Michelle Sauther Headshot
Professor
Ph.D. • Washington University • 1992)

HALE 129

Office Hours

Tu, Th 9:30 - 10:30 and by appt

Research

Professor Sauther’s major focus of research is to better understand how both immediate and long-term environmental factors interact with inter-individual variation to affect primate behavior and biology. In essence, she is very interested in how primates “negotiate” living within a variety of environments. Her current research focuses on understanding how environmental stressors such as anthropogenic-induced factors and climate impact both the biology and behavior of wild primates. Her research combines both field work and collaborative laboratory work with geneticists, research veterinarians and others to assess biological markers of ecological stress that includes biometrics, genetics, physiological and health measures.

Areas of Research

  • South Africa
  • Madagascar

Selected Publications:

  • Long C,  Tordiffe A, Sauther M, Cuozzo F, Millette J; Ganswindt A, Scheun J. Seasonal drivers of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in an African strepsirrhine primate, the thick-tailed greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus) 2021. Conservation Physiology 9, 1, coab081.  https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coab081  
  • Cuozzo FP, Halajian A, Sauther ML. 2021. First report of a thick-tailed bushbaby/galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus [Mammalia; Primates]) preyed upon by the common caracal (Caracal caracal [Mammalia; Carnivora) in South Africa. African Zoology https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2021.1949389  
  • ​Metlholo AP, Du Plessis M, Dalton DL, Jansen RSauther M, Cuozzo F, Kotze A. Population and genetic structure of a philopatric species, Galago moholi (Primates, Galagidae), from northern South Africa, inferred from mitochondrial DNA. 2021. Primates. 62(4):667-675. doi: 10.1007/s10329-021-00912-y
  • Sauther ML, Gould L, Cuozzo FP, O’Mara MT. 2015. Ring-Tailed Lemurs – A Species Reimagined Special Topic Issue: Folia Primatologica 2015, Vol. 86, No. 1-2. ISBN:978-3-318-03024-2, DOI: 10.1159/isbn.978-3-318-03025-9.
  • Cuozzo FP and Sauther, ML. 2012. Journal Symposium Volume (Manuscript/Article Coordinator). "Primate Dental Ecology: How Teeth Respond to their Environment", a special issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
  • Fardi S, Sauther ML, Cuozzo FP, Youssouf Jacky IA, Bernstein R. 2018 The effect of extreme weather events on hair cortisol and body weight in a wild ring-tailed lemur population (Lemur catta) in southwestern Madagascar. American Journal of Primatology. EARLY VIEW DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22731
  • Grogan KE, Sauther ML, Cuozzo FP, Drea CM. 2017. Genetic wealth, population health: Major histocompatibility complex variation in captive and wild ring-tailed (Lemur catta). Ecology and Evolution 00:1-12.
  • Gould L and Sauther ML. 2016. Going, going, gone...Is the iconic ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) headed for imminent extirpation? Primate Conservation 30:89-101.
  • Yamashita N, Cuozzo FP, Sauther ML, Fitzgerald E, Riemenschneider A and Ungar PS. 2016. Mechanical food properties and dental topography differentiate three populations of Lemur catta in southwest Madagascar. Journal of Human Evolution 98:66-75.
  • Bennett G, Malone M, Sauther M, Cuozzo F, White B, Nelson KE, Stumpf RM, Knight R, Leigh S, Amato KR. 2016. Host age, social group and habitat type influence the gut microbiota of wild, ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). American Journal of Primatology 78:883-892. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22555.
  • Kotze A, Dalton DL, Strinden M, Sauther ML, Cuozzo FP and Stone AC. 2016. An evaluation of the oral microbiome and potential zoonoses of the South African strepsirrhine primates Otolemur crassicaudatus. African Primates 11 (1): 19-26.
  • Pastorini J, Sauther ML, Sussman RW, Gould L, Cuozzo F, Fernando P, Nievergelt CM and Mundy NI. 2015. Comparison of the Genetic Variation of Captive Ring-tailed Lemurs with a Wild Population in Madagascar. Zoo Biology. 34: 463-472. DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21225.
  • Cuozzo FP, Head BR, Sauther ML, Ungar PS, O’Mara TS. 2014. Sources of tooth wear variation in life among known-aged wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. AJP. 76:1037-1048. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22291
  • Sauther ML, Cuozzo FP, Youssouf IAJ, LaFleur ML, Fish KD, Ravelohasindrazana LAL and Ravoavy JF. 2013. Limestone cliff-face and cave use by wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in southwestern Madagascar. Madagascar Conservation and Development. 82:73-80.