MARINA RAMON

I am currently researching the socioecology and health of western chimpanzees in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau.

After studying great apes welfare at the Barcelona Zoo and Fundació Mona primate rescue centre in Spain, I developed an interest in human-wildlife interactions when volunteering as a research assistant for the Jane Goodall Institute in Senegal. While collecting data on chimpanzee ecology, I witnessed first-hand the complexities of great ape and human coexistence in an anthropogenic habitat.

Intrigued by the competition between human and nonhuman primates over access to natural resources, I undertook a master’s thesis on the use of a wild fruit by chimpanzees and local people in Senegal. During this study, I adopted a cross-disciplinary approach in conservation, integrating social and natural science methods.

After I completed my MSc, I was employed as a graduate research assistant at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter. I studied a population of chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau, using non-invasive wildlife monitoring methods, including camera traps and faecal sample collection for molecular analysis.

Broad research specialism

Human-wildlife interactions Great ape ecology and behaviour Primate conservation

Qualifications

2017 MSc in Primate Conservation, Oxford Brookes University, UK

2016 Postgraduate Diploma in Primatology, University of Girona Foundation, Spain

2013 BSc in Biology (Biodiversity), University of Barcelona, Spain

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@Marina_Ramon

Host: Dr Kimberley Hockings

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