Primate Conservation Grants from ASP

Happy New Year everyone!

The online submission system for the 2012 ASP Conservation Grants is now open. The final deadline to submit applications is January 31, 2012. Please note that a letter of recommendation is required for non-member applicants and all student applicants. Instructions for submitting applications and letters of recommendation are outlined on the grant application form found on the ASP website.
Looking forward to another year of great conservation projects!


Erin Riley,
ASP Conservation Committee Chair

Order your 2012 ASP calendar now!

ASP is pleased to announce that the 2012 Primate Portraits calendars are ready for sale for $15 each. All proceeds from the sale go to the ASP Legacy fund, which supports new initiatives of the society to strengthen primatology and the ASP.

Order online using our secure website or print off an order form and mail it in. If you use the order form, please email or fax it to our treasurer, Kim Phillips, whose contact info is on the form; or if you are paying by check, mail the form and check to her. Calendars will be shipped to you via the USPS.

The calendar has 13 beautiful photos of nonhuman primates (one per month, plus the cover), in 8.5 x 11 size, perfect for hanging on the wall. Eleven of the 13 photos were taken by members of ASP; the other two were donated by friends of ASP. You won’t find a more beautiful calendar with primates anywhere. Take a look at the proof copy at the link above. These make lovely gifts for those naturalists on your gift list. One should grace the office of every primatologist!

Order yours today!

ASP 2011 abstract deadline March 12!

Don't forget: the deadline for abstracts for the upcoming American Society of Primatologists meeting in Austin, TX is this Saturday, March 12.

ASP 2011 updates

The Scientific Program Committee would like to remind you that the deadline for abstract submission for the 34th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists is fast approaching. Final submissions must be submitted at www.asp.org by March 12, 2011. We are very excited about this year’s meeting, as it promises to be of the highest scientific quality. The meeting will feature contributed paper and poster presentations as well as symposia that address wide-spread interests in primatology. We are pleased to announce our featured speakers including:

Keynote Speaker
Dr. Richard Wrangham
Department of Human Evolutionary Biology
Harvard University

2010 Distinguished Primatologist
Dr. Karen B Strier
Department of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Past President’s Address
Dr. Suzette D. Tardif
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio

Interdisciplinary Symposium:
“Reproductive Function & Dysfunction in Nonhuman Primates”
Featured Speaker
Dr. Judy Cameron
University of Pittsburgh

This year’s meeting will be held at the Hilton Austin located in downtown Austin, Texas from September 16-19, 2011. The Hilton Austin is one block from Austin's famous Sixth Street nightlife and walking distance to entertainment, shopping and dining in the Warehouse Entertainment and 2nd Street Districts. It is within strolling distance of the famous Congress Ave. Bridge; at dusk you can witness 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats emerge from under the bridge and fill the evening sky. Additional area highlights include the Capitol Building, the Bob Bullock Texas Historical Museum (JNR: I've been there and it is really a great museum!) and the LBJ Presidential Library.

The Hilton Austin is offering special rates to participants in the meeting that apply for three days before and after the scheduled dates of September 16-19, 2011. Rooms with single or double beds are available for $139/night with a $20 charge for each additional person plus taxes. We encourage meeting attendees to stay at the conference hotel to ensure that ASP benefits maximally from the services provided. Please make your hotel reservations soon. All conference sessions and social events will be held at the Hilton Austin.

We look forward to receiving your abstract submissions and hope to see everyone in Austin this September.

Sincerely,
Sue Howell and Brian Kelly
Co-Chairs, Scientific Program Committee

ASP 2011 abstract deadline announced

The American Society of Primatologists holds its annual meeting this year in AUSTIN, TEXAS (woo-hoo!), September 16-19, 2011. Some adjustments to perviously outlined deadlines are outlined below:


Colleagues:

The Program Committee of the American Society of Primatologists would like to extend the deadline to Friday, January 28, 2011 for proposals for symposia and workshops. Although the final deadline for symposia, workshop, and paper abstracts is March 12, 2011, we encourage early submission of ideas to ensure a strong meeting. Proposals can be sent to the Program Committee Chair, Sue Howell (showell@hamanranch.org).

Additionally the Program Committee invites interested parties to submit proposals for the 2011 ASP Interdisciplinary Symposium.

The Interdisciplinary symposium was created to foster the levels of crosstalk among the different disciplines that make up Primatology. You are invited to submit your ideas for a symposium that is truly interdisciplinary. The program committee will encourage all submitted ideas to be presented as symposia at ASP 2011 in Austin, Texas, September 16 – 19th 2011. However one idea will be chosen to be showcased in a meeting-wide symposium, meaning there will be no competing sessions during your symposium. Additionally, the interdisciplinary symposium will be presented in conjunction with one of the featured plenary speakers for ASP 2010.

