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Sauther, Michelle

Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • As a primate ecologist I am interested in how habitat change affects the behavior and the biology of strepsirrhine primates. I focus on how primate populations directly respond to forest degradation, fragmentation. From 2003-2013 my project on wild ring-tailed lemurs documented how both immediate and long term environmental factors, such as climate and anthropogenic change affect Malagasy primate behavior and biology. Since 2013 I developed a new project that focuses on South Africa's nocturnal primates, Otolemur crassicaudatus and Galago moholi at the Lajuma Research Centre, South Africa. This project collects data on the health and conservation biology of these two species, including population and conservation genetics and disease ecology. My research is extremely relevant to on-going work on the effects of climate and habitat change on the world’s endangered animals and how primates adapt to such changes.

keywords

  • primate ecology, primatology, conservation biology, primate health, primate evolutionary biology

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • ANTH 2030 - Laboratory in Biological Anthropology 1
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Lab in human osteology and musculoskeletal system emphasizing comparative primate morphology, adaptation, and the fossil record documenting the natural history of primates. Recommended corequisite: ANTH 2010. Meets the MAPS requirement for natural science: lab, when taken with ANTH 2010.
  • ANTH 3000 - Primate Behavior
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Surveys naturalistic primate behavior. Emphasizes social behavior, behavioral ecology, and evolution as they lead to an understanding of human behavior.
  • ANTH 4070 - Methods in Biological Anthropology
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2024
    Provides laboratory-based research experience in selected areas of biological anthropology. Research designs, methods and applications will be used to develop research skills. Students will read original research papers and carry out a research project of their own design. Area of emphasis within biological anthropology will depend on instructor. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Recommended prerequisites: ANTH 2010 and ANTH 2020 and ANTH 2030 and ANTH 2040 and ANTH 4000 and students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors). Same as ANTH 5070.
  • ANTH 4125 - Evolution and the Human Life Cycle: A Primate Life History Perspective
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2023
    Surveys primate biology, behavior and ecology using a life history approach. Using a comparative approach, explores life history as mammals, as primates and as humans by focusing on evolutionary decisions that occur during different life stages. Same as ANTH 5125.
  • ANTH 5070 - Methods in Biological Anthropology
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2024
    Provides laboratory-based research experience in selected areas of biological anthropology. Research designs, methods and applications will be used to develop research skills. Students will read original research papers and carry out a research project of their own design. Area of emphasis within biological anthropology will depend on instructor. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Same as ANTH 4070.
  • ANTH 5125 - Evolution and the Human Life Cycle: A Primate Life History Perspective
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2023
    Surveys primate biology, behavior and ecology using a life history approach. Using a comparative approach, explores life history as mammals, as primates and as humans by focusing on evolutionary decisions that occur during different life stages. Same as ANTH 4125.
  • ANTH 7020 - Seminar: Physical Anthropology
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2022
    In-depth discussion of selected topics in physical anthropology with emphasis on recent research. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

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