THE PRIMATES

Catalog description

This course examines the behavior, ecology, evolution, and conservation of primates (lemurs, monkeys, apes, etc.) We will examine humans as primates using information from different fields within the natural, social, and behavioral sciences to determine whether human behavior fits the predictions of primate behavioral models created by physical anthropologists, biologists, and psychologists. Students will use the knowledge that they gain about living primates to understand how paleontologists reconstruct the behavior and ecology of extinct primates. As many living primates are on the verge of extinction, primate conservation efforts will be used to introduce theory and method in conservation biology. The role and responsibilities of humans in the extinction and preservation of species will be debated.Not open to students with credit for GNM 1072.