Colin A Chapman
The George Washington University, Biological Anthropology, Faculty Member
- McGill University, Anthropology, Faculty Memberadd
- Dr. Colin Chapman received his joint Ph.D. in the Departments of Anthropology and Zoology at the University of Alber... moreDr. Colin Chapman received his joint Ph.D. in the Departments of Anthropology and Zoology at the University of Alberta. He spent 2 years at McGill and 3 years at Harvard University doing post-doctoral research. Since 1990 he has served as an Honourary lecturer in the Department of Zoology at Makerere University Uganda; and, since 1995, he has been an associate scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society. Colin also served as a faculty member in Zoology at the University of Florida for 11 years, and returned to McGill in 2004 to take up a professorship in the Department of Anthropology and McGill School of Environment, where he holds a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 position in Primate Ecology and Conservation, is a Killam Research Fellow, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has conducted research in Kibale National Park in Uganda for 26+ years and is interested in the roles of disease, nutrition, and stress in determining primate abundance and how to best to forge a harmony between the needs of local people and conservation.edit
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With the continual refinement and development of new molecular approaches, the last few years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of parasitological studies using genetics to answer ecological questions. Particularly, the... more
With the continual refinement and development of new molecular approaches, the last few years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of parasitological studies using genetics to answer ecological questions. Particularly, the advent of full genome sequencing holds promise to "decode all life", offering new potential to not only understand, but cure diseases. With the over-abundance of information and the comparable rapidity that these approaches can provide data, ecologists must be more careful than ever to select tools that suit their objectives and provide the resolution to their data that best fits their question, not simply the most attractive option. In this vein, Weinberg (2010) acknowledges that the molecular revolution has allowed a new mentality of “discover now and explain later” to invade research, and this has placed hypothesis-driven research under threat. However, regardless of potential setbacks that molecular approaches have introduced into basic r...
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The white-tailed deer is the most widely hunted species in the tropical areas of Mexico. However, the information about how the environmental conditions and the physiological status of individuals influenced the movement of this species... more
The white-tailed deer is the most widely hunted species in the tropical areas of Mexico. However, the information about how the environmental conditions and the physiological status of individuals influenced the movement of this species is practically unknown, even this will help to understand how this species could be affected by the changes that are already occurring in these areas. This study describes the daily movements of five female white-tailed deer, marked with radio satellite collars, and followed for 1 year in a tropical lowland area of Mexico. We compared the daily traveled distances per deer during the year and according to the environmental temperature and reproductive phenology of the individuals. We found that the average daily distance traveled during the year was 1044.06 m (SD ± 501.00 m), with the longest daily movements occurring during the dry season and shorter movements during the wet season. Temperature showed no influence on daily movements, but it is likely that the fawning season and food shortages would during the dry season influence the longest daily movements of the deer. On the other side, the reduced daily traveled distances during the wet season indicate that the flooding season affected the movement of the deer. The continuation of studies on the movement ecology of the species would help us to clarify how this species will adapt to the climate change scenarios in the tropical lowlands of Mexico, where longer flooding seasons with contrasting extreme drought are expected.
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World‐wide declines in arthropod abundance and diversity are a major concern, particularly given their importance in ecosystem functioning. Yet, data documenting long‐term trends are rare from the tropics, particularly the Afrotropics.... more
World‐wide declines in arthropod abundance and diversity are a major concern, particularly given their importance in ecosystem functioning. Yet, data documenting long‐term trends are rare from the tropics, particularly the Afrotropics. Here we evaluate changes in the arthropod communities in Kibale National Park, Uganda across almost four decades. Systematic sweep‐net sampling was conducted in two forested sections of the park that had been logged and in one old‐growth forest area over 12 consecutive months in 1983/1984 and 2020/2021. This data was augmented with intermittent samples taken in 1986 and 1995. Arthropod abundance declined in all areas, but only significantly so in the moderately logged forestry compartment (41%). Permutational multivariate analysis of variance indicated that community compositions of arthropods differed between the censuses. Understanding the drivers of changes in the arthropod communities is difficult as the system is complex and dynamic. We document ...
