Field School – Extinct and Endangered Primates in Madagascar

Do you have an interest in primate evolutionary history and how they fit into ecosystems? Living primate ecology & behavior and how to quantify it in the field? The challenges we face in balancing conservation and development? Consider applying to “Madagascar Past and Present: Biodiversity, Extinction and Conservation”, led by Dr. Mitch Irwin and Dr. Karen Samonds (a collaboration between Northern Illinois University, University of Antananarivo, and SADABE)!
You will:
• Learn first-hand about the goals and methods of studying non-human primates, through observations of habituated wild primate groups
• Learn about lemur species that were lost to extinction already, and the forces threatening the species that remain
• Experience rural Malagasy communities and the unique challenges they face, which often conflict with developed-world conservation ideals
• Conduct independent research within one of these themes, following all the steps of field research: defining a project, formulating methods, data collection, analysis and presentation
Application deadline of April 1 is approaching! Contact mirwin@niu.edu for more information!