Primate Behavioral Ecology

In the GW Primate Behavioral Ecology Laboratory, scientists investigate the evolution of social behavior in the Pan species: chimpanzees and bonobos. Research poses one central question: Why be social? We explore this question through collaborative, on-the-ground research at the Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania.

GW Associate Professor of Anthropology Carson Murray is one of the lead investigators of the Gombe Chimpanzee Research Project. The project allows our lab to combine new field data with over 60 years of long-term behavioral records. As the most extensive great ape dataset in the world, we can investigate social behavior across the chimpanzee lifespan and directly relate behavior to reproductive outcomes.

Research Interests

Social Behavior
Female Relationships
Maternal Effects
Spatial Ecology
Nutritional Ecology
Physiology

Select Publications

Lee, SM, Murray CM, Lonsdorf EV, Fruth B, Stanton MA, Nichols J, and G Hohmann. (2020) Wild bonobo and chimpanzee females exhibit broadly similar patterns of behavioral maturation but some evidence for divergence. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171:1000109.

Stanton MA, Lonsdorf EV, Murray CM, and AE Pusey. (2020) Consequences of maternal loss before and after weaning in male and female wild chimpanzees. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 74:22.

Murray CM, Stanton MA, Wellens KR, Santymire RM, Heintz MR, and EV Lonsdorf. (2018) Maternal effects on offspring stress physiology in wild chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 80, e2258.

Murray CM, Stanton MA, Lonsdorf EV, Wroblewski EE, and AE Pusey. (2016) Chimpanzee fathers bias their behavior toward their offspring. Royal Society Open Science 3:160441.

Foerster S, Zhong Y, Pintea L, Murray CM, Wilson ML, Mjungu D, and AE Pusey. (2016) Feeding habitat quality and behavioral trade-offs in chimpanzees: a case for species distribution models. Behavioral Ecology, arw004.

For more publications visit Dr. Carson Murray's bio page on the Anthropology website.

Lab Researchers

Lab Director

PhD Student

PhD Student

PhD Student

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Masters Student

Masters Student

BS/MS Student

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Undergraduate Student

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Undergraduate Student

Gombe Chimpanzee Consortium

Dr. Ian Gilby, Arizona State University
Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Emory University, lab website
Dr. Anne Pusey, Jane Goodall Institute, Professor Emeritus Duke University
Dr. Michael Wilson, University of Minnesota

In addition, none of our work would be possible without our talented Gombe field researchers.

Former Lab Members

Katie Auerswald, GIS Technician 1, ASRC Federal
Giuliana Centofanti, PhD student, Emory University
Victoria Fiorentino, Data Analyst, Newport News Shipbuilding
Helen Gaynor, Director of Educational Programs, Responsibility.org
Juliette Ghaffari, 7th grade science teacher, Washington Latin Public Charter School
Anna Heffernan, Senior Data Analyst, Uber
Dr. Sean Lee, Biostatistician, Office of Clinical Research, The George Washington University
Dr. Victoria Lockwood, Post Doctoral Researcher, Université de Poitiers
Dr. A. Catherine Markham, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Stony Brook University
Dr. Jordan Miller, VP of Sales and Marketing, IdeaRoom
Dr. Aisha Mustapha, MD MPH, Cardiology Fellow, Emory University
Jennifer Nichols, Animal Care Professional, Birmingham Zoo
Dr. Sylvain Nyandwi, Tulane National Primate Research Center
Dr. Robert O'Malley, Public Engagement Associate, Harvard Medical School
Eva Schwartz, Behavioral Therapist, Multicultural Clinical Center
Rachel Sinsheimer, Attorney of Environmental Law, Corvid Law Group
Dr. Margaret Stanton, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of New England
Dr. Kaitlin Wellens, Assistant Professor of Biology, Trinity Washington University
Jack Winans, Doctoral Student in Anthropology, Stony Brook University