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The scientific discipline of “Movement Ecology” (Nathan et al. 2008) has played an important role in advancing our understanding of almost every ecological and evolutionary process, from nutrient cycling, to habitat selection, to... more
The scientific discipline of “Movement Ecology” (Nathan et al. 2008) has played an important role in advancing our understanding of almost every ecological and evolutionary process, from nutrient cycling, to habitat selection, to population dynamics and community ecology. Interestingly, it has been almost a quarter of a century ago since Rodgers and Anson (1994) stated that GPS-based animal-location systems would become the standard for habitat selection studies. They were right! The data made available from GPS telemetry (i.e., sequence of GPS locations) quickly boosted the field of “Movement Ecology” (Nathan et al. 2008), and this field was also greatly advanced when the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology developed a free online database, Movebank (movebank.org), that allowed movement data from many, many species to be freely accessed and analysed (millions and millions of travel routes). Further advancements became possible with the development and use of new analytical tools to understand the rules used by the study animals to move (Ropert-Coudert and Wilson 2005; Sengupta et al. 2018).
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Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long‐lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have... more
Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long‐lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time‐series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide. These observations consist of 5971 population‐level time‐series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time‐series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (≥20 years of observations). For a subset of well‐studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time‐series across geographical and climatic gradients. Here...
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Volcanic crater lakes are widely disrributed throughout the tropics. Although early limnological expeditions to East Africa focused on large spectacular lakes, the SUNDA expedition of 1928-29 paid particular attention to crater lakes... more
Volcanic crater lakes are widely disrributed throughout the tropics. Although early limnological expeditions to East Africa focused on large spectacular lakes, the SUNDA expedition of 1928-29 paid particular attention to crater lakes throughout Indonesia (RUTINER 1931, CRISMAN & STREEVER 1996). A modest resurvey of the Indonesian crater lakes has been conducted (GREEN et al. 1996). In spite of early surveys (JuDAY 1915, DEEVEY 1957), interest in Central American crater lakes has lagged umil recently (BARLOW et al. 1976, }IMENEZ & SPRINGER 1994, UMANA &J!MENEZ 1995). Our understanding of crater lakes in Ghana (WHYTE 1975) and Cameroon (.Kl.ING 1988) in West Africa and Ethiopia (Wooo er al. 1984, GREEN 1986, ZrNABU 1994) and Kenya (MELACK 1996) in East Africa is slowly developing. The earliest investigations on crater lakes in Uganda were by BEADLE (1932, 1963, 1966). La t er, MELACK (1978) surveyed the fo ur geographic dusters of crater lakes in western Uganda and divided rhe 89 lake...
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ABSTRACT Research is an interconnected global endeavor. Networks of research collaborations are often using Social Networks Analysis. Its variant Spatial Social Networks allowing explicit embedding of spatial information in the network.... more
ABSTRACT Research is an interconnected global endeavor. Networks of research collaborations are often using Social Networks Analysis. Its variant Spatial Social Networks allowing explicit embedding of spatial information in the network. Variations in incorporating spatial information results in multiple conceptualizations of networks, enabling exploration of a variety of questions regarding collaborations. To elucidate this approach the National Geographic Society grants database (1890–2016) is utilized to create three different networks that embed spatial information in distinct ways. Each network highlights a different aspect of connectivity latent in the dataset and along with the spatial information, emphasizes international and regional trends of collaborations. The networks explicate the international nature of collaborative research by virtue of people collaborating explicitly, or by working in the same places. It also highlights the multidisciplinary nature of research in various countries, and how it can be useful to ideate about new projects. Additionally, the network approach highlights the dominance of global north in conducting fieldwork-based research across the world, mostly through collaborations. The abstraction afforded by social network models requires further deliberation on the way spatial relationships can be captured differently using the node-edge structure and how these alternate networks compare to traditional networks in GIScience.
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Research is a highly competitive profession where evaluation plays a central role; journals are ranked and individuals are evaluated based on their publication number, the number of times they are cited and theirh-index. Yet such... more
Research is a highly competitive profession where evaluation plays a central role; journals are ranked and individuals are evaluated based on their publication number, the number of times they are cited and theirh-index. Yet such evaluations are often done in inappropriate ways that are damaging to individual careers, particularly for young scholars, and to the profession. Furthermore, as with all indices, people can play games to better their scores. This has resulted in the incentive structure of science increasingly mimicking economic principles, but rather than a monetary gain, the incentive is a higher score. To ensure a diversity of cultural perspectives and individual experiences, we gathered a team of academics in the fields of ecology and evolution from around the world and at different career stages. We first examine how authorship,h-index of individuals and journal impact factors are being used and abused. Second, we speculate on the consequences of the continued use of t...
