ANTH-3000-581 Primate Behavior

ANTH-3000-581 Primate Behavior

INSTRUCTOR:
Griëtte van der Heide
CONTACT INFO:
griette.vanderheide@colorado.edu
COURSE NUMBER:
ANTH-3000-581
MEETING TIME:
Online
Asynchronous

COURSE OVERVIEW

Nonhuman primates are our closest living relatives, and no other group of mammals can remind us of ourselves the way nonhuman primates do. We will start this course by examining the phylogeny, geography, and general evolutionary history of primates. You will learn to recognize different clades of primates and the main traits that distinguish them. As we are getting familiar with the different primate clades, we will build a more theoretical understanding of the ecology of primates. How are primates adapted to inhabit tropical forests? Which foods do they eat? How do primates interact with other animals? The next part of the course will focus on parental care, selecting mates, infanticide, and social aspects of group living. We will intersperse these themes with aspects of primate communication, cognition, and culture. Finally, we will discuss  human behavior and primate conservation.