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I grew up on the front range of Colorado, just south of Denver. The Rocky Mountains played an important role in the development of my ideas on aesthetics and my love for the outdoors. My parents took my brother and I camping frequently when we were kids, and our excursions up to the hills remain some of my fondest memories. Living and playing in such a breath-taking environment for almost 30 years defined my relationship with nature and continues to affect both the small and large decisions I make in my life. The animals we encountered in the mountains and in the undeveloped country around our home also had a major influence on my interest in nature. Pronghorn antelope and mule deer were a common sight growing up, as were coyotes, foxes, prairie dogs, and other plains species. Owls would nest in the trees in our backyard, and red-tailed hawks would frequently soar above our neighborhood. These early experiences profoundly shaped my perception of both the natural and the human-made world, and influenced my decision to seek higher education.
In the early 1990s I began studies in anthropology at the University of Colorado at Denver. While working on this degree, I found myself swept up in the sections of my coursework devoted to primates. I eventually secured the opportunity to work at a research facility at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center where two species of macaques were housed for immunological and behavioral research. Motivated to excel as a professional researcher myself, I pursued a second undergraduate degree, this time in biology, so that I could study primates in a more holistic context than what would be provided by an anthropology degree alone. During my time training as a biologist, I also performed research on the ecology of Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse, the regeneration of Whitebark Pine in the greater Yellowstone area, and the effects of high altitude on maternal and fetal outcome in humans.
I entered the doctoral program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota in autumn of 2004. With advisement from Anne Pusey, I seek to understand how environmental variability affects mother-infant relationships in the chimpanzees at Gombe National Park. Why study interactions between mothers and infants as opposed to other members of the group? Mother-infant interactions are one of the most important early experiences for human and non-human primates alike. It is arguably the most defining factor in primate behavioral development. The social environment in which young primates grow up largely influences their ability to interact with other members of the social group as an adult, and appropriate and effective social interactions undoubtedly play a significant role in determining reproductive success. I'm currently exploring how ecological pressure, partially dictated by social constraints, translates into different mother-infant relationships, and how this in turn influences an individual's lifetime reproductive success. Since the habitat of chimpanzees (and most primates!) is currently threatened, this type of study will help us better understand how to protect members of the primate order, and will contribute to the work of biologists, anthropologists, and psychologists alike.
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