collected and analyzed. At the end of the course, each student will make an oral presentation to the class and also provide a written research report.

Primate Behavior And Ecology (Syllabus session #1 La Suerte)

Instructor: Dr. K.A.I. Nekaris
Senior Lecturer in Primate Conservation and Biological Anthropology
Oxford Brookes University, Oxford U.K.
Email: anekaris@brookes.ac.uk
Telephone: ++44 (0)1865 483 767 (outside the UK, leave out the 0)
Office hours (US Eastern Time): Thursdays 9am-11am; I am generally available in my office around noon US Eastern Time should you wish to ring me

Introduction

Welcome to La Suerte! This course will combine a series of lectures and discussions on primate behaviour and ecology, with actual hands-on field experience in a tropical rainforest environment. Because this is an intensive course lasting just over three weeks, be prepared to immerse yourself completely into the study of primate behaviour, ecology and conservation. For the first few days, you will receive lectures on basic primatology. The next days will feature a methods course in the morning, and another primatology course in the evening, with practice of methods in the mid-day. This is designed to give you optimal use of the forest and its resources, and to prepare you for intensive data collection towards the end of the course. Naturally, there will be some time for breaks, and these will be incorporated into the programme based on the needs of the current cohort of students. The last week of the course will be spent undertaking intensive data collection under the guidance of the lecturer and the teaching assistant(s). 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 human behaviour
to interpret the behaviour of extinct primates, and the adaptations of extant primates in similar environments
to understand how primate form and anatomy 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 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 330 points:

one exam (100 points) – 30%
nine ‘challenge’ exercises (10 points each, 90 points) – 27%
a written report of your project (100 points) – 30%
an oral presentation of the project (25 points) – 8%
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. They should be accessible through your university bookshop, and also on amazon.com or amazon.co.uk. We will use some of the exercises in the Patterson book.

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

Attendance is mandatory at all lectures, methodology talks and challenges.

27 Dec Lecture: Orientation regarding safety, procedures and behaviour at La Suerte, course goals, and course requirements
Method: orientation to the trail system
Introductory talks: by students, TA and lecturer
28 Dec Lecture: What is a primate? Why make primates the focus of a course in field ecology? Slide show of the primates
Method: Equipment and computer programmes used for the study of primate behaviour – a basic introduction
Challenge: compass and binocular use in the forest
29 Dec Lecture: Phylogeny; the importance of behavioural studies for understanding primate taxonomic variation and its implications for conservation
Lecture: The evolutionary history of primates, and the unique case of the platyrrhine primates
Challenge: complete an exercise in primate phylogeny
30 Dec Lecture: Primate Social Organisation – why do primates live in groups?
Method: What is an ethogram? Case study of the La Suerte Primates
Challenge: observe an animal species of your choice, and construct a basic ethogram
31 Dec Lecture: Primate locomotion and the study of positional behaviour
Method: Conducting Behavioural Observations
Challenge: Use observation methods to hone your skills in the field
Evening: New Year’s Eve Celebration!
1 Jan lectures will be later today!
Lecture: Non-human primate diet
Method: how to sample primate diet (phenology, insect collection, fecal analysis, etc)
2 Jan Lecture: Primate Life History – birth, rearing, residency patterns and dispersal
Method: determining primate home ranges and travel patterns, including use of GPS
Challenge: home range determination exercise with compass, GPS and a computer programme
3 Jan Lecture: Primate Communities and Community Ecology
Method: Botanical sampling for primate studies
Challenge: vegetation sampling
4 Jan Lecture: The natural history of the mammals of Costa Rica
Method: censusing primate and mammal populations
Challenge: census walk and survey of the mammals of La Suerte
5 Jan Lecture: The study of nocturnal primates; case studies of night monkeys and importance of the La Suerte nocturnal mammal community for understanding primate evolution and ecology
Method: studying animals at night
Challenge: census walk and survey of the nocturnal mammals of La Suerte
6 Jan Lecture: Primate Conservation
Method: Determining IUCN Redlist Categories
Challenge: group discussion of project titles and preparation of data sheets for data collection
7 Jan Lecture: Case study of the monkeys of Costa Rica
Method: a film of Costa Rican Primates will be shown
Challenge: prepare for exam!
8 Jan Exam
9 Jan Intensive data collection for final project; additional field method instruction will be incorporated throughout the next week in small groups
10 Jan data collection
11 Jan data collection
12 Jan data collection
13 Jan data collection
14 Jan data collection
15 Jan data collection
16 Jan work with faculty and cooperate with students to write up final project
17 Jan present results of the field project
18 Jan wrap up and hand in final project (this day off may be needed early on and subject to change!)

