27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists

Newswise — Nearly 300 primate experts will gather on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus June 8-11 for the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists (ASP). They will discuss more than 50 species of monkeys, apes and prosimians, and focus on endangered species conservation, biomedicine and animal care.

The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center is hosting the meeting at the UW-Madison Memorial Union. Featured speaker will be Deborah Blum, UW-Madison professor of journalism, who is a Pulitzer prize winner and author of "Love at Goon Park," a biography of late UW primatologist Harry Harlow.

Following the ASP meeting, beginning on June 13, a two-day symposium will be held on the use of common marmosets in biomedical research.

Both meetings are open to registered participants and working or credentialed reporters.

"We are proud hosts," says Primate Center Director Joe Kemnitz. "Primate researchers are known for their enthusiasm about working together. Field and lab researchers, veterinarians and animal caretakers learn a great deal from one another."

The following UW-Madison scientists or their students will present research.

- Christopher Coe, professor of psychology and director, Harlow Center for Biological Psychology. His colleagues and students will present several studies, including rhesus monkey endocrine phenotypes, maternal temperament and dental care for laboratory primates.

- Alejandro Estrada, honorary fellow. His team will present work on the demography, conservation, behavior and ecology of Central American primates. The research is based at the Los Tuxtlas field station in Veracruz, Mexico.

- Joe Kemnitz, professor of physiology and director, Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, will explain the center's new Primates Aging Database, a national resource of physiological data on aging, captive non-human primates.

- Charles Snowdon, professor of psychology. His research team will present several papers on social learning, infant care and social relationships of the endangered cotton-top tamarin.

- Karen Strier, professor of anthropology. Her work will shed light on reproduction patterns in wild muriqui monkeys.

- Dale Schoeller, professor of nutritional sciences. His student will share findings on energy expenditure in calorie-restricted, aging monkeys.

- Toni Ziegler, Primate Center senior scientist, will share advances in field research and how the Primate Center supports conservation biology.