INTRODUCTION

As this century draws to a close, we have seen the founding of primatology as a scientific discipline. We have watched its widespread development into anatomical, behavioral, biological, genetic, physiological, and ecological areas of inquiry. While we cannot predict the future of primatology, we can consider its present as antecedents of its future. The primary objective of this project is to address primatology today:

• Who are primatologists?
  
• What kind of positions do they hold?
  
• Where do they work, and what do they study?
  
• What are the current questions and issues in major areas of primatology?
  

This study is important because no study to date deals with primatology in the 1990's. The last major overview of primatology was included as a small part in a historical overview of physical anthropology in the 1980's (Spencer 1981). Two recent articles focus on the history of primatology but do not emphasize research conducted in the 1990's (i.e., Corbey 1996; Preuschoft 1996). Turner (1997) presented a similar paper on the field of physical anthropology. However, primatologists made up less than 8 percent of the total sample. It is important to note, however, that this paper focuses on behavioral primatology to the exclusion of paleo-primatology and functional morphology. For a review of important issues and questions see Fleagle (1988).

METHODS

This project included information from several sources:

1. World Directory of Primatology (WDP).
   WDP is an on-line directory of "who's who" in primatology today. This directory listing was downloaded and transformed into a database including primatologists described by 7 variables: Name, Facility, Department, Country, Position, Areas of Interest, and Species of Interest.
2. Current Primate References (CPR).
   CPR is a monthly bibliographic listing of recent publications in 43 different areas of primate research. CPR was used to create a database that included the total number of citations by topic for each month between January, 1990 and December, 1998. Monthly totals were summed by year and plotted over time to consider trends in primate research topics between 1990 and 1998.
3. Computer Database Search.
   A computer database search of articles on primate behavior was conducted using the following databases: General Science Abstracts, PsychLit, Zoological Record, ERIC, and Applied Science and Technology Abstracts. This search was used to determine major topics in primatology today and major questions/issues that have been addressed in peer-reviewed journals. Information used in this article focuses primarily on articles from Zoological Record as it provided the most articles that focus on topics relevant to anthropological areas of primatology (i.e., non-human primate behavior, conservation, socioecology and sociobiology).

RESULTS

WORLD DIRECTORY OF PRIMATOLOGY

Information from the online World Directory of Primatology (WDP; as of August 28, 1998) included: 2609 total entries, 924 professional primatologists (non-students), 253 students (high school to post docs), 1413 other individuals (list no current position).

• PROFESSIONAL PRIMATOLOGISTS (TABLE 1) represented 42 different countries. Only seven percent of primatologists represented countries with indigenous non-human primate populations. 
• PRIMATOLOGISTS IN THE U.S. (TABLE 2) (n=688) held positions mainly in universities (n=310), regional primate research centers (n=69) and private laboratories (n=60). 
• IN ACADEMIC SETTINGS (TABLE 3), primatologists were primarily associated with anthropology (n=71) and psychology (n=62) departments.

RATIO OF MALE TO FEMALE PROFESSIONAL PRIMATOLOGISTS (TABLE 4)

The analysis of the WDP also considered the ratio of males to females (male:female) that hold different types of positions at US facilities. While the WDP did not list 'SEX' as a variable, it was usually clear, based primarily on personal knowledge, whether US entries were male or female. When it was not clear, it was counted as missing ('unknown'). TABLE 4 provides a list of different types of positions held within each of 15 different kinds of facility including the total number of males and females who held each position. FIGURE 1 provides a graph to illustrate sex ratio results.

• Positions within the Armed Forces, Medical Schools, Private Laboratories, Regional Primate Research Centers, and Universities are held by more male than female primatologists.
• In turn, positions held in Colleges, Conservation/ Rehabilitation/Animal Welfare, Private Institutes, and Zoos were held by more female than male primatologists.
• At the Centers for Disease Control and Government Agencies, there were equal numbers of male and female primatologists.
• Among students (primarily graduate students) there were nearly twice as many females as males (90: 163).
• If we focus on high-level positions (e.g., 'Chief', 'Director', 'Full Professor', 'Veterinarian'), in some settings (e.g., 'Armed Forces', 'Government Agencies', 'Private Laboratories') 'Chief' or 'Director' positions were held by more males than females.
• In other settings (e.g., Conservation/Rehabilitation/Animal Welfare, Private Institutes, Zoological Institutions), more females than males held positions as 'Chief' or 'Director'.
• In academic settings more women than men work in colleges and more men than women work in universities. In both colleges and universities, more men than women hold positions as 'Full Professor'.
• Most primatologists hold positions within academic settings (colleges, medical schools, universities) and most high level positions ('Full Professor') in these settings are held by males.

CURRENT PRIMATE REFERENCES

This section considers current trends in primatological publications derived from Current Primate References (CPR) between January 1990 and December 1998. There were 57,305 citations and all of these were used in this analysis. These citations were listed in 43 categories that include many forms of non-human primate use. These categories can be generally grouped into 6 main topic areas: anthropological primatology, biological systems, development and aging, microbiology, animal care/management/welfare and other (e.g., News, Notes and Miscellanea). A Pearson correlation coefficient r was also calculated over time for each category to consider changes over time in publication trends.

TABLE 5 provides a complete summary of results by category.

TABLE 6 provides results by topic area. Five categories yielded more than 2,000 citations: Nervous System (10,668), Behavior (6,317), Pharmacology & Therapeutics (4,910), Virology (4,531), and Ecology and Conservation (2,072).

