Primatology & Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (PIES) Lab

We are an interdisciplinary lab group, with shared interest in how human-caused environmental change is influencing animals, particularly nonhuman primates. Our primate-focussed research is mostly based on field research at the Awajishima Monkey Center on Awaji Island, Japan, where we collect field data on behavioural plasticity, movement patterns and decisions, social dynamics and parental behaviour in a free-ranging group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Other work in our group is related to conservation, climate change impacts on primates and other animals, farmed animals, animal welfare, human-animal interactions, rainforests on the west coast of Canada, and urban ecology and biodiversity in Montreal.

**New: Meet the Lab!!!

Media

Megan Joyce

Brogan Stewart

Brogan Stewart- video

Jenny Paola Espitia-Contreras

About

Sarah E. Turner (PhD University of Calgary, 2010)

Assistant Professor

Sarah Turner is interested in how the behavioural ecology of nonhuman primates is influenced by human-induced environmental change. She studies the behaviour of free-ranging Japanese macaques with physical disabilities to explore hypotheses related to behavioural phenotypic plasticity, maternal investment and mother-infant interactions, dominance rank, and the adaptive significance of social behaviours. Sarah obtained her PhD in Anthropology (Primatology) from the University of Calgary in 2010. After her PhD, she held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biology at McGill University. Sarah conducts research at the Awajishima Monkey Center in Japan.

Read her full profile

Publications

Teaching

Research

Current Research Projects

Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologies (FRQNT) Nouveaux chercheurs  grant (2018-2020), Optimal spatial movement strategies, foraging and disability among free-ranging Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

See all of Dr. Turner's's publications on her faculty profile.

Students

Current students

Stephanie Eccles	PhD	The Risks of Sustainable Industrial Animal Agriculture under Climate Change: A Case Study of North Carolina and its Vulnerable Human and Nonhuman Animal Residents		GPE, Concordia
Yisa Ginath	PhD	Monitoring forest cover and land use change in the Congo basin under IPCC climate change scenarios	Dr. Damon Matthews	GPE, Concordia
Brogan Stewart	PhD	Movement complexity of physically impaired Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Megan Joyce	MSc	Optimal foraging travel route choice and physical impairment in free-ranging Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Siobhan Knowles (2020)	MEnv MITACs Internship	Human-Animal Conflict in Environmental Assessment: A Case Study of Bat Translocation Success on Vancouver Island, B.C.		GPE, Concordia
Caroline Lesage	BSc Honours	Behavioural correlates of alopecia in captive Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Sophie Mortimer	BSc Honours	A case study of infant theft and co-mothering in free-ranging Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Faye Sun	BSc Research	Animal and human migration		GPE, Concordia
Brittany Talarico	BSc Research and Volunteer	Disability in infant Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Kesley Wilson	BSc Student and Volunteer	Disability in infant Japanese macaques		Wildlife Biology, McGill

Former students

Name	Degree	Research Area	Co-supervisor	Unit
Eva-Maria Hanchar (2020)	BSc Honours	Calculating carbon footprints: Influences on individual climate-related behavioural choices	Dr. Damon Matthews	GPE, Concordia
Siobhan Knowles (2020)	MEnv MITACs Internship	Human-Animal Conflict in Environmental Assessment: A Case Study of Bat Translocation Success on Vancouver Island, B.C.		GPE, Concordia
Juliette Penez (2020)	MSc Internship	How Do Animals Deal with Physical Disabilities? An Annotated Bibliography		GPE, Concordia
Anna-Karina Poronovich (2020)	BA Honours	Protest Signs at the September 27th Climate March: A Research Creation Ecofeminist Analysis and Online Archive	Dr. Nalini Mohabir	GPE, Concordia
Xiaolan Sun (2020)	MEnv	Integrating Life Cycle Assessment in China’s Sustainable Development: A Case Study of the Cashmere Industry		GPE, Concordia
Hannah Brown (2019)	BA Research	Butterfly garden habitats and pollinator diversity in Montreal		GPE, Concordia
Jenny Paola Espitia Contreras (2019)	BSc Honours	Assessing the effects of congenital limb malformations on social grooming techniques and efficiency of free-ranging Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Michael Cortese (2019)	MEnv	Safeguarding Biodiversity Hotspots through Protected Areas in Sub- Saharan Africa		GPE, Concordia
Audréanne Pelletier	BSc Honours	Effect of physical disability on feeding efficiency in Japanese macaques		GPE, Concordia
Zachary Masson	BA Honours	Smartphone Ecology: Measuring Plant Stress Using Smartphone Applications	Dr. Catherine Calogeropoulos	GPE, Concordia
Brogan Stewart	BSc Honours	Emergence of novel climate regimes across primate species habitat ranges	Dr. Damon Matthews	GPE, Concordia
Adrienne Kotler	BSc	Manual disability and provision feeding efficiency in Japanese macaques	Dr. Simon Reader	Dept. of Biology, McGill
Tanya Graham	BSc Honours	Assessing the impacts of climate changes on non-human primates	Dr. Damon Matthews	GPE, Concordia

Opportunities

Current Opportunities in the PIES Lab

I am looking for enthusiastic graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in ecology, conservation and primate behaviour. In particular, I am looking for graduate students who want to conduct field research in primate behavioural ecology. I will be accepting one or two graduate students a year to pursue field-based primatology research. Students with quantitative skills, fieldwork and animal behavior experience are encouraged to apply, and previous training in geography, biology, biological anthropology or environmental science are all appropriate undergraduate backgrounds for research in my lab group. Applicants for graduate studies go through a competitive application process through the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University. If you are interested in the MSc or PhD programs here, and are interested in working with me, please contact me prior to submitting your application to the university.

I will also be accepting at least one undergraduate honours student each year (GEOG 491). Honours student projects can either involve analysis of previously collected video data on Japanese macaques, research using existing primate datasets (e.g. IUCN data), research projects related to local urban ecology, animal behaviour or biodiversity, or collaborative interdisciplinary projects co-supervised with other GPE faculty. Undergraduate students interested in pursuing honours research should contact me directly for an appointment.