With a Presidential Young Investigator award from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Karen Strier will continue her long-term study of the endangered woolly spider monkey of southeastern Brazil. What makes this species unusual is the apparent lack of competition among adult members of the same sex, and Dr. Strier wishes to determine the reasons for this. Since 1982, systematic data has been collected on demography and life history variables and on the distribution and availability of food resources. Attention has also been focused on how communication is employed to mediate social relationships. Dr. Strier recently added a comparative aspect to this research and began observation of a second population in a different forest which differs in size, floral, and faunal composition. With NSF support she will continue this research. This work is important for several reasons. It will increase the knowledge of an endangered primate species and directly assist in its conservation. It will also provide comparative data to further our understanding of primate behavioral adaptations. It will also assist in the professional development of an extremely promising young scientist.
