DR. Nga Nguyen, ANTHROPOLOGY
Degrees
Ph.D., Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (2006)
Associate Curator, Dept. of Conservation & Science, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (2006-2009)
Research Areas
Behavioral endocrinology, behavioral ecology, and conservation biology of wild social mammals.
Currently, I am investigating the endocrine correlates and fitness consequences of variation in the mother-offspring relationship in two species of wild monkeys in Africa (i.e., baboons in Kenya and gelada monkeys in Ethiopia). I am also investigating the development of sex differences in behavior and ecology, and in the adaptive significance of male-female bonds and dominance in wild baboons and geladas. Finally, my collaborators and I are studying the ranging ecology and conservation biology of a population of wild geladas inhabiting an alpine grassland (called Guassa) that has been conserved by one of the oldest surviving indigenous conservation initiatives on the African continent.
Publications
- Nguyen, N., Fashing, N. J. 2010. Behavior of geladas and other endemic wildlife during a desert locust outbreak at Guassa, Ethiopia: Ecological and conservation implications. Primates 51: 193-197.
- Nguyen, N., Van Horn, R. C., Alberts, S. C., Altmann, J. 2009. “Friendships” between new mothers and adult males: Adaptive benefits and determinants in wild baboons (Papio cynocephalus). Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 63: 1331-1344.
- Nguyen, N., Gesquiere, L. R, Wango, E. O., Alberts, S. C., Altmann, J. 2008. Late pregnancy glucocorticoid levels predict responsiveness in wild baboon mothers (Papio cynocephalus). Animal Behaviour 75:1747-1756.
- Beehner, J. Nguyen, N., Alberts, S. C., Altmann, J. 2006. The endocrinology of pregnancy and fetal loss in wild baboons. Hormones and Behavior 49:688-699.
- Altmann, J.; Lynch, J. W.; Nguyen, N.; Alberts, S. C.; Gesquiere, L. R. 2004. Life-history correlates of steroid concentrations in wild peripartum baboons. American Journal of Primatology 64: 95 – 106.
- Fashing, P.J., Nguyen, N., Barry, T.S., Goodale, C.B., Burke, R.J., Jones, S.C.Z., Kerby, J.T., Lee, L.M., Nurmi, N.O., Venkataraman, V.V. 2011. Death among geladas (Theropithecus gelada): A broader perspective on mummified infants and primate thanatology.American Journal of Primatology DOI 10.1002/ajp.20902.
- Fashing, P.J.; Mulindahabi, F.; Gakima, J.-B.; Masozera, M.; Mununura, I.; Plumptre, A.J.; Nguyen, N. 2007. Activity and ranging patterns of Angolan colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda: Possible costs of large group size.International Journal of Primatology 28: 529-550.
- Sterling, E.J.; Nguyen, N.; Fashing, PJ. 2000. Spatial patterning in nocturnal prosimians: a review of methods and relevance to studies of sociality. American Journal of Primatology 51:3-19.
- Nguyen, N. 2000. A survey of Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus avunculus) in northern Viet Nam. Folia Primatologica71:157-160.
Grants & Special Projects
- Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation (2008: $14,000)
- Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation (2007: $10,000)
- Primate Conservation, Inc. (2006: $2,000)
- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (2006: $3,000)
- Princeton University APGA Summer Travel Grant (2005: $400)
- L.S.B. Leakey Foundation Dissertation Research Grant (2002-03: $12,000)
- National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant (2002-03: $12,000)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2000-2005)
- Undergraduate Research Award, American Museum of Natural History (1998: $3,000)
- NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates Grant, Columbia University (1997: $3,000)
- NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates Grant, Bronx Zoo (1996: $3,000)