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Tropical deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate. The loss of these forests contributes significantly to total global carbon dioxide emissions and accelerating rates of climate change; moreover, many deforested lands lose fertility... more
Tropical deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate. The loss of these forests contributes significantly to total global carbon dioxide emissions and accelerating rates of climate change; moreover, many deforested lands lose fertility and are abandoned. Demands to protect biodiversity and reverse climate change call for efforts to reforest such lands, and one method is through fire control, as fire suppresses tree regeneration. Unfortunately, the success of fire control is often not known for tropical regions because research efforts must span decades. We compared above ground biomass in two plots of regenerating forest that were protected from fire for 12 and 32 years in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Tree biomass of the plots was substantial, and while the biomass of the 12- and 32-year plots did not differ significantly, the 12-year plot had a higher biomass in the small diameter classes in comparison to the 32-year plot. Twenty-four tree species were growing in 12-year plot, ...
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Key Messages This paper explores whether traditional crisis mapping systems can be used to tackle the perennial livelihood problem of elephant raiding around Kibale National Park, Uganda. The goal of the system described in this paper is... more
Key Messages This paper explores whether traditional crisis mapping systems can be used to tackle the perennial livelihood problem of elephant raiding around Kibale National Park, Uganda. The goal of the system described in this paper is to streamline the process of reporting elephant raiding to forest officials so that park services can be effectively deployed. The challenges and considerations of deploying such a system in an environment where ICT resources are sparse are described.
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<p>Habitat characteristics, sample size, average daily energy and protein intakes, and ratio of available protein to non-protein energy (fat, carbohydrate and NDF) for five sifaka groups at Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar.</p
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While anthropogenic pollutants are known to be a threat to primates, our understanding of exposure to pollutants in situ and their sub-lethal effects is still limited. We used non-invasive biomonitoring to examine associations between... more
While anthropogenic pollutants are known to be a threat to primates, our understanding of exposure to pollutants in situ and their sub-lethal effects is still limited. We used non-invasive biomonitoring to examine associations between faecal concentrations of 97 chemical pollutants and faecal hormone metabolites of cortisol and oestradiol in four primate species inhabiting Kibale National Park, Uganda (chimpanzees— Pan troglodytes , olive baboons— Papio anubis , red colobus— Piliocolobus tephrosceles and red-tailed monkeys— Cercopithecus ascanius ). Across all species ( n = 71 samples), results demonstrated positive associations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) ( β = 0.143, p = 0.020) and organophosphate esters ( β = 0.112, p = 0.003) with cortisol in adult females. Additionally, we observed positive associations of OCPs ( β = 0.192, p = 0.013) and brominated flame retardants ( β = 0.176, p = 0.004) with cortisol in juveniles. Results suggest that cumulative pesticides and flame ...
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Many of the world’s most biodiverse regions are found in the poorest and second most populous continent of Africa; a continent facing exceptional challenges. Africa is projected to quadruple its population by 2100 and experience... more
Many of the world’s most biodiverse regions are found in the poorest and second most populous continent of Africa; a continent facing exceptional challenges. Africa is projected to quadruple its population by 2100 and experience increasingly severe climate change and environmental conflict—all of which will ravage biodiversity. Here we assess conservation threats facing Africa and consider how these threats will be affected by human population growth, economic expansion, and climate change. We then evaluate the current capacity and infrastructure available to conserve the continent’s biodiversity. We consider four key questions essential for the future of African conservation: (1) how to build societal support for conservation efforts within Africa; (2) how to build Africa’s education, research, and management capacity; (3) how to finance conservation efforts; and (4) is conservation through development the appropriate approach for Africa? While the challenges are great, ways forwar...
