chimpanzee — News — Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group

Two new APE Group Members

We are very excited to welcome two new APE Group members. In October, we were joined by Dr Julia Kunz (post-doctoral researcher) and Jonas Mason (joint MSc student with ETH).

Kathelijne Koops29 October 2024ape, ape behaviour and ecology group, kathelijne koops, koops, chimpanzee, behaviour, ecology

New paper on sociality in eastern and western chimpanzees

We used the same motion-triggered camera technology to compare party size and composition between the western Gahtoy community in the Nimba Mountains (Guinea) and the eastern Waibira community in the Budongo Forest (Uganda).

Kathelijne Koops24 January 2024ape, ape behaviour and ecology group, kathelijne koops, koops, chimpanzee, behaviour, ecology

Two new APE Group Master’s students!

We are very excited to welcome two new Master’s students to the APE Group. Desirée and Sandra will be working within the Comparative Human and Ape Technology (CHAT) Project.

Kathelijne Koops1 December 2023ape, ape behaviour and ecology group, kathelijne koops, koops, chimpanzee, behaviour, ecology

Warm welcome to our new post-doc, Dr Jake Funkhouser!

Dr Jake Funkhouser joins the APE Group as a new postdoctoral researcher after recently finishing his PhD at the Department of Anthropology at Washington University in St Louis. Jake will be working on the Comparative Human and Ape Technology (CHAT) Project.

Henry Camara wins IPS Conservation Education Award

We are extremely proud of Henry Camara, Nimba Chimpanzee Project research team lead, for winning the Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award of the International Primatological Society (IPS).

Genetics as conservation tool for endangered chimpanzees

The western chimpanzees of Guinea are threatened by mining activities. Using a novel genetic approach, APE Group members have collected information on population size and community structure to provide an important baseline to assess the impact of mining.

New publication ‘Chimpanzee Culture in Context’

In a recent article, Kathelijne Koops and co-authors comment on the article “Blind alleys and fruitful pathways in the comparative study of cultural cognition” by Andrew Whiten in Physics of Life Reviews.

Kathelijne Koops20 December 2022ape, ape behaviour and ecology group, kathelijne koops, koops, chimpanzee, behaviour, ecology

New paper out on primate scleral coloration

New paper out in Scientific Reports on the evolutionary drivers of primate scleral coloration. Great job by lead author Alex Mearing who published this as a Master’s student!

Kathelijne Koops18 August 2022ape, ape behaviour and ecology group, kathelijne koops, koops, chimpanzee, behaviour, ecology

Two new APE Group lab members!

Two new Ph.D. students join the APE Group! A big welcome to Lara Zanutto and Ellen Soeters. Lara and Ellen join the Comparative Human and Ape Technology (CHAT) Project to work on bonobos and BaYaka foragers in the Congo basin forest.

New paper on chimpanzee buttress drumming!

New paper published in the American Journal of Primatology led by APE Group collaborator Dr Maegan Fitzgerald on selectivity in tree buttress drumming by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains.

Listen to Social Science Bites: Kathelijne Koops on Chimps and Tools

Kathelijne Koops at the University of Zurich works to determine what makes us human. And she approaches this quest by intensely studying the use of tools by apes across sub-Saharan Africa.