PRIMATE ECOLOGY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE (Anth. 406. Intro Level)
Course Instructor: Robert Sussman Department of Anthropology Washington University St. Louis, MO 63130 USA Telephone: 1-212-960-8478 Email: kbsic@cunyvm.bitnet (Fall, 1995) Text: R.W. Sussman Office Hours: MW 11-12 and by appointment Sussman, R.W., 1989. Primate Ecoloqy and Social Structure, in prep, McGraw Hill, New York Fleagle, J ., 1989. Primate Adaptation and Evolution (optional) Grading: Two-1 hour exams (100 points each) Outline of Course: I. General Principles of Ecology - An Overview (Aug. 23 - Sept. 4) Ecosystems and their major components Ecological energetics Some ecological "laws" Population interactions Population regulating mechanisms Coevolution and guilds Relationships between ecology, behavior, and social structure Il. Taxonomy and Distribution of the Primates (Sept. 6 - Sept. 22) Present status and distribution of primates What is a primate? Taxonomy Overview of primate social structure in relation to ecology Ill. Survey of Primate Ecology and Behavior and Field Methods A. Studies on Nocturnal Primates (Sept. 25-Oct. 6) Methods of collecting data Bioenergetics and the principle of competitive exclusion Population estimation and the determination of social structure Studies of diurnal prosimians Habitat preferences and the competitive exclusion principle Studies of 2 species in one environment and one species in 2 environments Methods of collecting data which allows comparison between species and between studies B. Studies on arboreal Primates (Oct. 9 - Oct. 23) New World arboreal Monkeys Callithricidae: A newly defined ecological role Five species of South American monkeys - community ecology Social structure of South American monkeys C. Old World Arboreal Monkeys (Oct. 25 - Nov. 6) African folivores Polyspecific associations D. Controversies and Comparisons in Terrestrial Primate Studies (Nov. 8 - Nov. 13) The "typical" terrestrial primate and the models of how he uses his habitat Problems with this model Other primate terrestrial adaptations Problems with statistical methods in studies of terrestrial primates E. The Anthropoid Apes (Nov. 15 - Dec. 6) Are there recognizable primate foraging guilds? Is there a relationship and can we find it? Review of some of the theories Ecology and social structure of apes and man Anthropology 406 OUTLINE OF LECTURES Aug. 23 Syllabus - Trophic System 25* Ecological Interactions 28 Laws of Tolerance 30 Population Interaction Sept.1 * Portrait of a Tree (Film) 4 Holiday 6 Primate Taxonomy 8* Slides 11 Slides 13 What is a Primate - Adaptations 15* Life in the Trees (Film) 18 Arboreal Theory 20 Open 22* Island of the Moon (Film) 25 Nocturnal Prosimians- Ecology 27 Nocturnal Prosimians - Social Organization 29* Lemur Film Oct. 2 Mad. Primates 4 Case Study - Sympatric Lemurs 6* Lemurs again 9 New World Monkeys - Overview 11 Callitrichidae 13* Fall Break 16 Five New World Monkeys 18 Cebidae 20 * Exam 23 Cebidae - Social Organization 25 Old World Monkeys - Overview 27 * Film 30 Interspecific Interactions Nov. 1 Continued 3* Asian Monkeys 6 Asian Monkeys 8 Ground Species Social Organization 10* Baboon Social Organization (Film) 13 Ground Species Social Organization 15 Great Apes - African 17 * Film 20 Open 22-24* Holiday 27 Great Apes - Asian 29 Great Apes - Open Dec. 1 * In Search of Great Apes * 4 Great Apes - Social Organization 6 Review
URL: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/syllabi/sussman.html
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February 19, 2002
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