lmartinezinigo
Primatology webinars in times of COVID-19
Updated: May 30, 2021

What do primatologists do when they are locked down? Well, apparently plenty of webinars, among many other things, for sure. Here is a non-comprehensive list of online panels, presentations and related, performed during the pandemic that has turned our lives upside-down over the last few months. First, there are talks in English, then Spanish and French. Now I also count on the collaboration of Rismayanti, Head Manager of the Macaca Nigra Project, who will be curating the Indonesian section! Finally, there are some talks with Portuguese audio within conferences in English and Spanish. I labelled them accordingly so you can find them. I hope you enjoy the list!
Para palestras em português, pesquise [ÁUDIO PORTUGUÊS]. Existem 7 no total.

The African Primatological Society virtual panel on COVID-19
The African Primatological Society hosted a panel that discussed the links between biodiversity loss and the emergence of epidemics and the implications this has for human-wellbeing and African primate conservation. Panelists: Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Bassirou Bonfoh, Sian Waters, Johannes Refisch. Moderated by Inza Koné and Rachel Ikemeh. Rapporteurs: Ekwoge Abwe and Karim Ouattara.
You can watch it HERE. And you can find the follow up HERE

Animal Behavior Society Virtual Meeting, July 28-31, 2020
The virtual ABS meeting gathered hundreds of researchers from all branches of the field for 4 intense days of ethological virtual pride. I listed here those presentations that were later uploaded to Youtube. The abstracts of all presentation on-demand are still available at the website of the conference
Ana C.C.S. Chagas - Stress along social networks in captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus)
Talita Damasceno - Vocal calls are correlated to social behaviors in juvenile captive monkeys [ÁUDIO PORTUGUÊS]
Ingrid Maria da Silva Oliveira - Social behaviors of captive-raised capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) differ by age and sex class [ÁUDIO PORTUGUÊS]
Nataly de Souza Fernandes - Behavioral diversity and space use as welfare indicators of captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) [ÁUDIO PORTUGUÊS]
Raiane dos Santos Guidi - Within a new group: The first social behaviours of captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.).
Felipe Haeberlin - Capuchin monkeys personality traits and social behavior
Natsumi Hamada-Fearnside - Proximity patterns of blond capuchin monkeys (Sapajus flavius) in an Atlantic forest fragment
Jean-Baptiste Leca - A culturally maintained token economy in free-ranging monkeys
Sylvain Lemoine - Between-group competition in Taï chimpanzees
Pedro Alexandre Nobre da Silva - Environmental enrichment effects on the activity budget of captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) [ÁUDIO PORTUGUÊS]
Christina Nord - Interindividual differences in responses towards novel food among wild, non-provisioned vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
Megan Petersdorf - Female fertility signals in Kinda baboons (Papio kindae)
Patrick Tkaczynski - Cortisol patterns during development in bonobos and chimpanzees
Gabriel Whebber - Correlation between vocalizations and abnormal behaviors of captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) [ÁUDIO PORTUGUÊS]

The Association of Indian Primatologists webinar series
The Association of Indian Primatologists has organized interesting talks on primate research and conservation by international experts such as:
Krishna Balasubramaniam - Social Network Analysis And Its Utility In Studying Animals
Anindya Sinha - Other Minds: Social Cognition in Wild Bonnet Macaques
Agni Mitra, IFS- Wildlife Trafficking in India and Primates
Tara Clarke - Madagascar: The Vanishing 8th Continent
Charmalie Nahallage - An Introduction to the Primates and Primatological Studies in Sri Lanka
Lynne Isbell- Recent Research on Primate Responses to their Predators
Jean-Baptiste Leca - Studying Behavioral By-Products in Primatology
Tetsuro Matsuzawa - Chimpanzee intelligence in the laboratory and in the wild
Michael A. Huffman-The Evolution of Self-Medication in Primates
More upcoming webinars on the AIP Youtube channel

Ape Alliance: COVID-19 and Zoonotic Diseases Panel Discussion
The panel discussed how apes could be affected by COVID-19 and how ape tourism might contribute to the transmission of zoonotic diseases. The panellists were: Ian Redmond, James Desmond, Johannes Refisch, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Ian Singleton, Vernon Reynolds and Jo Thompson. Moderated by Iona Haines.
(You can also watch it HERE)

