Margaret Bryer

Ph.D., The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2020

Joined UW Madison faculty in 2023

Links

Margaret Bryer CV

Primate Nutrition Lab

Areas of Focus

Biological anthropology, Primatology, Primate nutrition, Primate social behavior

Research

My research focuses on how ecology shapes behavior in nonhuman primates, specifically how the physical environment shapes primate behavior through feeding ecology, socioecology and foraging cognition. I use diverse analytical techniques to test socioecological questions, including nutritional chemistry and behavioral observations. I study the nutritional strategy and social behavior of African guenons (a group of arboreal monkey species in Africa), examining how social dynamics affect nutritional intake and balance (“social nutrition”). My research also explores the intersection between anthropogenic (human caused) change and primate ecology, which I explore through the guenon work in Uganda and in research on baboons in South Africa. In close collaboration with South African conservation and education organization, I and collaborators are examining the push-pull of indigenous, non-indigenous and anthropogenic food resources, which is one crucial component for informed, ethical, and sustainable plans for humans living alongside baboons.

Select Publications

Bryer MAH and M Uwimbabazi (2024) Applying a framework of social nutrition to primate behavioral ecology. In: Lambert JE, Bryer MAH, and JM Rothman, eds. How Primates Eat: A Synthesis of Nutritional Ecology Across a Mammal Order. University of Chicago Press.

Lambert JE, Bryer MAH, and JM Rothman, eds. (2024) How Primates Eat: A Synthesis of Nutritional Ecology Across a Mammal Order. University of Chicago Press.

Rosati, AG, Sabbi KH, Bryer MAH, Barnes P, Rukundo J, Mukungu T, Sekulya P, Ampeire I, Aligumisiriza H, Kyama S, Masereka J, Nabukeera W, Okello A, Waiga B, Atwijuze S, Camargo Peña N, Cantwell A, Felsche E, Flores-Mendoza K, Mohamed S, Monroe I, Mulhinch M, O’Gorman K, Salamango J, Shamah R, Otali E, Wrangham RW and ZP Machanda (2023) Observational approaches to chimpanzee behavior in an African sanctuary: implications for research, welfare, and capacity-building. American Journal of Primatology, e23534.

Bryer MAH, Koopman SE, Cantlon JF, Piantadosi ST, MacLean EL, Baker JM, Beran MJ, Jones SM, Jordan KE, Mahamane S, Nieder A, Perdue BM, Range F, Stevens JR, Tomonaga M, Ujfalussy DJ, and J Vonk. (2022) The evolution of quantitative sensitivity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 377:20200529. DOI:10.1098/rstb.2020-0529

Bryer MAH, Chapman CA, Raubenheimer D, Lambert JE, and JM Rothman. (2015) Macronutrient and energy contributions of insects to the diet of a frugivorous monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius). International Journal of Primatology, 36:839-854.

Rothman JM, Raubenheimer D, Bryer MAH, Takahashi M and CC Gilbert. (2014) Nutritional contributions of insects to primate diets: implications for primate evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, 71:59-69.

Bryer MAH, Chapman CA, and JM Rothman. (2013) Diet and polyspecific associations affect spatial patterns of redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). Behaviour, 150:277-293.

Teaching

Anthro 105 Principles of Biological Anthropology

Anthro 490 Primate Nutritional Ecology

Anthro 690 Primate Foraging Cognition