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Research Interests
I am an evolutionary anthropologist with a background in (field) primatology and behavioural endocrinology. My work is interdisciplinary, as I do not only use different approaches within the area of evolutionary biology but strive for collaboration with social sciences. I see the exchange between different research fields as extremely enriching and the dialogue crucial to develop hypotheses and advance our understanding on the evolution of human nature. My research interests lie broadly in socio-ecology and sexual selection. Particularly, I aim to elucidate how male and female mating strategies interact and when their interests collide or align in both humans and nonhuman animals. I am particularly interested in comparative studies – not only across great apes, but mammals in general.
For the past 7 years, I have been studying wild Bornean and Sumatran orangutans. After a study on the ontogeny of play in immatures (MSc), I conducted my doctoral thesis on male-female relationships. Our interdisciplinary approach to better understand the frequent occurrence of sexual coercion in orangutans included behavioural ecology and endocrinology, and regular exchanges with the Gender Studies program.
With my current position at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in the Mondika gorilla project, I am not only gaining insights into the social dynamics and ecology of other great apes – western lowland gorillas – but also into applied conservation, and how research and conservation work hand in hand.
Publications
ZORA Publication List
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Publications
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Play Behavior Varies with Age, Sex, and Socioecological Context in Wild, Immature Orangutans (Pongo spp.). International Journal of Primatology, 45(4):739-773.
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Reproductive success of Bornean orangutan males: scattered in time but clustered in space. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 77(12):134.
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Alternative reproductive tactics of unflanged and flanged male orangutans revisited. American Journal of Primatology, 85(9):e23535.
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Migrant orangutan males use social learning to adapt to new habitat after dispersal. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11:1158887.
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Orangutan Sexual Behavior. In: Shackelford, Todd. The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Sexual Psychology / Volume 4: Controversies, Applications, and Nonhuman Primate Extensions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 401-425.
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After the smoke has cleared: Extended low fruit productivity following forest fires decreased gregariousness and social tolerance among wild female Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii). International Journal of Primatology, 43(2):189-215.
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The context of sexual coercion in orang-utans: when do male and female mating interests collide?. Animal Behaviour, 182:67-90.
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The cost of associating with males for Bornean and Sumatran female orangutans: a hidden form of sexual conflict?. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75(1):6.
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Social interactions and interaction partners in infant orang-utans of two wild populations. Animal Behaviour, 166:183-191.
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Sexual conflict in orang-utans. 2020, University of Zurich, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät.
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The dark side of the red ape: male-mediated lethal female competition in Bornean orangutans. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 70(4):459-466.