Doctoral Dissertation Research: Adaptation to environmental extremes in a great ape

Behavioral and physiological plasticity allows organisms to rapidly adapt to shifting environmental conditions without genetic change. In primates, which are relatively long-lived, the evolutionary ability to inhabit new habitats and survive periods of rapid environmental change likely depended on these types of plasticity. Information about primates’ behavioral and physiological plasticity is currently needed to understand the nature and limits of their responses and the adaptations primates may be able to use to respond to the rapid environmental change they are currently experiencing. This doctoral research project investigates how adaptation to a variable high-elevation environment is shaped by an endangered ape’s plasticity. In addition to its significant conservation implications, this project makes important education, training, and capacity building contributions both domestically and internationally. This research project explores the behavioral and physiological plasticity of an endangered ape species. To date, we do not know how environmental stressors vary across this species' many habitats, and we lack information about the types of behavioral and physiological responses these apes employ to respond to these stressors. The methods used in this study include a novel environmental protocol, non-invasive behavioral observations, and biological sample collection. These data can reveal the environmental challenges this species faces, and the behavioral and physiological responses it elicits. This study informs us about the ability that this ape species has to respond to environmental change, and the evolutionary role that environmental stressors play on primates and other organisms with slow life histories. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.