MPIG 2012: My First Poster Session!

Last weekend was my first time going to the Midwest Primate Interest Group (MPIG). I thoroughly enjoyed the academic experience, not to mention being able to meet fellow primatologists and those whose work I have read frequently but never met in person. I was also able to meet some friends that I've met online through blogs, Facebook and Twitter in person. So, in short, MPIG was a great academic experience and also a way for me to put a 3D sensory input on people I knew but never met. The podium talks were great and posters were very interesting. I only wish the poster session was longer so I could see all the posters that were submitted (there were 25 and I was only able to see 5!).

Getting ready to present our groundbreaking data!

MPIG also marked my first time presenting an academic poster. I was the co-author, with the illustrious Ashlee Van Schyndel (from This Is Serious Monkey Business) as the first author. Thanks to those that stopped by to look at our poster, and gave us important and useful constructive criticisms (and praises!). I have included the poster on the bottom of this post. So, what do you guys think? Any suggestions on how we can make a better poster in the future?

Below is the abstract of our poster:

Foraging preferences and substrate use in the absence of food availability pressures in three lemur (Lemur catta, Eulemur mongoz, and Eulemur sanfordi) species

A.A. Van Schyndel1 and Raymond Vagell2

1Lemur Conservation Foundation, Myakka City, FL and 2Department of Psychology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, NY 

Foraging behaviors are complex and is contingent upon the environment in which the organism lives. In situations where the ecological pressure of food availability is removed, individuals have the option of foraging based on preference. At the Myakka City Lemur Reserve in Myakka City, Florida, lemurs are semi-captive, free ranging, and provisioned. However, between the multiple lemur species in the free-ranging forests, there is an expected diversity in foraging preferences in terms of food choice and substrate use.  For this study, three species of lemurs were studied: ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), mongoose lemurs (Eulemur mongoz), and Sanford’s brown lemurs (Eulemur sanfordi). A focal animal scan sampling and all occurrences sampling was completed over the course of two months that measured activity budget, food item choice, and substrate use. Results indicate there is a relationship between the niches inhabited by the lemurs in terms of substrate use and food item choice.

Please click on the image for a large file. If you would like a pdf version of our poster, please let me know

The Lesula: A New Species of Cercopithecus Described In The Democratic Republic of Congo

We have ourselves another new primate species. Yes, one whole new species that no one has seen before. Oh ... the native? They don't count. Just because they know of the existence of this primate species for years doesn't mean that it actually exists. It only exists when said species are described by science. Right? Of course not. I think we need to be careful when we talk about new species, especially media outlet that report these kinda stories. They are not "discovered", they are "described". Science (I'm using this in a broad sense) doesn't get to discover something if it's already known. Anyway ...

Left: Adult male Cercopithecus lomamiensis, Yawende, DRC. Photograph by M. Emetshu. Right: Subadult female Cercopithecus lomamiensis, Opala, DRC. Photograph by J. A. Hart.
Photos from Hart et al. (2012)

Hart et al. (2012) just published a paper in which they described a new monkey species known as the "lesula" to the locals. Their paper "Lesula: A New Species of Cercopithecus Monkey Endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Implications for Conservation of Congo’s Central Basin" is available on PLOS ONE if you are interested in reading it (it's free access).


The lesula or Cercopithecus lomamiensis ranges in the Tshuapa, Lomami and the Lualaba (TL2) area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They are found in the lowland rain forests of central DRC  C. lomamiensis belongs to the Cercopithecini family and is closely related to the Hamlyn's monkey or owl-faced monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni). However, C. lomamiensis is genetically distinct from C. hamlyni as well as in morphology and vocalizations. C. lomamiensis has a lighter coat compared to C. hamlyni (see photos below). C. lomamiensis seems to have a light brown face while C. hamlyni a dark face with a white stripe on its nose.

Portraits: Captive adult male Cercopithecus hamlyni (upper left), photo by Noel Rowe, with permission; and captive adult male Cercopithecus lomamiensis (upper right), Yawende, DRC, photo by Maurice Emetshu. Lateral view: Hunter-killed adult male Cercopithecus hamlyni (bottom left), photo by Gilbert Paluku; and eagle-killed subadult female Cercopithecus lomamiensis (bottom right), photo by Gilbert Paluku.
Photos from Hart et al. (2012)

C. lomamiensis are semi terrestrial and subsist on terrestrial herbaceous vegetation (herbivory). And yes, to answer the burning question, both C. lomamiensis and C. hamlyni have blue perineum and scrotum. This is definitely interesting news, if not, an urgent call for conservation efforts in the DRC area. C. lomamiensis is the second new primate species to be described recently in Africa after the kipunji, Rungwecebus kipunji. 

Loris Awareness Week

Since September 16th is Loris Awareness Week, I'd like to call into attention the illegal primate pet trade that is getting worse and needs to be stopped. Primates are taken out of their natural habitat and illegally smuggled out to be turned into "cute" house pets. We won't be helping if we all think that primates make good pets and that you want to own one because "they are cute". Instead we should educate ourselves on why some animals are just not meant to be pets (adopt a shelter dog or cat instead!). Besides being turned into house pets, some primates are also taken from the wild so that they can be "movie stars". I implore you, my readers, to not support any movies or TV shows that use primates as animal actors. If you do not want to boycott the movie or show, at least understand why the only primate that should be actors are humans.

There are purportedly "cute" videos of slow lorises popping up on Youtube, in which, I generally watch in horror and disbelieve. I won't link any of these videos on this post but a quick search for "Tickling Slow Loris" would bring you to one such video. As a New Yorker, I only have one response to that video. "The slow loris is scared and is in a defensive posture, stupid!" But I digress. Besides being turned into pets, slow lorises are also hunted for traditional medicine.

Illegal Wildlife Trade fact sheet from  Dr Anna Nekaris's Little Fireface Project website

I wouldn't do any justice on these cute prosimians but head on to Dr Anna Nekaris's Little Fireface Project to read about her work on slow lorises and her team's effort to save slow lorises through better awareness and education.

Who Else Is Going To The Midwest Primate Interest Group (MPIG) Conference?

This September, the illustrious Ashlee Van Schyndel (of This Is Serious Monkey Business) and I will be presenting in a poster session at Midwest Primate Interest Group (MPIG) Conference. The conference will be held in Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL from Friday (Sept. 28th) till Saturday (Sept. 29).

Our poster topic will be on the foraging preferences (food choice and substrate use) in lemur species in the absence of food availability pressures. Ashlee collected her data at the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City, FL when she was a research assistant.

For more information about the conference, please visit the Midwest Primate Interest Group website. Hope to see y'all at the conference!

Primatologist's Log, Stardate 2012.27.08: I am finally taking an Anthropology/Primate Class

Primatologist's log, supplemental. For the first time in my graduate life, I have finally sat foot inside the Anthropology lab at Hunter College, CUNY for my Primate Ecology and Behavior class. I am elated to be finally back into my home range, namely the Anthropology department, for a primate class. Since I'll have a lot of primate materials to go through, hopefully I'll blog more this semester. Not promising anything though since I'm getting married in October and I am busy rehearsing to be a Bridezilla. Well, not really ... but kinda, really.