Studying wild spider monkeys in the Mexican jungle
Hello everybody!
My name is Fabrizio Dell'Anna, I'm a PhD student at the Insituto de Neuroetologia (Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico).
I'm currently collecting behavioural data in the wild for my Phd thesis, which aims to investigate how spider monkeys reciprocate altruistic behaviours (grooming, in particular, which is when monkeys clean each others fur), and what social factors affects it. Do spider monkeys groom back those who groom them? Or are they mainly egocentric, selfish primates? Or maybe they are altruistic with those who took care of them, but only if they are related? Or maybe they don't care at all about family, and good relationship and friendship are more important? Or maybe they just care to act generously if that cute female monkey or that handsome male is there to look at it?
These are just some of the questions my PhD project is trying to answer.
I'm currently collecting data on a group of 50 spider monkeys, which live in the jungle enclosed in the "Otoch Ma'ax Yetel Kooh" Federal Reserve, near the Punta Laguna community in Yucatàn, Mexico. We are accomodated within the community, renting a traditional Maya cabin which has been the home for countless students, volunteers and assistants since the Punta Laguna project started many years ago.
I am working alongside a personal field-assistant, which assists me in collecting behavioural data, and alongside us there are 3 local field assistants from the Punta Laguna community, which are tasked with collecting long-term demographic data on our group of spider monkeys: they have observed them for more than 20 years, since when the research at Punta Laguna started.
All the money will go directly into fieldwork-related expenses: keeping my field assistant fed, paying the rent of the cabin and occasional travels to the city for supplies, covering occasional fieldwork related expenses, such as medicines and data collection instruments.
We will be active on social media, trying to upload pictures, videos and news from the jungle every time it will be possible!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alpine_caracal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fabrydell
