Marshall Lab: Ecology and conservation of primates and tropical forests
We study a range of topics on different species at multiple sites. We are united by an interest in using ecological theory to address theoretical and applied questions in tropical ecology, conservation, primatology, and biological anthropology.
Andy Marshall
I received my undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Biological Wing of the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. After finishing my undergraduate work in 1996, I spent a year living in Indonesian Borneo managing Cheryl Knott’s long- term orangutan research project and working for National Geographic. I returned to Harvard in 1997 to do my PhD with Mark Leighton and Richard Wrangham. While in graduate school I did fieldwork on apes in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo before returning to Kalimantan to study gibbons and leaf monkeys. During my fieldwork I became interested in botany and plant ecology, and upon completion of my PhD in 2004 I did a two-year post doc at The Arnold Arboretum in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard. From 2006 to 2014 I served on the faculty at the University of California, Davis in Anthropology, Ecology, and Animal Behavior. I joined the faculty at Michigan in 2014. My main research site is Gunung Palung National Park, located in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. I am also involved in mammal and forest conservation initiatives at several other sites in Indonesia. This is a reasonable introduction to my field site and my personal perspective on conservation and research.
Current students (alphabetically by last name)
Clara Brandon (Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan)
I am broadly interested in investigating the ecological and evolutionary factors that drive primate diversification and distribution across space and time. I am motivated to understand how primates respond to anthropogenic pressures and rapid environmental/ecological changes. Additionally, I hope to apply phylogenetic comparative methods to inform our understanding of the evolutionary patterns and processes shaping primate communities. My ultimate goal is to leverage this knowledge to contribute meaningfully to conservation initiatives.
Gene Estrada (Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan)
I am broadly interested in primate behavior and ecology. My research investigates the influence of ecological factors such as food availability and forest structure on the terrestrial behavior of the primate community at Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesian Borneo. My previous research includes spatial analyses of ranging behaviors of sympatric tamarin (Saguinus) species in the Peruvian Amazon. Other interests include primate conservation, data visualization, and science communication.
Jordan Lucore (Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan)
I am broadly interested in the interactions between the gastrointestinal (gut) microbiome and host physiology in non-human primates. Host-microbe interactions may help primates cope with small and large-scale changes in their environment. Specifically, I am studying how the gut microbiome composition of white-faced capuchins affects the HPA-axis and innate immune system. This research will provide insight into how commensal microbes help primates adapt to ecological and social challenges.
Marsya Sibarani (Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan)
Prior to taking a PhD program, I worked as a wildlife biologist with six years’ experience in forest ecology and conservation, species distribution modelling, and camera trapping. For my PhD research, I am interested in studying the ecology and biogeography of small apes (family Hylobatidae). More specifically, I aim to investigate the effects of human-driven forest fragmentation to small ape populations and genetic diversity in Sumatra, Indonesia. Small apes are strictly arboreal and their main mode of locomotion is brachiation, so they rely heavily on continuous forest canopy. Forest canopy gap may become a barrier for their movement, hindering gene flow among populations in fragmented habitats.
Past students
Andrew Bernard (Ph.D. 2024, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan) Dissertation: Primate distribution dynamics and the effects of contemporary climate change along an elevational gradient in Indonesian Borneo
Ben Finkel (Ph.D. 2024, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan) Dissertation: The challenges of senescence for adult male chimpanzees
Swapna Nelaballi (Ph.D. 2023, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, co-chair Dr. Kim McConkey) Dissertation: Exploring fruit-frugivore interactions and post-dispersal seed fate of large- seeded plants in a lowland tropical rainforest of indonesian borneo
Dena Clink (Ph.D. 2018, Department of Anthropology, UC Davis, co-advised by Dr. Meg Crofoot) Dissertation: The evolutionary and ecological implications of variation in Bornean gibbon (Hylobates muelleri) female calls
Chris Dillis (Animal Behavior Graduate Group, UC Davis)
Lydia Beaudrot (Ph.D. 2014, Graduate Group in Ecology, UC Davis) Dissertation: Determinants of tropical vertebrate community composition
Katie Feilen (Ph.D. 2014, Department of Anthropology, UC Davis) Dissertation: Feeding ecology and sleeping site selection of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia
Cori McLean (Boyko) (M.A. 2009, Department of Anthropology, UC Davis)
Ryan Boyko (M.A. 2009, Department of Anthropology, UC Davis; M. Sc. 2009, Graduate Group in Ecology, UC Davis) M.Sc. Thesis: The willing cuckold: Optimal paternity allocation, infanticide and male reproductive strategies in mammals
