Statement on Research Interests
Paleontology and Primate Evolution: Most of my research since 1980 has focused on Eocene primate evolution and falls within the classic questions of evolutionary relationships and adaptation. During my first few years at CU I published on the phylogenetic relationships among adapoid and omomyoid primates and on how these groups are related to more recent primates and to non-primate mammals (Covert, 1986, 1990; Wible and Covert, 1987; Covert and Williams, 1991). In addition, I published on the adaptations of these early primates reporting on diet, activity patterns, and locomotion (Covert, 1986, 1988; Covert and Hamrick, 1993). In this second group of publications my research closely followed the methods and theory underlying the reconstruction of adaptations of extinct primates that I had helped to conceived while working on my dissertation (Kay and Covert, 1984). Of equal importance to these publications, I developed a vertebrate paleontological field project in the Eocene deposits in the Washakie Basin of Wyoming. This research yielded several thousand specimens for the University of Colorado Museum, a number of which are described in the above mentioned publications. This research included the participation of more than twenty students. Noteworthy examples are Blythe Williams, Mark Hamrick, and Barth Wright each of whom began their successful research careers under my guidance in the Washakie Basin. Further, I was invited to participate in a number of symposia during this time period including the "Anthropoid Origins" conference organized by Fleagle, Kay, and Simons in 1992 and the "Creatures of the Dark: the Nocturnal Prosimians" organized by Alterman, Doyle, and Izard in 1993 each of which yielded important publications.
Since 1991 I have continued conducting research on the evolution of Eocene primates. This included continuing field paleontology annually in Wyoming through 1998. I have also continued publishing on Eocene primates. Papers with a phylogenetic focus include Covert (1997, 2002, 2003), Covert and Williams (1994), Williams and Covert (1994) and Ross and Covert (2000). This research included the naming of a new taxon, discussions regarding evolution in early primate clades, and analyses on how these early primates are related to more recent radiations including the anthropoids. Publications on the adaptation of early primates include Covert (1995, 1997, 2002) and Anemone and Covert (2000). This research included discussions on both the adaptation at the species level and more general descriptions of adaptive radiations. Important contributions include enhancing understanding on the breadth of the early primate radiations and the clear documentation that describing omomyoids as "tarsier-like" is both misleading and incorrect. Further, in an attempt to add to discussions on adaptations of these earliest primates my students and I have investigated alternative ways to estimate body mass among early primates (Payseur et al., 1999).
In 1996, I began to contemplate developing an international research program and had conversations with a number of scholars about interesting and challenging projects. In 1997 I wrote the Office of International Cooperation of the Department of Geology and Minerals of Vietnam inquiring if they would be interested in partnering with me on survey for paleontological resources and particularly fossil primates in Cenozoic deposits in this Southeast Asia country. In less than three weeks I had a letter of invitation from this agency and immediately submitted a grant proposal to the Leakey Foundation. In the following few years, with funding from Leakey, NGS, Wenner-Gren, and NSF I conducted field surveys for vertebrate paleontological resources in a wide range of geological formations and regions of Vietnam. This research has yielded hundreds of plant fossils and a range of vertebrate fossils including Triassic reptiles and Miocene and Pleistocene mammals. Covert et al. (2001, 2002) and Dzanh et al. (2000, 2002) describe some of these fossils. Of equal importance to this field work has been the development of strong research ties with paleontologists in Vietnam, particularly Dr. Trinh Dzanh. Grants noted above have twice brought him to the U.S.A. where he was able to visit classic paleontological sites, major museums, and three universities. In addition, I have helped the Geological Museum of Hanoi develop interesting and modern exhibits on vertebrate fossils and I have mentored its staff in the areas of field work, collection management, and exhibits.
