Research interests:

I am interested in the evolution of primate social behaviour, with a special emphasis on macaques. Macaques are unique and diverse at the same time. They all show the same social organisation but express very different social styles, ranging from despotic to more tolerant. Whereas the despotic end of the spectrum has been extensively studied, both in captivity and in the wild, the tolerant species are far less known in natural conditions.

This unbalanced dataset on macaque behaviours undermines our understanding of the astonishing variation they exhibit. Several theoretical models, some concerning female primates in general, others more focused on macaques, have been developed in an attempt to explain such variation but there is still an intense debate on the proximate and ultimate factors driving it. I am currently investigating social relationships and their determinant factors in females of one of the tolerant species, the crested macaques, in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve, in Sulawesi, Indonesia. With a unique combination of behavioural, genetic and ecological data, we hope to better understand the determinants of a tolerant social style and to provide further insights into the macaque societies, as well as into the evolution of female primate social relationships in general.

Additional affiliations:

Courant Research Centre "Evolution of Social Behaviour"
Kellnerweg 6
37077 Göttingen, Germany

IPHC-CNRS-UDS
Department Ecology Physiology Ethology DEPE Ethology of Primate Research Group 23, rue Becquerel
67087 Strasbourg Cedex 02
France