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Invasive plants adversely affect native communities by altering ecosystem function and disrupting natural regeneration. We investigate the effect of invasive Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) on forest regeneration in Kibale National Park,... more
Invasive plants adversely affect native communities by altering ecosystem function and disrupting natural regeneration. We investigate the effect of invasive Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) on forest regeneration in Kibale National Park, Uganda. We appraise the efficacy of cutting and uprooting Lantana for promoting native tree recruitment. Sample plots comprised three types: (i) currently invaded by Lantana; (ii) cleared of Lantana and now managed; and (iii) forest reference plots uninvaded by Lantana. Tree species numbering 51, 19 shrubs, and 17 herb species were identified. Lantana reduced tree, shrub, and herb cover and diversity, and suppressed tree regeneration. The short‐term management of Lantana did not promote tree establishment. The tree community in cleared areas was not converging on uninvaded adjacent forest. Lantana is known to allelopathically suppress tree seedling establishment, but even at sites cleared of Lantana, tree species recruitment was poor. While insuffic...
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In Africa, most protected forests are in densely human‐dominated landscapes where human–wildlife conflict is intense. We documented farmer perceptions and responses to crop‐raiding wildlife from Kibale National Park, Uganda. Crop raiding... more
In Africa, most protected forests are in densely human‐dominated landscapes where human–wildlife conflict is intense. We documented farmer perceptions and responses to crop‐raiding wildlife from Kibale National Park, Uganda. Crop raiding was mostly (95%) by baboons (Papio anubis) and elephants (Loxodonta africana). While the financial loss caused by baboons and elephants did not differ, elephants were perceived as more damaging. Guarding and trenches were perceived as the most effective deterrent strategies for baboons and elephants, respectively. Distance from the park boundary and household income were significantly associated with a greater likelihood of crop raiding. Distance from the park, household head age and the species that raided crops, influenced whether a household applied one or more deterrent strategies. Households headed by women or older adults were most vulnerable, experiencing greater losses to raiding. Patterns of human–wildlife conflict around Kibale forest are ...
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Flies form high-density associations with human settlements and groups of nonhuman primates and are implicated in transmitting pathogens. We investigate the movement of nonhuman primate-associated flies across landscapes surrounding... more
Flies form high-density associations with human settlements and groups of nonhuman primates and are implicated in transmitting pathogens. We investigate the movement of nonhuman primate-associated flies across landscapes surrounding Kibale National Park, Uganda, using a mark–recapture experiment. Flies were marked in nine nonhuman primate groups at the forest edge ($$\overline{x}$$ x ¯ = 929 flies per group), and we then attempted to recapture them in more anthropized areas (50 m, 200 m and 500 m from where marked; 2–21 days after marking). Flies marked in nonhuman primate groups were recaptured in human areas (19/28,615 recaptured). Metabarcoding of the flies in nonhuman primate groups revealed the DNA of multiple eukaryotic primate parasites. Taken together, these results demonstrate the potential of flies to serve as vectors between nonhuman primates, livestock and humans at this biodiverse interface.
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Flies are implicated in carrying and mechanically transmitting many primate pathogens. We investigated how fly associations vary across six monkey species (Cercopithecus ascanius, Cercopithecus mitis, Colobus guereza, Lophocebus albigena,... more
Flies are implicated in carrying and mechanically transmitting many primate pathogens. We investigated how fly associations vary across six monkey species (Cercopithecus ascanius, Cercopithecus mitis, Colobus guereza, Lophocebus albigena, Papio anubis, and Piliocolobus tephrosceles) and whether monkey group size impacts fly densities. Fly densities were generally higher inside groups than outside them, and considering data from these primate species together revealed that larger groups harbored more flies. Within species, this pattern was strongest for colobine monkeys, and we speculate this might be due to their smaller home ranges, suggesting that movement patterns may influence fly–primate associations. Fly associations increase with group sizes and may thus represent a cost to sociality.
