Primatology and Conservation at Oxford Brookes University

The Primatology and Conservation programmes at Oxford Brookes University is part of the Department of Social Science, with links to the Department of Health and Life Sciences. It traces its origins to the anthropology courses offered at the then Oxford Polytechnic in the 1970s and developed into a globally recognised centre for primate conservation.

Primatology and Conservation
Established1975
FounderProfessor Simon Bearder[1]
TypeResearch and teaching centre
Course Tutor
Professor Anna Nekaris[2]
Parent organization
Oxford Brookes University
Websitewww.brookes.ac.uk/social-sciences/courses/primate-conservation

History

Oxford Brookes University began as the Oxford School of Art in 1865; as early as 1975 primatology and primate evolution was taught as part of the anthropology programme which was also available to biology and psychology students. Research in these early days had a strong focus on ecology and behaviour in particular of nocturnal primates. In 2000 the MSc in Primate Conservation was established, allowing students from all over the world to focus on the conservation of primates. In 2008 it was the recipient of the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.[3][4]

Areas of research

Over 60% of the non-human primates are threatened with extinction and 75% have declining populations.[5] Taking a holistic view, research on primates and conservation at Oxford Brookes University centres on the primates themselves, the human that live side by side with primates, globalisation and its effect on primates, and newly emerging trends that have the potential to impede on the conservation of primates and their habitat.[6][7][8] Research takes place both in area where primates occur naturally (Central and South America, Africa and Madagascar, Asia, Europe) as well as in captive settings.

The programme has strong links with (primate) conservation programmes in various parts of the world, including Neotropical Primate Conservation , Entropica , Monitor Conservation Research Society (Monitor), Moroccan Primate Conservation Foundation , Orangutan Information Centre and Project Anoulak

Teaching programmes

Primatology and conservation is taught as part of the BSc/BA in Anthropology and Biological Anthropology; BSc Animal Biology and Conservation; the postgraduate diploma in Anthropology; the MSc in Conservation Ecology; the MSc in Primate Conservation; the MRes in Primatology and Conservation.

Doctoral research takes place in the School of Social Sciences and the Department of Biological and Medical Sciences.

New species

Several new species of primate have been described by researchers working in the Primate Conservation programme,[9][10][11][12] including

  • Kayan Slow Loris Nycticebus kayan, Munds, Nekaris & Ford, 2013
  • Mount Kenya Potto Perodicticus potto stockleyi Butynski & De Jong, 2007
  • Rondo Dwarf Galago Galagoides rondoensis Honess in Kingdon, 1997
  • Udzungwa Dwarf Galago Galagoides zanzibaricus udzungwensis Honess in Kingdon, 1997
  • Makandé Squirrel Galago Sciurocheirus makandensis Ambrose, 2013
  • Angolan Dwarf Galago Galagoides kumbirensis Svensson, Bersacola, Mills, Munds, Nijman, Perkin, Masters, Couette, Nekaris & Bearder, 2017

Research groups
  • The Nocturnal Primate Research Group[13]
  • The Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group[14]
  • Human Interactions with and Constructions of the Environment[15]

Honorary doctorates

Several prominent conservationists and primatologist have received honorary doctorates from Oxford Brookes University, including

References
  1. "Centre staff". Oxford Brookes. Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  2. "Centre staff". Oxford Brookes University. Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  3. "Previous Prize-winners". www.royalanniversarytrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  4. "Announcements". The Times.
  5. Estrada, Alejandro; Garber, Paul A.; Rylands, Anthony B.; Roos, Christian; Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo; Di Fiore, Anthony; Nekaris, K. Anne-Isola; Nijman, Vincent; Heymann, Eckhard W.; Lambert, Joanna E.; Rovero, Francesco; Barelli, Claudia; Setchell, Joanna M.; Gillespie, Thomas R.; Mittermeier, Russell A.; Arregoitia, Luis Verde; De Guinea, Miguel; Gouveia, Sidney; Dobrovolski, Ricardo; Shanee, Sam; Shanee, Noga; Boyle, Sarah A.; Fuentes, Agustin; MacKinnon, Katherine C.; Amato, Katherine R.; Meyer, Andreas L. S.; Wich, Serge; Sussman, Robert W.; Pan, Ruliang; et al. (2017). "Impending extinction crisis of the world's primates: Why primates matter". Science Advances. 3 (1): e1600946. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E0946E. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600946. PMC 5242557. PMID 28116351.
  6. Nekaris, By K. Anne-Isola; Campbell, Nicola; Coggins, Tim G.; Rode, E. Johanna; Nijman, Vincent (2013). "Tickled to Death: Analysing Public Perceptions of 'Cute' Videos of Threatened Species (Slow Lorises – Nycticebus SPP.) on Web 2.0 Sites". PLOS ONE. 8 (7): e69215. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...869215N. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069215. PMC 3722300. PMID 23894432.
  7. Schwitzer, C.; Mittermeier, R. A.; Johnson, S. E.; Donati, G.; Irwin, M.; Peacock, H.; Ratsimbazafy, J.; Razafindramanana, J.; Louis, E. E.; Chikhi, L.; Colquhoun, I. C.; Tinsman, J.; Dolch, R.; Lafleur, M.; Nash, S.; Patel, E.; Randrianambinina, B.; Rasolofoharivelo, T.; Wright, P. C. (2014). "Averting Lemur Extinctions amid Madagascar's Political Crisis". Science. 343 (6173): 842–843. Bibcode:2014Sci...343..842S. doi:10.1126/science.1245783. PMID 24558147.
  8. Hockings, Kimberley J.; McLennan, Matthew R.; Carvalho, Susana; Ancrenaz, Marc; Bobe, René; Byrne, Richard W.; Dunbar, Robin I.M.; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro; McGrew, William C.; Williamson, Elizabeth A.; Wilson, Michael L.; Wood, Bernard; Wrangham, Richard W.; Hill, Catherine M. (2015). "Apes in the Anthropocene: Flexibility and survival". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 30 (4): 215–222. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2015.02.002. hdl:10023/8529. PMID 25766059.
  9. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. "Global Wildlife Conservation".
  10. Hance, Jeremy. "Loris champion: conserving the world's most surprising primate family". Mongabay.
  11. Wiley. "New species of Borneo's enigmatic primate discovered: Kayan loris has a toxic bite". ScienceDaily.
  12. Morlin-Yron, Sophie. "New primate discovered in Angola -- and it's already in danger". CNN.
  13. Oxford Brookes University (28 February 2019). "Nocturnal Primate Research Group". Brookes.ac.uk.
  14. Oxford Brookes University (28 February 2019). "Oxford Wildlife Research Group". Brookes.ac.uk.
  15. Oxford Brookes University (28 February 2019). "Human Interactions with and Constructions of the Environment". Brookes.ac.uk.
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