BIAZA Research Committee: #virtualzooscience2020
The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) organized a virtual conference on the 6th of July 2020. Among the talks, a couple dealt with primate research:
Lewis Rowden - Personality assessment in zoo-housed primates
You can check the rest of the conference HERE
Bio-Diverse Festival
The Bio-diverse festival took place between the 12th-18th October 2020 and brought together conservationists to talk about their work in an inclusive environment. All talks can be found in their YouTube channel, including:
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka - The impact of COVID-19 on gorilla conservation
Alex Ngabirano - A day in the Life: Bwindi Development Network, Uganda
Adin, Esther, Hilman Fauzi, Myla - A Day in the Life: Little Fireface Project, Indonesia
Hopefully you are also interested in these panel discussions:
Shay-Akil McLean, Celina Chien, Craig Poku, Kai Hoshijo - Anti-Racism in Conservation and Biology
Olivia Bernard, Kelsey Byers, Duncan Cameron, Hayley Branch - Disability in Biology and STEM
CRESIDA seminar series - The University of Roehampton
The Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Inter-Disciplinary Anthropology (CRESIDA) at the University of Roehampton, started an anthropology webinar series which includes, of course, primate research. Check the Anthroehampton blog for updates.
Stephano Kaburu - Investigation of the drivers and outcome of human-macaque interactions: a coupled natural and human systems approach
Stuart Semple - Geladas, genes and the clouds of Venus – compression as a fundamental principle of biological information systems
Dysoc/NIMBioS Webinar Series on Cultural Evolution
The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) and the The Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity (Dysoc) has organized a series of webinars on cultural evolution that includes, of course, some dealing with non-human primates:
Andy Whiten - The discovery and reach of animal culture
Patricia Izar - The impact of a tradition on the life of capuchin monkeys
EFP-GFP 2021 Seminar Series
The European Federation for Primatology (EFP) and the German Primatological Society (GfP) had scheduled a meeting for 2021. Due to the pandemic, has been postponed to 2022. To keep everyone on the loop, they have organized a webinar series in which promising young primatologists from or based in Europe will discuss their work. Talks will be held live every Wednesday during February 2021. You can register here. The schedule is:
Wednesday Feb. 3rd, 2021:
Charlotte Canteloup - From whom to learn? Social learning biases in wild vervet monkeys
Daria Valente - Similarities and differences in lemur vocal behaviour: a comparative approach
Dietmar Crailsheim - Assessing the sociability of former pet and entertainment chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) by using a monolayer and a multiplex social network approach
Wednesday Feb. 10th, 2021:
Vedrana Šlipogor - Unique, just like everyone else? Integrative approach to the study of personality in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)
Alex Mielke - Replicability and reproducibility in primate sociality studies
Jaimie Morris - Genetic and morphological analyses of historic and contemporary populations of western lowland gorilla: A multidisciplinary approach for the conservation of a critically endangered primate
Wednesday Feb. 17th, 2021:
Iván García-Nisa - Investigating the contribution of communication to social learning opportunities in Barbary macaques
Cécile Sarabian - From cognition & behavior to infection: primate responses to parasitic threat
Pooja Dongre - Immigrants trigger novel food acquisition in a wild primate
Wednesday Feb. 24th, 2021:
Eva Gazagne - From the ground to the sky: Habituation, surveys, and areal monitoring technologies in primatological fieldwork
Francesca De Petrillo - Ecological variation in primate decision-making
Grégoire Boulinguez-Ambroise - Infant-holding: The forgotten behavior in primate developmental and evolutionary studies
Wednesday Feb. 24th, 2021:
Eva Gazagne - From the ground to the sky: Habituation, surveys, and areal monitoring technologies in primatological fieldwork
Francesca De Petrillo - Ecological variation in primate decision-making
Grégoire Boulinguez-Ambroise - Infant-holding: The forgotten behavior in primate developmental and evolutionary studies

FINE Seminar series
The International Remote Seminar on Frontiers in Social Evolution (FINE) organizes seminars on Tuesdays (11:00 in New York/17:00 in Paris) which can be attended via Zoom or YouTube. Here are the seminars dealing with primates:
Eduardo Fernandez-Duque - What we (do not) know about solitary floaters in pair-living sexually monogamous primates
Aaron A. Sandel - Within-species variation, data quality, and the aims of primatology
Sarie Van Belle - Intergroup Dynamics in Howler Monkeys
Karen B. Strier - Implications of social evolution and behavioral flexibility for primate conservation and management
Peter Kappeler - Lemur Social Evolution

