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Do you visit the lemurs at Dudley zoo as part of your research?

Totally agreed with you Tzvi. It's just such a different world now, and we're all still figuring it out.

Even before the pandemic, I would see a lot of people feeling lonely and isolated, especially here in Austin where a lot of folks were working from home even before covid. I think the pandemic just accelerated the issue.

Gentle lemurs are cathemeral (they are active day and night) and the only
lemur species living above water in bamboo and papyrus reed beds. They are also
known locally as ‘bandro’; the bandro is culturally sacred to Madagascar’s
Sihanaka tribe. Oh, and surprisingly females are dominant over males and can be
quite aggressive!
Regarding the future of UK academia, there are concerns due to the uncertainty
about accessing to EU research funds and network of colleagues, but here at
Wolverhampton we are doing well and optimistic about the future!

I think loneliness plays a big part in the reason people come to see me for counseling. While I can't speak to how it might have been different before the pandemic, I hadn't started practicing as a psychotherapist yet--maybe Adam could speak more to this point. But, at least right now it feels like many of the clients that I see list loneliness as a major contributing factor to their mental health issues. Many people report feeling a lack of camaraderie and sense of purpose that they had when they were going in person to their offices or social events, that now is severely lacking. It seems that many people are having to adjust to the new reality that the pandemic has created and it isn't always a smooth transition.

Second to lemurs, what primate would you most like to work with?

Also, what are your thoughts on the use of primatology to better understand aspects of human psychology?

Can you talk more about the non-invasive data collection methods you use (or perhaps which invasive methods you have avoided using)? What made you decide to restrict your methods in this way? I'm always curious about the potential trade-off between getting more data to potentially help the species vs causing distress or damage to individuals.

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How much is loneliness at the heart of what you are seeing with your patients?

How much of the Gentle Lemur's habitat remain untouched?

Odour is linked directly to physiological condition and is therefore
expected to provide accurate information about sex hormone levels. Hence,
chemical signals will inform other group members about the reproductive status
of female lemurs.
I studied scent-marking and sexual behaviours in captive lemurs and I
collected vaginal odour samples over the breeding period, as I would have done
in the wild. I also analysed the odour compounds and resynthesized the female fertile
mixture in our lab at Wolverhampton. I am now using this mixture to trigger
male mating behaviour in lemur pairs which have been struggling with
reproduction across European zoos.
In captivity logistics and practicalities of the data collection are a lot
easier! Since captivity is a controlled environment (i.e. diet, enclosure, daily
routine) we recognize that our experimental set-up may provide a slightly different
outcome than would have been in the wild. However, our aim is to improve
captive breeding.

To what extent does your work ensure there is adequate habitat to return them to (ie do you ensure you don’t bread animals that will have to stay in captivity because there isn’t a habitat to release them into (that is t under threat, or has an existing population that could get displaced etc)? Also are there any restriction or protections to ensure they don’t end up in zoos, safari parks etc?

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Do you see any positive steps towards lemurs and the people of Madagascar living side by side? The poverty there must make the demand for land great. Are there ways for people to make a living while lemurs live in the same are? Or do lemurs need habitat that is has no human land use ?

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What's your favourite thing about gentle lemurs? :)

Many thanks! My research project
aims to improve captive breeding success. Hopefully, some of these individuals
may be reintroduced into their habitat in the future. At the moment, other colleagues are working on the safeguard of
the gentle lemurs’ environment in Madagascar, as it is very restricted and
threatened by habitat destruction due to reed beds being burned and the lake
drained for rice irrigation. Durrell Wildlife Conservation
Trust – Jersey Zoo is coordinating the international efforts for the
conservation of this species.

How many zoos/facilities around the world are working with this species? Since this species has such a specific environmental need, and their habitat is being destroyed for rice fields, where might reintroduction occur, if not in their native habitat?

You mention reintroducing the species to the natural environment and how their habitat is restricted to a part of Madagascar - are there any other habitats that are similar in which they could potentially thrive?

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What is something surprising about lemurs the general public might not know?

Also, where do you see the future of academia in the UK going?

How do chemical signals affect breeding behavior? Are you mimicking something that the captive animals cannot do that they normally do in the wild?

Hi! They are called gentle lemurs as they look like fluffy
teddy bears! They are also called Alaotran bamboo lemurs as their habitat is
restricted to the wetlands surrounding Lac Alaotra, Madagascar, and they eat a variety
of marsh vegetation, with papyrus reeds and bamboo making up a large proportion
of their diet.
However, they leave in small groups and usually are not
aggressive each other (but hostile behaviours can occur during the breeding
season).