• If we focus on categories most related to anthropological primatology (i.e., Ecology and Conservation, Behavior, Learning & Perception, Paleoprimatology), the category Behavior yielded the most citations.
• Six categories resulted in strong positive correlation values (.50 or greater) that may indicate growth in these topical areas between 1990 and 1997: Primatology, General (.84), News, Notes and Miscellanea (.77), Immunology (.71), Nervous System (.56), Genetics (.55), and Pharmacology and Therapeutics (.53).
• In contrast, anthropological categories Behavior (.44) and Ecology and Conservation (.48) yielded weaker positive correlations.
• Overall, CPR results suggest biomedical primatology (e.g., Genetics, Immunology, Nervous System, Pharmacology & Therapeutics) predominates non-human primate use.
• While Behavior and Ecology and Conservation yielded a high number of citations (>2,000), r values indicate less growth in these areas.
• In contrast, biomedical primatology is on the rise, particularly in areas of Respiratory Systems, Dental & Oral Structures, Parasitology, Cardiovascular, Biochemistry and Immunology.
• Categories related to biological systems (e.g., Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, Endocrine System) and microbiology (e.g., Bacteriology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology) accounted for 72 percent of the total citations.
• In contrast, anthropological categories represented only 17.5 percent of total citations.

ZOOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS

Information was based primarily on the computer database Zoological Abstracts. The search initially provided 1666 articles on non-human primate behavior published primarily in peer-reviewed journals or as book chapters. These articles can be generally grouped into 6 categories: Agonism, Affiliation, Sexual Behavior, Sociobiology and Socioecology, Animal Welfare and Conservation. This search was obviously not exhaustive, including all articles published in these six major areas. However, the search did reveal some interesting trends. FIGURE 2 presents trends in major categories.

• Most articles dealt with agonism (n=446) and sexual behavior (n=427).
• There were less than half as many articles on affiliative behaviors (n=163).
• However, among affiliative behaviors, there is a recent increase in studies of cooperative (including reconciliation) behavior (n-56).
• Among sexual behaviors, it was also interesting to see a skew in citation on reproductive behavior (n=11) versus articles on sex differences in behavior (n=416).
• Zoological Abstracts listed 164 articles that deal with primate conservation issues for prosimians (principally lemurs), for new world monkeys (principally tamarins), old world monkeys (principally macaques) and apes (principally gorillas).
• Zoological Abstracts revealed more than 140 articles (1990-1998) that emphasize primate welfare.

ANIMAL WELFARE

The on-line bibliography Environmental Enrichment for Nonuman Primates: An Annotated Bibliography for Animal Care Personnel (Reinhardt, 9/31/98) was also considered to further look at trends in enrichment topics between 1990 and 1998 (n=184 references) (Table 16).

• This search suggested that current research centers around 6 main areas: the development of guidelines and regulations, enrichment programs, inanimate enrichment, feeding enrichment, substrates, and animate enrichment (FIGURE 3).
• Articles focus on animate (n=65 articles) and inanimate (n=50 articles) forms of enrichment.
• When single-, pair-, or group-housing methods were specified, a greater number articles focused more on single-housed non-human primates (26) compared to group-housed (18) or pair-housed primates (8).

ON-LINE FORUMS

It is also important to mention that in the 1990's primatology has also gone "on-line". The development of internet services in the 1980's has had considerable impact on communication among primatologists worldwide in the 1990's.

• In 1991 Primate-Talk (1991-1998) became an on-line forum for primate research discussion.
• Soon after, the World Directory of Primatology (WDP) was established to facilitate internet communication among primatologists.
• As of November, 1998, the WDP receives 30,000 "hits" (i.e., people using the on-line directory) per month (Larry Jacobsen, p.c., 1998).
• In 1998, Primate-Talk is carried forward through a new forum "Alloprimate" that focuses on general primatology topics.
• In 1998, another new forum, "Primate-Science," has been developed to specifically support the primate research community.
• Add to this a myriad of primatology related web sites and it is clear that the internet has increased communication and information exchange in the field of
  primatology.

SUMMARY

• Primatology is a strong discipline with a considerable number of active primatologists (924 worldwide) and students (253 worldwide) (WDP, 1998).
• Most US primatologists hold positions in universities, regional primate research centers and private laboratories.
• Within universities, more males than females hold "full professor" positions.
• Within 'Conservation/ Rehabilitation/ Animal Welfare' facilities, 'Private Institutes', and 'Zoological Institutions, more females than males hold high-level positions as "Chief" or "Director."
• Results (CPR, 1998) suggest biomedical primatology predominates non-human primate use.
• While Behavior and Ecology and Conservation yielded a relatively high number of citations (Zoological Abstract, 1998), correlation values indicate little growth in these areas.
• Last, in the 1990's, we have also witnessed the development of Internet forums for dialogue on primatological issues and information exchange among primatologists.
• The continued growth of primatology is assured by a strong body of professionals working in varied types of institutions and facilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grant No. U42-RR-3602-13.

REFERENCES

Cobey, R. (1996) Roots, backgrounds, and contexts of primatology: A bibliographic essay. Primate Report 45:22-24.

Fleagle, J.G. (1999) PRIMATE ADAPTATION AND EVOLUTION, 2ND EDITION. Academic Press: New York.

Preuschoft, H. (1996) History of the International Primatological Society: The first sixteen years. Primate Report 45-5-13.

Turner, T.R. (1997) The 1996 American Association of Physical Anthropology Membership Survey. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 103(4): 565-569.

Submit a question about Careers in Primatology

URL: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/careers/howell.html
Maintained by the WRPRC Library.
Supported by NCRR Grants RR00167 and RR15311.
Last updated: March 27, 2001.

Return to Careers in Primatology
Return to PIN Home Page