THAILAND
Khao Lak Merlin ResortÂ
Phang Nga, Thailand
As part of my MSc, I am studying slow lorises in Thailand. Slow lorises (Nycticebus spp. & Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus) are a group of nocturnal and cryptic primates that live in South to Southeast Asia. Two species of slow loris are native to Thailand, the greater slow loris (N. coucang) and the Bengal slow loris (N. bengalensis), and they are both classified as Endangered by the IUCN and are understudied in Thailand.
I am examining the habitat use and behavioral repertoires of wild and native slow lorises and I will use the information from these data to assist the Love Wildlife Foundation to release rehabilitated slow lorises in Thailand. Additionally, I am monitoring ultrasonic calling behavior, canopy bridge use, and I am gauging species presence and human perceptions by surveying local people. Local ecological knowledge aids in our understanding of distribution and behavior, especially for underrepresented taxa for which data on distribution and conservation are lacking such as the slow lorises.
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SOUTH AFRICA
Inkawu Vervet Project
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are a prolific species of Old World monkey found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The project is located on a private game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and hosts a number of local and international researchers. IVP provided me with the opportunity to assist graduate students and postdocs to perform playback experiments, fake predator experiments, and social learning experiments with several groups of wild vervet monkeys. I collected behavioral data via focal sampling, scan sampling, and ad libitum data collection as well as through fecal samples for genetics and eDNA.
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The project is also partnered with a local vervet sanctuary, W.A.T.C.H., where I was able to participate in touchscreen cognition experiments with captive vervets as well as rehabilitation and reintroduction efforts for orphaned and injured vervet monkeys.
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