Edward McLester

Thesis: Socio-ecological determinants of movement behaviour in red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius)

Research Interests

My research focuses on habitat-specific behavioural adaptations in red-tailed monkeys. I am interested in how this species – a traditionally-described forest guenon – exhibits variation in movement behaviour across a distribution that spans multiple habitat types, including tropical forest at Ngogo (Uganda) and savanna-woodland mosaics at Issa (Tanzania). I use agent-based models, geographic information systems (GIS) and acoustic analyses to contextualise ecological and social determinants of group- and individual-level behaviour. By comparing groups between habitats, my research informs 1) reconstructions of early hominin adaptations to similar environments, and 2) conservation measures that should ideally account for behavioural variation where species distributions extend into marginal habitats.

Associations