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Amy Eakins is junior studying anthropology and zoology. This past summer, she had a research experience studying primates in Panama, and she continues her primate behavior research with Dr. Scott McGraw from the Department of Anthropology.
What specifically do you research? What projects are you currently working on?
My research is in primatology, which is a subfield of physical anthropology. This summer, I went to a biological field school in Panama to study mantled howler monkeys, specifically looking at tree use and how it varies with different members of the group. I compared tree use for adult males against other animals (since males are much larger than females) and for female howler monkeys with dependent infants against those without infants.
How do you actually conduct your research?
While in Panama, I would get up every morning at around dawn, when the monkeys would be most active, and find them by listening to their howls, which can be heard from over a mile away! Once I found the monkeys, I would watch one monkey at a time and record data each minute, looking at where in the tree it was, what type of branch it was using, what it was doing, and several other variables. Then I compared the data for each of the groups I had decided to evaluate.
What have you enjoyed in your experience?
The thing I loved most about my research experience was just going out each day and being in the jungle. The great part about field research is that you’re seeing these animals as they are naturally, out in the wild, which is something that so many people will never get the chance to see. Sure, you don’t exactly get to live in a hotel while you’re doing it, but the opportunity to see a rainforest nature documentary play out before my eyes every day is an experience I’ll never forget. Getting started early with biological field research also helped me decide, relatively early on in my educational career, whether this is something I could see myself doing for a living. And I definitely can!
How are you using this experience for your next research project?
In Panama, I learned a lot about the different data collection methods that are most typically used in my field. This has helped me plan for how to proceed with a new project, studying infant social development in newborns of two primate species at the Columbus Zoo. This new project will hopefully become my senior honors thesis.
Anyone wanting to get involved in research, either at Ohio State or abroad, should know that it’s not difficult to get started. While it does take commitment to your project, it’s easy to go speak to a professor in your field of interest and talk about your ideas. Most professors are glad to see undergraduates interested in research, and will help you find the project or program you’re looking for.
Research opportunities at field stations can be very accessible. A search on Google for biological field schools will turn up tons of opportunities for research abroad in many diverse ecosystems, or a professor in your field might be able to give you some recommendations for a good place to try out fieldwork.
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