WINTER 2008/2009

Dr. Agustin Fuentes will lecture at El Zota Biological Field Station,
Costa Rica!

DANTA is thrilled that Dr. Agustin Fuentes will guest lecture in the Primate Behavior and Conservation course in Costa Rica in the winter of 2008/2009. Dr. Fuentes completed a B.A. in Zoology and Anthropology, and an M.A.& Ph.D.in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. He taught in the department of Anthropology and directed the Primate Behavior and Ecology Program at Central Washington University from 1996-2002, and is currently the Nancy O’Neill Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching interests include the evolution of social complexity in human and primate societies, cooperation and conflict negotiation across primates, including humans, and reproductive behavior and ecology. He is also interested in issues of human-nonhuman primate interactions, disease and pathogen transfer. Fuentes recent published work includes the books: Core Concepts in Biological Anthropology (McGraw-Hill) and Primates in Perspective (co-edited, Oxford University Press) and articles such as “It’s Not All Sex and Violence: Integrated Anthropology and the Role of Cooperation and Social Complexity in Human Evolution” and “The humanity of animals and the animality of humans: A view from biological anthropology” inspired by J.M. Coetzees, Elizabeth Costello in the American Anthropologist, and “Human culture and monkey behavior: Assessing the contexts of potential pathogen transmission between macaques and humans” in the American Journal of Primatology. His current research projects include assessing behavior, ecology, and pathogen transmission in human-monkey interactions in Asia and Gibraltar and examining the roles of cooperation, social negotiation, and patterns of niche construction in primate and human evolution.

Summer 2008

Dr. Dawn Kitchen will lecture at El Zota Biological Field Station

We are pleased to announce that Dawn Kitchen will guest lecture in DANTA’s Primate Behavior and Conservation course in the summer of 2008. Dawn Kitchen has a B.S. in Biology, a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (from University of Minnesota), post-doc experience in Psychology (at University of Pennsylvania), and is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at The Ohio State University. Despite visiting many different departments, her interests have always been the same- social behavior and vocalizations of non-human primates. Her work has focused mainly on how loud calls mediate male-male competition within and between groups. She used playback experiments on Belizean black howler monkeys to determine that relative number of males in two groups affects intergroup contests overall, but that participation by different group members (based on sex and rank) varies in complex but measurable ways. Working with Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth on Botswana chacma baboons, she determined that male loud ‘wahoo’ displays are honest indicators of fighting ability, and that male behavior changes based on opponent’s rank and the tangible benefits at stake (guarding estrous females, protecting vulnerable offspring). Although aggression and competition are her favorite topics, she is also interested in the evolution of cooperation (or lack thereof), behavioral endocrinology, social cognition, and hybrid behavior. 

Dr. Steffen Reichle lectures at El Zota Biological Field Station

"DANTA is pleased to announce that Dr. Steffen Reichle will guest lecture in the Tropical Biology and Conservation course in the summer of 2008. Dr. Reichle, born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1968, received his undergraduate and MSc from the University of Honenheim, and his PhD from the University of Bonn, Germany. Since 1994, he has been working on the taxonomy and ecology of amphibians in Bolivia. He has been the author and co-author of the description of more than 10 species of frogs and snakes. He began working in conservation planning in the late 90s, and since has participated in several ecoregional and site conservation plans, as well as GAP analysis. Currently, he is the science coordinator for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), overseeing their research programs in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina."


DANTA is thrilled to announce that Dr. Karen Sughrue will guest lecture in the Primate Behavior and Conservation course in the winter of 2007/2008.

Karen graduated from East Tennessee State University in1992 with a degree in Biology. Afterwards, she worked towards a Masters degree in Life Sciences from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville while employed as a primate keeper at the Knoxville Zoological Gardens. She received her doctorate in Ecology from Pennsylvania State University in 2005. Her dissertation work examined the effects of a known endocrine disrupter on the physiology and plumage coloration of the American goldfinch. Between graduate degrees, Karen spent a year in the rainforests of Suriname studying squirrel monkey and capuchin behavior. She currently does contaminant assessment work as a Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration specialist for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Concord, NH.

Summer 2007

Community Day

Many thanks to the DANTA class of 2007 for helping making Community Day a smashing success! DANTA students helped prepare food for our annual luncheon and donated much needed school supplies to children from the local community. In a community where the average monthly income for a family is $200 or less, this is much appreciated.
Also, big thanks to the EEE Social Club of Quichita Baptist University for their generous donation of school uniforms and shoes to the children of El Zota!

To learn more about how to help children in the El Zota community and surrounding areas, please contact DANTA at kdingess@danta.info.

Monkey Bridge Project Update

The second DANTA Volunteer Days, a significant contribution to the Monkey Bridge Project, took place June 24-26, 2007. During this three day event, DANTA students of the Primate Behavior and Conservation field course descended upon the sleepy towns of Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo to gain hands-on experience in primate conservation.

