Introduction

On the lookout for howler monkeys 

during a primate behavior 

and ecology field course

 in Ometepe, Nicaragua

 Hi, my name is Rosanna, and I’m a Master by Research student at Bournemouth University. My field of research is primate ecology and my research investigates how arboreal primates are adapting and responding to forest loss and degradation.

My interest in studying primates originates from a life-changing volunteer trip to Costa Rica where I worked at Osa Wildlife Sanctuary (osawildlife.org) with injured and abused wildlife. I spent a total of three months at the sanctuary and during my stay I witnessed countless situations where the lives of wild animals were always at the mercy of human beings. Fortunately enough, these experiences did not break me down but instead helped me realize that working with vulnerable and at-risk wildlife, particularly primates, is my passion and life calling. Currently, I am tackling this career-goal from a different angle, shifting my work from hands-on care to research. Although I am still interested in working closely with rescued wildlife, a focus in field research will provide me with a new perspective on numerous wildlife conservation related problems. Scientific research is a powerful tool because it can act as a voice for wildlife and it can be used to inform both the public and policymakers of unrecognized, but important conservation issues.  

White-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar)

My research will be carried out of a field site in North Sumatra, Indonesia and will focus on the primate species, Hylobtes lar, more commonly known as the white-handed gibbon.

The white-handed gibbon is an arboreal primate that displays a high dependence on continuous forest canopies and emergent trees for their daily survival. Unfortunately, discontinuous canopies and fragmented forests are becoming increasingly common due to human disturbances, such as logging, forest fires and monoculture plantations. These human disturbances subsequently cause changes to forest structures and their vegetative characteristics, as well as change the 3 dimensional organization of the forest itself. As a result, primate communities and populations are likely to be negatively impacted by these anthropogenic activities. My research will investigate which vegetative characteristics (i.e. canopy connectivity or tree height) impact gibbon distributions across forest types in the Sikundur area in North Sumatra. In addition, I am also interested in determining the structural characteristics of gibbons’ sleeping trees in order to establish specific requirements gibbons have for surviving in an area. 

I will be collecting gibbon densities across two forest types. Both forest types have experienced logging activities in the past, however they differ in the degree of damage. One forest site was selectively logged, where the tallest, most valuable trees, such as emergent trees (the most important trees for gibbons) were removed. The second forest type was clear-felled, which means all trees were removed and the land was left barren. Both forests have had time to regenerate, but they are likely to differ from one another in species compositions and stand structure. I will also be collecting vegetative data, using plots along transects, at each of the forest sites in order to compare the vegetative characteristics between the two forest types. This will help me determine which vegetative characteristics are affecting and contributing to the observed gibbon densities within each forest type.

 Fortunately enough, I am able to experience this once in a lifetime adventure with two fellow post-graduate researchers, Helen Slater and John Abernethy, who are also passionate about primates. Similarly, they are also interested in examining the effect of rainforest structure on primate behavior and ecology, but they will be using other primate species as their focal subjects. It is important to remember that none of these exciting post-graduate research projects would be in progress today without the hard work of our supervisors, Amanda Korstjens and Ross Hill from Bournemouth University and Serge Wich from Liverpool John Moore University. All of our research projects have materialized because of the collaborative work between these two universities with numerous NGOs, such as Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP). These collaborations will help initiate an umbrella of research projects for future post-graduate students and it will also provide students with the rare opportunity to conduct field research, which is very hard to come by these days. Lastly, I am forever indebted to Matt Nowak and James Askew for all their hard work in making my permit application process as easy as possible.

The Gang. Clockwise from the top is Me, Ross, Helen, Matt, John and Mandy. 

My journey in Indonesia has only begun and like all things it starts off with the bureaucratic stuff first. Our first few days in Indonesia have been consumed by multiple visits to numerous government offices across the endless city of Jakarta. Although my time here has been limited and confined to the city of Jakarta, I can already see that Indonesia is a country rich in culture and tradition. I hope to be a tourist for a few days and enjoy some sightseeing activities while I can, since for the next eight months I will be exploring the depths of the rainforest and living amongst my dearest friends, the primates.