Primate Behavior And Ecology (Syllabus session #2 Ometepe)

Department of Anthropology
MiraCosta College
One Bernard Drive
Oceanside, California 92056
(760) 757-1212
E-mail: LMiller@yar.miracosta.edu

Course Description

In this course you will learn fundamental concepts related to the study of primate behavior and ecology, as applied in a tropical setting. You will gain actual field experience in primatological data collection techniques, and you will design and conduct your own short independent research project. The course will be equivalent to an upper-level primate behavioral ecology course, but with a greater emphasis on field techniques, data collection, and research design.

There are several components to the course: formal classroom lectures, classroom presentations based on readings and independent projects, informal discussions out in the field, a series of group field exercises that will be carried out in the forest, an exam, and an individual research project based on data collection techniques learned during the group projects, methodology readings and classroom lectures.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, each student will be able to:

understand and remarkable variability in the Order Primates.
primatological.
understand the complexities of primate social behavior patterns.
appreciate the relationship between evolutionary forces, the environment, and behavioral adaptations in the nonhuman primates.
apply some of the methodological techniques used in primatological research
appreciate the complex issues facing primate conservation efforts.
Required Reading

Strier, K. (2003). Primate Behavioral Ecology, 2nd edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN: 0205352367
Patterson, J. D. (2001). Primate Behavior: An Exercise Workbook, 2nd edition. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press Inc. ISBN: 1577661656
Recommended Reading

The following books have excellent general primate information, and some have information and data relevant to the species at Ometepe. Additionally, some discuss field techniques that may prove helpful. These would be excellent to utilize for group projects, independent research projects, and for your own interest. I will bring several of these titles with me, and the libraries at Ometepe and La Suerte have some of these texts as well.

Belt, Thomas (1985). The Naturalist in Nicaragua. Chicago/London: The University Of Chicago Press (This is a reprint of the original 1874 edition with a foreword by Daniel Janzen; I will have a copy)
Dolhinow, P., & Fuentes, A. (1999). The Nonhuman Primates. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing. ISBN: 1559349743
Janzen, D.H. (Ed.). (1983). Costa Rican Natural History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (available in the Ometepe library). ISBN: 0226393348
Kricher, J.C. (1989). A Neotropical Companion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (available in the Ometepe library). ISBN: 0691009740
Napier, J.R. and P.H. Napier (1986). The Natural History of the Primates. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 0262640333
Richard, A. (1985). Primates in Nature. Salt Lake City, UT: W. H. Freeman. (available in the La Suerte library). ISBN: 071671647X
Rowe, N. (1996). The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates. New York: Pogonias Press. ISBN: 0964882515
Smuts, B.B. D. L. Cheney, R. M. Seyfarth, R. Wrangham, T. T. Struhsaker (eds.) (1987). Primate Societies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN:0226767167
Sussman, R. W. (2003). Primate Ecology and Social Structure, Vol.2: New World Monkeys (revised 1st edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing. ISBN 0536743649
Terborgh, J. (1983). Five New World Primates: A Study in Comparative Ecology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN: 069108338X
COURSE STRUCTURE

The course will be broken up into two main sections: “primate behavioral ecology/field techniques” and “independent research project”.

1. The PRIMATE BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY/FIELD TECHNIQUES portion (first half of course) is based on classroom lectures, participation in discussions, oral presentations, field exercises, and one exam.

Lectures/Readings

The specific lecture topics will fall under the following general categories:

Primate Evolution, Taxonomy & Distribution
Primate Social Organization & Behavior
Primate Dietary Ecology
Primate Communities (niches, polyspecific associations, predators)
Natural History of the Primates Found at Ometepe (group presentations on genera rather than lectures)
Research Design: Methodology and Data Collection Techniques
Readings will be assigned in the texts, and many journal articles (as well as other books) will be available in the Ometepe library for additional information.