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Parks are essential for protecting biodiversity and finding ways to improve park effectiveness is an important topic. We contributed to this debate by examining spatial and temporal changes in illegal activities in Kibale National Park,... more
Parks are essential for protecting biodiversity and finding ways to improve park effectiveness is an important topic. We contributed to this debate by examining spatial and temporal changes in illegal activities in Kibale National Park, Uganda between 2006 and 2016 and used existing data to evaluate how the changes were correlated with the living conditions of people in neighboring communities, as well as patrolling effort. We explore the effectiveness of conservation strategies implemented in Kibale, by quantifying changes in the abundance of nine animal species over two to five decades. While uncertainty in such animal survey data are inherently large and it is hard to generalize across a 795‐km2 area that encompasses diverse habitat types, data suggest an increase in animal abundance in the National Park. An increase in patrolling effort by park guards over the decade was correlated with a decline in the number of traps and snares found, which suggests patrolling helped limit res...
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Twenty years ago, we published an assessment of the threats facing primates and with the passing of two decades, we re‐evaluate identified threats, consider emerging pressures, identify exciting new avenues of research, and tackle how to... more
Twenty years ago, we published an assessment of the threats facing primates and with the passing of two decades, we re‐evaluate identified threats, consider emerging pressures, identify exciting new avenues of research, and tackle how to change the system to rapidly advance primate and primate habitat conservation. Habitat destruction and hunting have increased, the danger of looming climate change is clearer, and there are emerging threats such as the sublethal effects of microplastics and pesticides. Despite these negative developments, protected areas are increasing, exciting new tools are now available, and the number of studies has grown exponentially. Many of the changes that need to occur to make rapid progress in primate conservation are in our purview to modify. We identify several dimensions indicating the time is right to make large advances; however, the question that remains is do we have the will to prevent widespread primate annihilation and extinction?
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The availability and spatial distribution of food resources affect animal behavior and survival. Black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) have a foraging strategy to balance their nutrient intake that involves mixing their consumption of... more
The availability and spatial distribution of food resources affect animal behavior and survival. Black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) have a foraging strategy to balance their nutrient intake that involves mixing their consumption of leaves and fruits. The spatial aggregation of food items should impact this strategy, but how it does so is largely unknown. We quantified how leaf and fruit intake combined (here termed food set selection) was spatially aggregated in patches and how food aggregation varied across seasons. Using variograms we estimated patch diameter and with Generalized Least Square models determined the effect of food spatial aggregation on food selection. Only fruits were structured in patches in the season of highest availability (dry-season). The patches of food set selection had a diameter between 6.9 and 14 m and were explained by those of mature fruit availability which were between 18 and 19 m in diameter. Our results suggest that the spatial pattern of food s...
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Megaherbivores play a central role in the evolution and functioning of ecosystems. In tropical forests elephant species are some of the few remaining megaherbivores. Through elephant foraging, nutrients that would be locked in leaves and... more
Megaherbivores play a central role in the evolution and functioning of ecosystems. In tropical forests elephant species are some of the few remaining megaherbivores. Through elephant foraging, nutrients that would be locked in leaves and stems, taking months or years to decay, are quickly liberated for use. In 10 experimental sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we set up 10 pairs of plots (4 × 4 m), each pair involved one treatment, elephant dung addition, and one control. After 1 y, we quantified growth (height and leaf number) and survival of young light-demanding (12) and shade-tolerant (19) plant species (439 stems in total). In general, the addition of elephant dung did not increase seedling growth, and it only increased the number of leaves in shade-tolerant plants with a large initial number of leaves. Researchers have speculated that the loss of elephants would shift the composition of African forests to slow-growing tree species. However, this is not supported by our fin...
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The adaptive significance of fruit colour has been investigated for over a century. While colour can fulfil various functions, the most commonly tested hypothesis is that it has evolved to increase fruit visual conspicuousness and thus... more
The adaptive significance of fruit colour has been investigated for over a century. While colour can fulfil various functions, the most commonly tested hypothesis is that it has evolved to increase fruit visual conspicuousness and thus promote detection and consumption by seed dispersing animals. However, fruit colour is a complex trait which is subjected to various constraints and selection pressures. As a result, the effect of animal selection on fruit colour are often difficult to identify, and several studies have failed to detect it. Here, we employ an integrative approach to examine what drives variation in fruit colour. We quantified the colour of ripe fruit and mature leaves of 97 tropical plant species from three study sites in Madagascar and Uganda. We used phylogenetically controlled models to estimate the roles of phylogeny, abiotic factors, and dispersal mode on fruit colour variation. Our results show that, independent of phylogeny and leaf coloration, mammal dispersed...