Verreaux's sifaka are lemurs living in western Madagascar. They eat mainly leaves and some fruit, flowers, seeds, and vines. Many aspects of a primate's behavior are highly dependent upon what the animal is eating, the amount of aggression, the cohesiveness of the group, the type of mental maps that they use to find food (or whether they use mental maps), etc. This project examines the diets of wild sifaka and how they relate to other aspects of their behavior.
I am looking for someone who is responsible, dependable, meticulous, and able to work independently. Students who have taken classes in primate behavior, primate ecology, or animal behavior are preferred but it is not required.
This project is ongoing. I have someone collecting data in Madagascar at all year, every year.
Primarily I am looking for volunteers to help me enter data. Students who want to be involved with analyzing the data are encouraged to participate in data analysis, lab meetings, and to do independent readings. Honor's theses have been developed with the data for students who wish to expand beyond just entering data. However, some previous volunteers have also just wanted to enter data and not get involved beyond that point. So duties can vary depending on the interests of the volunteers.