Field Exercises

This part of the course involves supervised participation in data collecting techniques, methods, and procedures discussed and practiced under actual field conditions. Students will work closely with the professor and teaching assistant on the following field techniques:

Habitat Description = you will compare different habitats for tree height, crown volume, and canopy cover, and develop a basic habitat profile.
Plant Phenology & Productivity = you will learn techniques to measure primate food availability, and you will collect and identify plant samples.
Primate Population Analysis = you will learn how to census primate groups.
Primate Feeding Ecology = you will learn how to determine what the study animals are eating, how much they are eating, and how diet differs according to season, age and sex class.
Primate Observation Techniques and Ethograms = you will learn techniques for aging, sexing, and identifying individual primates, as well as developing a behavioral profile.
In addition, there will be research methodology exercises that will provide useful practice for various data-taking techniques that will be used during the independent project. You will learn various elements of research design, including how to develop an ethogram (or “behavioral repertoire”), and various behavioral sampling methods.

Journal Article Critique

This assignment will introduce you to the professional primatological literature and give you a sense of current styles of writing and topics of interest in primatology. You will select a journal article from the Ometepe library, from articles I bring with me, or perhaps from something that you bring along. More details will be provided during class.

2. The INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT takes place during the second half of the course. With the help of our faculty, you will develop and carry out your own field research project. This will be an original project of your own choosing on some topic of primate behavioral ecology, and it will involve researching, developing, writing up, submitting and getting feedback on a specific research proposal, carrying out the project, analyzing and writing up your results, and orally presenting these results to the rest of the class at the end of the field course. The professor and teaching assistant will be available throughout the process to help with research design, and to offer advice during the data collection process.

Student Evaluation

You will be evaluated on the following activities during the course:

a) Your performance on 5 field techniques (group activities).
b) Your participation during the lectures and discussions, both in the classroom and in the field.
c) A ‘midterm’ written exam.
d) A journal article critique, presented and discussed with the group.
e) Your independent research project that will be written up, orally presented, and turned in while at the field site.

Active participation in a field course is very important and you will be graded on your participatory effort throughout the course. All graded field exercises, the exam, and the final written independent research project must be turned in before leaving the course if you wish full credit.

Grading Breakdown

-Field Exercises 25%
-Journal Article Critique 10%
-Participation 10%
-Exam 15%
-Individual Research Project 40%

Tentative Schedule

(Note: Since some aspects of this course may take a longer or shorter period of time than what is presented here, we will be somewhat flexible with this schedule)

Day 1: (or day before) Arrive in Nicaragua. Go by bus and ferry to Ometepe. Get settled and acquainted; extensive orientation; brief tour of facilities. If you come in the day before, you will need to stay overnight at the Best Western at the airport.
Day 2: Tour of facilities, orientation, and break up into small groups to learn trail system, use of compass, and begin plant and animal observations in the forest. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 3: Field exercise #1. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 4: Field exercise #2. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 5: Field exercise #3. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 6: Field exercise #4. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 7: Field exercise #5. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 8: Work on journal article critique. Lecture in PM. Reading assignment.
Day 9: Lecture in AM. Present journal article critiques to group. Practice ethogram and data collection techniques rest of day in camp.
Day 10: Practice ethogram and data collection techniques all day in forest on the howler monkeys. Study for exam.
Day 11: Review the literature and work on proposal for individual research project. Study for exam.
Day 12: Finish writing up research proposals in AM. Meet individually with professor and teaching assistant to discuss proposals. Exam in PM.
Day 13-22: Collect and analyze data for individual research project. On day 22 begin report write-up in PM.
Day 23: Report write-up all day. Begin some oral presentations of research projects in PM.
Day 24: Rest of oral presentations of independent research projects; farewell fiesta.
Day 25: Leave Ometepe and spend night near airport
Day 26: Fly home.

Students with Special Needs

If any member of the class has a disability and needs special accommodations, please let me know ASAP. I will be happy to work with you to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform well in the class.