To be considered:
Submit a short summary of your proposal that highlights how it is interdisciplinary.
Submit a list of proposed speakers for the symposia, including second choices, if appropriate.
Propose both a first and second choice for the featured speaker you would like to see invited by ASP to participate in association with the symposium.
Send all your materials to ASP Program Co-Chair, Brian Kelly (bkelly8980@gmail.com) no later than February 1, 2011.
All ideas will be encouraged for development as regular symposia. Final abstracts for regular symposia, workshops and other special sessions will continue to be accepted until March 12, 2011.

We look forward to your ideas.

Sincerely,

The Program Committee

Maderas Rainforest Conservancy Scholarship in Field Primatology

Great news for aspiring field primatologists! The American Society of Primatologists is teaming with the Maderas Rainforest Conservancy to offer a generous scholarship to undergraduate and graduate students to attend field school sessions at one of two sites: La Suerte, Costa Rica, and Ometepe, Nicaragua:

The scholarship provides full tuition for an approximately one month course including room and board (3 meals/day), instruction, access to all facilities at the field site and in-country transportation to and from the field site. Information about the history and location of the field sites, facilities, course offerings, course syllabi, research opportunities, primate species present, and a list of La Suerte/Ometepe teachers and alumni can be found at www.maderasrfc.org/Maderas_Rainforest_Conservancy/Home.html.

As an alum of the Ometepe course and a veteran teaching assistant of both Ometepe and La Suerte, I wholeheartedly endorse this program.

Support primate conservation while you do your holiday shopping

Lots of us do our shopping for academic materials and holiday gifts on Amazon. Link to Amazon from the American Society of Primatologists website (scroll to the bottom) to automatically donate a percentage of your purchase to conservation efforts.

Please spread the word to your students, colleagues, friends, and family!

New ASP website

Check out the newly redesigned American Society of Primatologists website. Super swanky!

New owl monkey conservation grant program from ASP

Fantastic announcement from the American Society of Primatologists:

"The ASP Conservation Committee is pleased to announce a new grants competition, the Brumback Aotus Conservation Grant, to support conservation-related research on owl monkeys (Aotus). This opportunity has generously been made possible by Dr. Roger Brumback, currently Professor of Pathology and Psychiatry at Creighton University School of Medicine, whose research in the 1970s contributed greatly to our knowledge of Aotus cytogenetics. In fact, in recognition of his important work, a species of Aotus was named after him: Aotus brumbacki. [For more information, see the ASP June 2000 Bulletin.]

ASP intends to make up to three awards of $3000 - $5000 each. Please note that grant funds cannot be used to reimburse expenses already incurred. The application deadline is December 1st, 2010. Decisions will be announced on Jan 31st, 2011.
To apply, please visit http://www.asp.org/conservation/index.html to download an application form. Applications must be emailed in pdf format to ASP Conservation Chair, Dr. Erin Riley (epriley@mail.sdsu.edu). Contact Dr. Riley with any questions."

Follow me on Twitter!

My Twitter handle is @monkeyprof. I plan on tweeting about new BANDIT posts as well as being a contributor to the forthcoming American Society of Primatologists Twitter feed.

Bringing BANDIT to a larger audience

Just returned from the American Society of Primatologists meeting and it was great! One especially exciting development is that I joined the Media and Information Committee chaired by Allyson Bennett, assistant professor at Wake Forest University. The committee is devoted to building an online, social media presence for primatologists and biological anthropologists to foster both outreach in our public communities and "in"reach, i.e. what BANDIT is all about.

American Society of Primatologists 2010 - happening NOW!

Hi BANDITs! I'm at the American Society of Primatologists meeting in Louisville, having a grand time. Lots of great papers and participation from the BANDITs: Magdalena Muchlinski, me, Katie Hinde, Cory Ross, Jessica Satkoski Trask, and other new investigators who are also new to bandit: Mike Jarcho, Adam Smith, Drew Birnie, Amanda Dettmer, and many, many others (let me know if I left you out!). Katie (incoming chair of the Education Committee) hosted a really great luncheon for students on the do's and don'ts of the academic job search. I was a panelist along with Paul Garber, Dorothy Cheney, Tom Gillespie, Dee Higley, and Charlie Nunn. Nice job, Katie!

My goal for the summer months is to put up at least one post per week, but, well, you know.