The objective of my thesis is to investigate the ultimate drivers and proximate mechanisms behind sociality in the unique social system of Cape ground squirrels, a promiscuous, egalitarian South African rodent species. Using a top-down approach, my thesis will be partitioned into the following chapters:

1) Environmental buffering: the adaptive capacity of sociality for buffering adverse climatic conditions.
2) Social structure of family groups: kinship discrimination and sex-biased dispersal.
3) Social cognition: male vs female cognitive capacity.
4) the role of Oxytocin in Cape ground squirrel sociality.

By consolidating these distinct perspectives on sociality, I work towards a comprehensive framework integrating environmental drivers, social network structures and underlying mechanisms of a system characterized by features that are underrespresented in previous research on sociality. With this framework, I aim to further our understanding of the role of promiscuity, sex-biased dispersal and social hierarchies in the evolution of flexible social systems. 

Through my PhD research project, I have learned a wealth of new techniques, including behavioural observation, social network analysis, RFID indentifiers, various experimental setups,  genetic analysis, hormone analysis, non-invasive technologies (GPS & proximity collars). I am learning what it means to finish a research project from conception to publication. By being in charge when the PI is not on location, I am learning about the responsibilities of running a field site, supervising undergraduate students (as a teacher’s assistant) and what it means to manage a research lab (and improve on the workflow in the lab). In addition, learning to communicate effictively with collaborators/co-authors) and professors from other diciplines has broadened my scope on the field of animal behaviour.  

To learn more about the work that comes out of Dr. Waterman’s research lab, you can visit the lab website here!

Under the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Ecology, I worked in the Tai National forest (Ivory Coast) as a research assistant and camp manager for the Tai Chimpanzee Project. As a camp manager, I was responsible for maintaining the scientific integrity of the most remote research camp. This camp was situated deep in the forest and was only accessible by foot. After being trained in, this meant that I functioned in a local team of assistants, collecting behavioural data in the forest. Since the locals only spoke french, this helped me rediscover the French language after only sporadic use after high school. It has also taught me to interact in a professional capacity with cultures vastly different from my own. A lesson that has created an awareness around anothers’ perception, in a uniquely intense manner, since the major part of my social interactions (outside of forest hours) consisted of chatting to the locals.

Other than camp management, I spent long days (4am-6pm) in the forest collecting data on chimpanzee behaviour. This entailed navigation to the nest site using GPS, traversing challenging terrain (dense jungle, swamps and jungle rivers), following my focal group (or subgroup) all day until they nested. After nesting, I dropped a waypoint and navigated my way back to camp. In the forest I collected as much focal data as possible (following chimpanzees through dense jungle is more difficult than it may seem). The social deprivation and weather conditions added to the difficulty, as a tropical storm could render a previously benign hillside into a thundering river in a moments time. Needless to say, these were extremely challenging mental and physical conditions. It took time for me to trust my decision making in this environment and to ’tune in’  to the rythm of the forest. Throughout this process, I have grounded myself in a way I would have never been able to in my western life. It solidified my connection to the natural world, which has become an essential requirement for my emotional wellbeing.

By spending so much time alone with the chimpanzees, I have deepened my intuition of animal behaviour. I have spent many hours contemplating social constructs, culture, environmental pressures, and various behaviours that make up the chimpanzees behavioural repertoire. I was meant to transition into a PhD after my position as a research assistant. Unfortunately, I fell seriously ill during my work in the forest and had return to my home country. The recovery from the illness took a long time during which I could not pursue my career in the sciences. This has taken an emotional toll on me but looking back after all these years, I think it has strengthened me and after finding my way back to my passion, the experience will serve as an asset to my future career.

Learn more about the Tai Chimpanzee Project here.

For the major research project of my masters program: Environmental Biology – Behavioural Ecology, I studied Barbary macaques, a primate species that inhabits the mountainous regions of northern africa. I compared a zoo-reared population that was housed at the Apenheul with rescued groups (composed by humans) housed at the exotic animal rehabilitation center Stichting AAP. The zoo-reared population lived in a relatively stable social group and had space to display their natural behaviour, whereas the rescued population live in fragmented small groups and were confined to smaller cages. In addition, individuals had varied backgrounds where they may have been subjected to maternal/social deprivation and various kinds of abuse. Using behavioural observation, I compared the occurence of abnormal and stress-related behaviour in the zoo-reared and rescued population.

My experience during this research project has taught me a lot about the construction of an ethogram, various kinds of observational techniques and the challenges associated with keeping animals in captivity. It also taught me to be flexible in your efforts, since (after considerable time invested) my initital research questions could not be answered due to a lack of available information. 

Besides rescuing exotic animals from illegal ownership, Stichting Aap works to improve European legislation on animal welfare. Want to know more about Stichting Aap, click on the logo below for more information.