Habitat Expert Series Webforums
The Habitat Foundation, a conservation trust based in Penang, Malaysia, has organized a series of webforums over the last months focusing on biodiversity and conservation in Malaysia. They teamed up with the Malaysian Primatological Society (MPS) to organize a forum the 28th of July on "A Future for Primates in Malaysia", where five experts discussed their work:
Peter Ong of the Project Monyet talked about his goal of photographing all 25 primate species living in Malaysia
Felicity Oram of PONGO Alliance explained the efforts being taken in the Kinabatangan to ensure long-term viability for the orangutan
Nadine Rupert of the Malaysian Primatological Society shared an overview of the challenges faced by primates in Malaysia, focusing on her research on southern pig-tailed macaques living in oil palm plantations in Perak
Sharmini Julita Paramasivam, founder of the Animal Neighbours project, spoke about the long-tailed macaque, and the management strategies to ameliorate human-macaque conflicts in urban Malaysia
Jo Leen Yap, founder of Langur Project Penang provided an in-depth view of the conservation efforts for dusky langurs and other arboreal species in Penang.
Hani Nabilia of PERHILITAN, spoke about the laws and regulations which surround primate conservation in Malaysia
(You can also watch it HERE, and enjoy more material of Habitat Foudation HERE)
IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section for Human Primate Interactions:
Cercopithecines, people and Covid-19
This webinar brought together experts on different types of interactions between primates and humans to discuss how the pandemic could affect such relationships. It was organized by Siân Waters, Susan M Cheyne & Malene Friis Hansen and the presenters were:
Thomas Gillespie – What are the risks and how can we mitigate COVID-19 for Cercopithecines and people in shared environments?
Lauren Gilhooly – Fewer people, fewer problems? How changes in tourism can affect macaque behaviour
Malene Friis Hansen & Ventie Angelia Nawangsari, – Creating demand, then cutting supply: A case study of macaque provisioning in real-time.
Tanvir Ahmed – Human-Primate Conflicts in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Magdalena Bermejo – Ape Case Studies and Human Interactions: Can people-primate interactions change during and after an epidemic?
(You can also watch it HERE)
Decolonising Primate Conservation
Streamed the 10th August 2020, this webinar was organized by Siân Waters and Susan M Cheyne. The speakers were:
Seheno Corduant-Andriantsaralaza - How decolonization in conservation and inclusivity in research can improve conservation efforts and initiatives in Madagascar?
June Mary Rubis - Seeing the utan for the orang: a decolonial Indigenous approach to orang utan conservation in Sarawak
Michelle Rodrigues - Why narratives matter for decolonising primatology? (You may also want to check her #DecolonizePrimatology: A Reading List)
Joanna Setchell - What might "decolonising" mean for primatology? (You may also want to check her references for her talk on the same topic on PSGB2020)
(You can also watch it HERE)
The Role of Belief Systems in African Primate Conservation
Streamed the 20th October 2020, this webinar was organized by Siân Waters, Lynne R.Baker, and Susan M Cheyne. The speakers were:
Carolyn A. Jost Robinson - Beyond believing. Conceptualizing diverse forms of knowledge in conservation practice
Christopher Dankwah - The nexus of Indigenous cultures and primate havens; insights from Ghana
Sherrie Alexander - The role of religion in primate conservation: Muslim perceptions of Barbary macaques in the Rif mountains of Morocco
Sery Gonedele Bi - Contribution of taboos to the conservation of Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus in two distinct traditional communities in Côte d'Ivoire
Lynne R.Baker - Local belief systems and the conservation of Sclater's monkey in Nigeria
(You can also watch it HERE)