The Monkey Bridge Project commenced in 2006 to help conserve the nonhuman primate population in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica. The project currently works along the rapidly developing coastal area, where tourism is the primary industry. Connecting the fragmented forest over roads with “monkey bridges” for the mantled howler monkey, white-faced capuchin, and black-handed spider monkey is the primary objective of the project. To date, two monkey bridges connect the coastal and inland forests at Playa Chiquita, and a third bridge is in the works near Punta Uva. Residents have observed howler monkeys, kinkajous, and squirrels on these aerial pathways. The first two bridges are located in the home ranges of at least three howler monkey groups, while all three species range in the location of the upcoming third bridge.

The Monkey Bridge Project involves much more than building and monitoring monkey bridges. This year, DANTA volunteers monitored several howler monkey groups, distributed project information around the area, and developed and maintained a growing biological corridor. The contributions of DANTA students make an enormous impact and the Monkey Bridge Project welcomes forthcoming DANTA visits!

Dr. Kevin Hunt lectures at El Zota Biological Field Station

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Kevin Hunt will guest lecture in DANTA's Primate Behavior and Conservation Course in the summer of 2007. Kevin Hunt is a Professor of Anthropology. He got his BA at the University of Tennessee (1980), and his MA (1983) and PhD at the University of Michigan (1989). He studied locomotion and posture in chimpanzees and baboons at Gombe in Tanzania, and chimpanzees at Mahale, Tanzania as his dissertation research. Since then he has studied monkey and chimpanzee diet at Kibale in Uganda. His current research focuses dry-habitat chimpanzee ecology at the Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve in Uganda. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University from 1989 to 1991 working under the supervision of Richard W. Wrangham, and he has been at Indiana University ever since. His principal research interests are functional morphology of apes and early humans, the evolution of human bipedalism, and australopithecine and ape ecology.

DANTA's Ecotravel Experience (July 12 - July 19, 2007)

As one of our fundraising events this year, DANTA is offering a one week ecotravel experience to some of Costa Rica's most spectacular sites. The trip includes a visit to an active volcano, Volcan Poas, a day trip to Sarchi, known for its local artisans, and a 4 night stay at Manuel Antonio National Park on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. Field trips are open to members of the general public. It is particularly suited to DANTA field course participants who wish to travel before or after their courses. The trip does not entail formal instruction. You are simply to relax and take in the beautiful surroundings.

The price of the trip is $750, and it includes all within country transportation, room and board, park entrance fee for 2 days at Manuel Antonio National Park, and a dolphin or mangrove day trip. The price does not include international airfare or airport taxes. The deadline for registration is May 1, 2007. For more information download our trip itinerary.

Summer 2006

The Monkey Bridge Project of Talamanca:

DANTA students in the Primate Behavior and Conservation field course kick-off the Talamanca Monkey Bridge Project with the installation of 2 bridges and tree planting in the Puerto Viejo/Manzanillo region of Costa Rica. Read more about the project below:

Project Description:

The objectives of economic development and conservation are usually on opposite ends of the spectrum. The resulting conflict is observable in many locations, such as the Talamanca region in southeastern Costa Rica. This region boasts several wildlife refuges but forests outside these protected areas are frequently the target of land conversion. Consequently, deforestation has produced a fragmented landscape that is difficult to navigate for tree-dwelling animals, such as howler monkeys and sloths. The Monkey Bridge Project seeks to alleviate travel constraints for these animals and to better understand primates in fragments, while working in a development context. The main objectives of the project will be: i) to investigate habitat use and distribution of howler monkeys in the disturbance matrix; ii) to install and monitor aerial pathways, which will involve gathering data on bridge-use; iii) to establish natural corridors; iv) to promote education and awareness amongst both local people and the world community of the consequences of habitat fragmentation; v) to investigate local social, economic and political conditions, considered in a global framework, in order to enhance species-specific conservation strategies.

The project began in May 2006 and students from the SUNY-Oneonta/DANTA primate behavior and conservation field school helped springboard this project into action. Support for the project has been overwhelming since the first two bridges were installed and numerous people have provided helpful information regarding potential new bridge sites. Continued involvement from students and local residents is crucial to the continued success of this project. For more information about this project and volunteer opportunities, contact Stacy Linshield (slind@iastate.edu).

Kids Saving the Rainforest

DANTA students during the summer 2006 field Courses helped Kids Saving the Rainforest in their conservation initiatives. At Manuel Antonio National Park, they were involved in several fund raising activities and also received a certificate for supporting the installation of an arboreal pathway, a "monkey bridge," for the highly endangered Central American squirrel monkey. As only about a thousand individuals of this species remain in the wild, monkey bridges provide invaluable corridors for connecting their fragmented habitat.

Community Day

DANTA students host the first ever "community day" at El Zota Biological Field Station. DANTA believes that the success of any conservation project is dependent on community involvement and education. During the summer of 2006, school children from the local villages were invited to El Zota Biological Field Station for environmental education and a bit of fun. DANTA students donated school supplies (pencils, paper, pens, etc.) to the local school teachers. We are expanding on this program in the summer of 2007. If you would like to donate school supplies to the children of El Zota, please send them to:

DANTA: Association for Conservation of the Tropics
PO Box 316
Davenport, NY 13750