Academic integrity is violated by any dishonesty in submitting field exercises, tests, or the independent research projects. Any clear violation of academic integrity will be met with sanctions.

Primate Behavior And Ecology (Syllabus session #3 La Suerte)

Michelle Bezanson
University of Arizona

GRADING: You will receive 2 grades for this course. The first grade is for Field Techniques in Biological Anthropology. This part of the course involves supervised participation in data collecting techniques and field methods. This includes both lectures and data collection in the field. The course provides instruction and experience in the following field techniques: (1) methods of vegetation sampling in tropical rainforests; (2) mapping a field site, and (3) methods of collecting data on the behavior and ecology of free-ranging nonhuman primates.

Your grade is based on: Mastery of techniques during the 6-day rotation schedule (50%)
Score on the mid-term essay exam (35%)
Cooperation and ability to work with others ( 5%)
Presentation (10%)

The second grade is for Research Design and Data Analysis:
Your grade is based on: Writing a research proposal (25%)
Collecting data for an independent research project (25%)
Analyzing the results of the research project and writing a final report (25%)
Oral presentation of research results (25%).

Attendance at all lectures, presentations, and discussions is required.

Assignments.

Field Techniques” Rotate through each field activity every 1-2 days. Group report each evening. Meet with faculty each evening to discuss the schedule, activities, and equipment you need for the following day (July 21-July 26)

Presentation: Schedule. You have 10 minutes to present a detailed summary of the main points of a research article. Articles must be selected from the La Suerte Library or articles you have brought with you. Please sign out each article taken and return AS SOON AS YOU ARE DONE (your classmates will need to use these articles for their proposals and research papers). As soon as you have selected a paper, please give me the title and author so that other students do not select the same paper. Presentations will be given after dinner (approximately 7:15 PM) beginning on July 23 (end July 27). Three-four presentations per evening plus discussion.

Examination: 6:30-8:30 PM on July 30th. 2- hour essay exam.

DUE ON OR BEFORE July 31st at 6:00 PM - Research Proposal. RESEARCH PROJECTS MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE YOU CAN BEGIN YOUR PROJECT.

READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Required Texts:

Sussman, RW 2000 Primate Ecology and Social Structure: Volume 2, The New World
Primates. Pearson Custom Publishing.
Strier, KB 2003 Primate Behavioral Ecology, 2nd Edition
Allyn and Bacon Publishing

July 20 – July 25 Reading - Sussman pages 1-111
Strier chapters 1, 2, 4, 5

July 26 - July 29 Reading - Sussman pages 125-196
Strier chapters 6,9,11,12

July 30 - 2 HOUR ESSAY EXAMINATION (6:30pm-8:30pm)
August 8 - FINAL DAY OF DATA COLLECTION
August 11
Each student must hand in a final written paper by 6:00 PM detailing the results of their research. The paper must be written as a scientific article.
August 12 - 2003 Primate Behavior and Ecology Symposium.
August 13 - Head to San Jose—visit National Museum, buy souvenirs, tour San Jose
August 14 - Departure

Lecture Schedule

We are here to share our experiences and information. Before each lecture each of you will have the opportunity to tell us what you have observed that day. There will be lectures scheduled every day. Lectures will be from 4:30-6:00pm. Lecture topics include:

1. July 20: Orientation regarding safety, procedures and behavior at La Suerte, course goals, and course requirements
2. July 21: Introduction to primate behavior and ecology, primate traits.
3. July 22: History of field studies, theories of primate origins
4. July 23: The Natural History of Costa Rica.
5. July 24: Evolution and phylogeny.
6. July 25: The evolutionary history of New World Primates, Primate social systems and grouping patterns.
7. July 26: Foraging strategies.
8. July 27: Primate locomotion.
8. July 28: Primate life stages and life history, cognition, spatial information, tool use.
9. July 29: Rainforest ecology and primate conservation
10. July 31: No lecture: Dinner in Cariari
11. August 1: Conservation activity
12. August 2: Seed dispersal
13. August 3: GPS, mapping
14. August 4: Movie: No lecture
15. August 5: Subgrouping in mantled howlers, positional behavior.
16. August 6: Meet with instructors and TAs

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
Email: eulemur2002@yahoo.it or donati18@interfree.it
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