Primate Functional Anatomy, Adaptation, and Ecology: I have long been interested in primate functional anatomy and much of my research on the adaptations of Eocene primates has relied on a sound understanding of the anatomical basis of locomotor and dietary adaptations among extant primates. Since 2001 I have been conducting a study on the locomotion and posture utilized by three extant colobines (the Hatinh langur, Trachypithecus loatum; Delacour's langur, T. delacouri; and the red-shanked douc langur, Pygathrix nemaeus) and one gibbon species (the white-cheeked crested gibbon, Nomascus leucogenys) housed at Cuc Phuong National Park's Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC), Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam. I first visited this facility with Vietnamese colleagues and Dr. Mark Hamrick in May of 1999. Mark and I were surprised that we were unaware of the existence of some of the primates housed at this center and that the doucs were brachiating. In January of 2001 I returned to the EPRC and with the assistance of Mr. Craig Byron, a graduate student at the University of Georgia Medical School, began collecting positional behavior data on these taxa. Ms. Catherine Workman, one of my graduate students at CU, and I added to this data set during visits to the EPRC in 2002 and 2003. We have documented that douc s frequently brachiate whereas the other langurs rarely use any suspensory postures or locomotion (Byron and Covert, 2004; Covert et al, 2004; Workman and Covert, 2005). This research on captive populations has allowed us to generate a number of hypotheses including the obvious predictions about the underlying anatomical adaptations to suspensory locomotion that doucs might exhibit and ideas about how these various leaf monkeys differ in foraging behaviors in native habitats. We have been able to show that doucs differ in both subtle and not-so-subtle aspects of forelimb morphology and body proportions from other colobines and more closely resemble suspensory primates such as gibbons or spider monkeys in these features. We also are quite interested in studying these animals in the wild. Catherine and I have observed free ranging Delacour's langurs at Van Long Nature Reserve near Cuc Phuong National Park and no suspensory behaviors were seen. In addition, we are discovering that a number of the Vietnamese Trachypithecus species spend significant amounts of time moving on the ground and this is contrary to all published reports on the ecology of this genus. I anticipate that this research and related projects will yield a series of interesting publications documenting an unexpected level of locomotor and ecological diversity among these species and related underlying anatomical adaptations to this diversity. In addition to some of the research I will be pursuing in the upcoming years detailed below, Catherine and I have received an invitation to develop a long-term ecology and conservation project at Van Long Nature Reserve. Our initial phase of research during the next two years will serve as the basis of Catherine's dissertation research.
During the summer of 2004, in collaboration with colleagues from the Vietnam Forestry University, Catherine Workman and I surveyed for red-shanked douc and Hatinh langurs in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province of Vietnam. It is thought that the largest remaining populations of these endangered primates exist in this area of Central Vietnam and one of our primary aims is to determine the feasibility of conducting a long-term study of the ecology of these poorly known species.
During the summer of 2005 I worked with Le Khac Quyet, a biologist for the Fauna and Flora International Vietnam Programme at the Du Gia Protected Area, Ha Giang Province developing a long term conservation and ecology program for Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, one of the 25 most critically endangered primate species.
I will continue to work with the Endangered Primate Rescue Center in a number of endeavors including an analysis of food choice among captive leaf monkeys (on a daily basis the leaf monkeys are given a wide range of foliage and it is clear that they prefer certain food items over others). This project is in collaboration with scientists of the EPRC, Barth Wright, a post doctoral fellow at George Washington University and graduate students Jonathan O'Brien and Larry Ulibarri of the University of Colorado Department of Anthropology. Another recently initiated project at the EPRC is a kinematic analysis of the locomotion of a number of the primates housed here. This work is a collaboration with Dr. Kristen Wright, a post doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins and Dr. Nancy Stevens, an assistant professor at Ohio University.
Primate Conservation: My recent research on the primates at the EPRC has involved me in the critical topic of Primate Conservation. According to Conservation International (2002) one of the most critically threatened biodiversity hotspot in the world is the Indo-Burma region in which Vietnam is located. While about 1/3 of modern primate species are presently listed as endangered fully 70% of the Vietnamese primates are endangered and five of the 25 most endangered primate species globally are known from Vietnam (four of which may be endemic). During the survey that I participated in Vietnam in 2004 we census two of these endangered species, evaluated the quality of the forest of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, and participated in the discussion on the feasibility of reintroducing members of these two species that presently reside at the EPRC. Reintroduction is, of course, a long-term goal of any endangered primate-breeding program. While this statement is not the appropriate place to go into detail, reintroduction is a complex issue and includes a series of evolving strategies. In addition, for most of the primate species that are in need of critical conservation attention in Southeast Asia basic ecological information is lacking. I hope to be involved in research during the next 15 years that will go a long ways towards rectifying this situation. I am extremely excited about this research direction because it affords me the opportunity to work closely with Vietnamese scientists who have until the very recent been denied access to the international scientific community. It also has the potential to provide a number of exciting dissertation projects for Vietnamese and US students, and finally it promises to really make a significant and positive impact on the conservation of the most critically endangered primate community in the world.
I will close this research statement by quoting from Conroy (1997:461): "I sometimes imagine the sound of a shot ringing out, and turn in time to see the last elephant, black rhino, or mountain gorilla slowing sink to its knees in the red African dust. In time that will come to pass and on that day an unbearable loneliness will descend over humankind." I hope that it is not inevitable that this time will come to pass, and in fact, I believe that each of us who have had the wonderful good fortune to be able to conduct research within primate evolutionary biology owe a great deal to the remaining free ranging primate populations. Fulfilling this debt includes the responsibility of being actively engaged in research and education that is directly related to conservation. If we make the effort to share with students, colleagues, administrators and to our communities why conservation is important and if we take the time to link our research with conservation issues, and finally, if some of us participate in the frontline of conservation on the ground working not only to protect the endangered species but also with native scholars and with the people who live nearby, we may be able to protect and successful conserve these creatures.
For the foreseeable future I will strive daily to situate my professional activities at the University of Colorado within this framework of research, conservation, and education.
Conroy, G.C. (1997) Reconstructing Human Origins. W.W. Norton: New York.
