Chloe Chen-Kraus
Graduate Student
Division:
Biological
Adviser(s):
David Watts
Degree(s):
B.A. Human Ecology, College of the Atlantic, 2014
My research combines primate behavioral ecology and conservation biology to investigate human-wildlife coexistence in southwest Madagascar. For my dissertation I am collecting behavioral, ecological, demographic, and genetic data from one of Madagascar’s endangered lemur species (Verreaux’s sifakas), living in a landscape shared with humans, to assess how lemurs are affected by anthropogenic activities. By combining detailed behavioral studies of lemur groups at Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve with landscape level analyses of lemur distribution, genetic connectivity, and population viability, my project will result in a comprehensive understanding of how an endangered primate species is being impacted by human activities and which activities pose the greatest threats. The ultimate goal of my research is that our findings will inform the conservation and management of landscapes that allow for the coexistence of both humans and primates.