Leakey Foundation Lunch Break Science Series
The Leakey Foundation has recently started a series of webinars led by anthropologists from different areas, including:
Zarin Machanda- Chimpanzee communication
Rachna Reddy - Chimpanzee sociality
Caroline Schuppli - Orangutan cognition
Margaret Crofoot and Grace Davis - Leadership and decision making in primate societies
Catherine Markham - Social competition in primate groups
Jacinta Beehner - Gelada monkeys in Ethiopia
Eduardo Fernandez-Duque - Pair-bonding and parental care in monkeys from Ecuadorian Amazon and Argentina
Lemur Conservation Network panel discussions
The Lemur Conservation Network connects over 60 organizations working to save the lemurs from Madagascar with people who want to join the cause. They have posted some webinars and panel discussions in the las few months like the ones below.
Lynne Venart, Seheno Corduant-Andriantsaralaza, Lucia Rodríguez, Ed Louis, Sylviane Volampeno, Tsiory Andrianavalona - Conservation Optimism in Madagascar: Panel Discussion
Lynne Venart, Seheno Corduant-Andriantsaralaza, Lucia Rodríguez, Brett Massoud, Laurenne Mansbridge, Jonah Ramampionona, Tanjona Raharijaona - Madagascar Travel Showcase
Long-Term Animal Research Seminar Series
The Long-Term Animal Research Seminar Series has appointed several distinguished primatologists including:
Jacinta Beehner- Male-mediated changes in female reproduction: 15 years of research in geladas
Fernando Campos-The biodemography of health and fitness in changing environments: insights from wild primates
Sarie Van Belle - Dispersal regimes in black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra): Integrating multi-year demographic and molecular data
Megan Peterdorf - Sexual selection in the little-known Kinda baboon
Zarin Machanda - Chimpanzee social relationships: Highlights from 30 years of research from the Kibale chimpanzee project [Her part starts at 20:20]
Elisabeth Lange - What mediates the relationship between early life adversity and survival in baboons?
Monkey Monday - MSc Primate Conservation Oxford Brookes University (UK)
Terence Fuh - In the front line of western lowland gorilla conservation
Camille Coudrat - Biodiversity Conservation in the Annamites Mountains of Laos
Andrea Molyneaux - Bukit Lawang, #morethanorangutan and #keepwildlifewild
Stephanie Poindexter - Lorises to olfaction: Navigating research, conservation, and academia
Joselyn Mormille - An interdisciplinary study on the human-baboon interface in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa
Tim Eppley - A multi-faceted approach to the conservation of red ruffed lemurs in northeast Madagascar
Alejandra Duarte - Tales from the field: turning stories into primate science
You can check future talks HERE
Oxford Nature Conservation Society talks
The Oxford Nature Conservation Society (OUNCS) is a society run by students from the University of Oxford who organize, among other things, the talk series than can then be viewed in their Facebook page. The 22nd October they invited Prof. Anna Nekaris whose talk was entitled "Adorable little fur balls of death: the ecological function and conservation implications of slow loris venom"
Primate Conversations Seminar Series
The Primate models for behavioural evolution lab of the University of Oxford organizes the now webinar series Primate Conversations. This season it featured:
Maegan Fitzgerald-Using emerging technology to conserve chimpanzees and biodiversity in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea
Alexander Mielke-In Praise of Folly: Play as a Window into Primate Cognition
Michael Huffman - The evolution of animal self-medication, with particular reference to the order Primates
Seheno Andriantsaralaza - Increasing local community engagement and its expertise to protect lemurs and their heritage in Madagascar
Primate Expertise outreach videos
Primate Expertise (PEx) is a Congolese NGO, created by Dr Augustin K. Basabose in 2013. PEx's objective is to inspire young Congolese to take leadership in the research and conservation of non-human primates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In his Youtube channel you can find videos (in English and French) on his humanitarian activities during the covid-19 pandemic as well as on the conservation and primates of Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
Augustin K. Basabose - “Ape Trees” about growing trees from seeds collected from ape dung to restore degraded forest area albeit the global challenge from COVID-19

Primate Society of Great Britain Winter Meeting 2020
Between the 1st and 2nd of December, the Primate Society of Great Britain (PSGB) organized its first online meeting. Here are some of the talks publicly available. The posters are available until the 9th December.
Plenary Speaker: Prof Ramesh Boonratana - Asian Primates & Asian Primatology: Status, Issues, Constraints, Gaps, and Options
Presentation sessions:
Laura Martínez-Íñigo - Intercommunity interactions and killings in central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from Loango National Park, Gabon

