Clint and I at FMNH

Research Interests

The focus of my research is on South American primates. My masters research investigated masticatory anatomy in the dwarfed callitrichids, with an emphasis on variation between gum harvesting and non-harvesting taxa. More recently I have explored variation between closely related gum-harvesters to investigate the influence of body size and exudate reliance on mandibular and basicranial shape. I recently joined the Ph D program at SIUC, where I plan to broaden my research interests and explore a variety of experimental approaches to primate biology. I am especially interested in understanding primate nutritional biology (including such topics as mastication, masticatory morphology, digestive anatomy and function) and its relation to bioenergetics and reproductive ecology. I am currently exploring several potential angles on this domain for my dissertation research, including analyses of chewed food particle size/shape, fecal chemical analysis, and gut passage rate. I am especially excited about exploring the relationship between gut size, shape and function using paradigms borrowed from chemical reactor theory.

                 
 Howler Monkey GI Tract 
(Stevens and Hume, 1995)