Saints Talk - University of St Andrews Alumni
The University of St Andrews organizes online lectures by their Alumni. One of them was
Cat Hobaiter, who explains her work on ape communication and mind in her talk "The Language of Life"
Slow Loris 2020 Conference - Little Fireface Project
The Little Fireface project organized a conference the 24th October focused on Loris. The speakers were:
Anna Nekaris – Welcome and overview of loris conservation
Hiroko Somura – Biological research in Myanmar on Bengal slow loris
Phuntsho Thinley – Preliminary distribution of Bengal slow loris in Bhutan
Hassan Al-Razi MSc – Bengal slow loris research and conservation in Bangladesh
Li Tianjiao – Sunda Slow Loris research in Singapore
Smitha Daniel – Story of the smallest Indian primate – the Malabar slender loris
Judeline Dimalibot – A preliminary study of the habitat and behaviour of Philippine slow loris Nycticebus menagensis in Simunul Island, Tawi-tawi Province, Philippines
Sergey Khlyupin – Research, successful management and breeding of slow lorises in Moscow zoo, Russia
Jennie Natalia Simanjuntak – Overview of the the Kukang Rescue Program, Sumatra, Indonesia
Dr Marina Kenyon – The chronicles of Vietnamese loris: the hunter, the ranger and the rescue centre
Dr Nabajit Das – Medicinal plant exudates and conservation implications of Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in India
Dr Penthai Siriwat – Trade in slow lorises in Thailand
Dr Qingyong Ni – Conservation and research of pygmy and Bengal slow lorises in China: status and challenges
Roopa Satish – Slender loris case reports at BRC, India, between Jan 2010 to August 2020
Lief Erickson D. Gamalo – Past and future for Philippine slow loris research in the Philippines
Esther Adinda – Social behaviour in the Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus) – Little Fireface Project, West Java, Indonesia
(You can also watch it HERE)
University of Liverpool Evolutionary Anthropology Webinar Series
A series of webinars that brings together experts from different areas of evolutionary anthropology, including primatology. Live talks happen each Thursday at 13h (UK time) in Zoom. You may register through the links posted by @LivUni_EvoAnth on Twitter or watch them in their YouTube channel
Kathelijine Koops - Ape origins of human technology: What makes a tool user ?
World Chimpanzee Day Special
The 14th July was the World Chimpanzee Day, the 60th anniversary of the arrival of Jane Goodall to Gombe. Researchers of the University of Exeter, the University of Oxford (Primate Models For Behavioural Evolution Lab) and the Bulindi Chimpanzee Project put together a series of outreach videos on chimpanzee research:
Caroline Phillips & Alex Mielke - Introduction
Marina Ramon & Hellen Bersacola - Threats and Conservation
Hellen Bersacola - Field Methods
Katarina Almeida-Warren & Hellen Bersacola - Local Researchers
Alejandra Pascual-Garrido & Katarina Almeida-Warren - Chimpanzee technology
Alex Mielke - Chimpanzee Friendship
Kimberley Hockings, Matthew McLennan & Caroline Phillips - Chimpanzee Diet
Elliot Howard-Spink and Joana Bessa - Chimpanzee Communication

2020 Annual Meeting - Midwest Primate Interest Group
The 16th October the Midwest Primate Interest Group (MPIG), USA, organized their annual meeting online with interesting roundtables:
Session 1: Ethics of Fieldwork During a Pandemic
Session 2: Activism in Primate Conservation
Sessions 3: Diversity and Inclusion in Primatology
I hope you found something that interested you! Please let me know if you would like to see any other webinar added (or if you found typos and similar annoyances). And if you really liked it, please consider inviting me to a coffee! (Times are challenging, as you know).
Thanks!

VIII Simposio de Primates Mesoamericanos 2020

El Grupo de Interés Temático de Primates Mesoamericanos (GIT Primates Meso), la Fundación Pro-Conservación de los Primates Panameños (FCPP) y la Sociedad Mesoamericana para la biología y la conservación, han organizado el VIII Simposio de Primates Mesoamericanos online entre el 2 y lel 27 de Noviembre de 2020. Las ponencias pueden verse tanto en el facebook de GIT Primates Meso como en el de la FCPP, además de desde aquí. Por supuesto. Esta es la lista de ponentes por orden alfabético del primer apellido.
Maria Fernanda Álvarez-Vélazquez - "Si me comes, me defiendo"... Concentración de taninos y su capacidad para precipitar proteína en la selección de dieta por Alouatta pigra
Eric Isai Ameca y Juarez - Modelación de impactos de huracanes y presiones antropogénicas en trayectorias demogáficas de Alouatta palliata mexicana en la isla de Agaltepec, Veracruz, México.
Inés Azofeifa Rojas - Estrategias de conservación del mono congo (Alouatta palliata palliata) en el Pacífico norte de Costa Rica
Juan Esteban Cáceres-Rave - El mono que dominó la noche: biogeografía histórica de los monos nocturnos (Platyrrinos: Aoutus)
Domingo Canales-Espinosa - Translocación de monos aulladores Alouatta palliata y A.pigra: Una experiencia mexicana para investigación y formación académica aplicada a la conservación de especies en peligro
Óscar M. Chaves - Factores que regulan el comportamiento de beber agua en monos aulladores del sur de Brasil
Alejandra Cuervo Aguirre - La ritmicidad fisiológica y conductal del mono araña de Centroamérica (Ateles geoffroyi) ante eventos extremos de calor
Luis Flores Girón - Rehabilitación física y psíquica en el centro de rehabilitación de primates de Lwiro, República Democrática del Congo
Emiliano Franco Fogliatti - Estudio de caso de un ensayo de reintroducción de Monos Carayá (Alouatta caraya): Un aporte para mejorar las prácticas de manejo de la especie