Research & Conservation

Dr. Stacey Tecot

Post Doctoral Research Associate

stacey.tecot(at)stonybrook.edu

I am interested in environmental effects upon lemur physiology. The ways in which species distribute energy in response to their environments can tell us how they resolve the competing needs of reproduction and survival. Long-term measures of cortisol, a stress hormone, provide a profile of energy use throughout environmental changes and highlight environmental processes which pose potential threats to energetic maintenance. In combination with detailed phenological and behavioral data we can further assess how species mitigate environmental stress. I am also interested in applying these methods to investigating the effects of habitat disturbance, an increasingly important topic around the world, and particularly Madagascar due to the high species endemism and high rates of deforestation. In collaboration with Dr. Mitch Irwin we will use physiological measures to study the impact of habitat disturbance upon a critically endangered primate, the Diadem Sifaka. As part of a study conducted by Drs. Patricia Wright, Jukka Jernvall and Laurie Godfrey, I have recently begun to study reproductive hormones in lemur species as well. Reproductive hormones can tell us a lot about the reproductive behavior of species which may not be possible to detect otherwise. Studying longevity and somatic senescence in our most primitive primate relatives will also help us understand this process in humans. I have also been involved in measuring androgen levels in Propithecus verreauxi with Dr. Rebecca Lewis as part of a larger project on lemur alternative mating tactics. Finally, I am also interested in cooperative breeding. All Eulemur rubriventer group members, including juvenile males and females, carry infants. In lemurs this behavior has rarely been reported for group members other than fathers. Deeper investigation into this behavior in lemurs, and comparisons between cooperative breeding in lemurs and Callitrichids, is a new and promising avenue of research into the evolution of this behavior.

Education:
- University of Texas at Austin, PhD, 2008 - Seasonality and Predictability: The hormonal and behavioral responses of the red-bellied lemur, Eulemur rubriventer, in Southeastern Madagascar

- University of Texas at Austin, MA, 1999

- University of Miami, BA, 1996

Research Focus:
Physiological correlates of habitat disturbance, seasonality of climate and ecology, and senescence. Currently working with Dr. Jukka Jernvall at Stony Brook University.

Current Position:
Research Postdoctoral Fellow, Stony Brook University

Advisor:
Deborah Overdorff

CV:
Curriculum vitae

Research Sites:
Ranomafana National Park (Talatakely and Vatoharanana), and Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar.

Research Project:
Ecological and behavioral correlates of fecal cortisol in Eulemur rubriventer; Stony Brook ICTE Propithecus and Microcebus project; Physiology and habitat degradation in Propithecus diadema.

Publications
Tecot, S. (2008). "In Reference to Lemurs: A Comprehensive Field Guide and Call to Action on Behalf of the Unique Primates of Madagascar (book review)." American Journal of Primatology. 70:204-206.

Tecot, S. (2008). "Adult responses to seasonality and unpredictability: Fecal cortisol levels in the red-bellied lemur, Eulemur rubriventer." American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 135(S46):205.

Ginther, A. and Tecot, S. Co-chairs. (2008). Cooperative breeding in primates: Expanding our perspectives on taxonomic distribution and mechanisms. International Primatological Society.

Tecot, S. (2007). "Fecal cortisol levels and maintenance behaviors in wild groups of a cooperatively breeding species, the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer)." American Journal of Primatology. 69(1): 127.

Tecot, S. (2007). "Seasonality phenology and feeding by Eulemur rubriventer in two sites in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar." American Journal of Physical Anthropology Suppl. (S44):230.

Ziegler, T.E. and Tecot, S. (2007). "Cooperative breeding in nonhuman primates: A broader approach." American Journal of Primatology. 69(1): 126.

Overdorff, D.J. and Tecot, S. (2006). "Social Pair-bonding and resource defense in wild red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer)." In: Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation. Ed. Gould, L. and Sauther, M. L. Springer: New York. 235-245.

Tecot, S. and Overdorff, D.J. (2006). "The influence of feeding behavior on reproduction in Eulemur rubriventer in SE Madagascar." American Journal of Physical Anthropology Suppl. 42: 175.

Overdorff D.J. and Tecot S. (2006). 'Resource defense and pair-bonding in red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer) in SE Madagascar." American Journal of Physical Anthropology Suppl. 42: 143.

Tecot, S. (2006). "Activity budget and microhabitat in Eulemur rubriventer." American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 68(1): 111-112.

Tecot, S. and Overdorff DJ. (2005). "Aseasonal births and reproductive patterns in Eulemur rubriventer in southeastern Madagascar." American Journal of Primatology. 66(S1): 111-112.

Tecot, S. (2001). "Field methods for collecting fecal cortisol: A test of four Malagasy primates." American Journal of Primatology. 54(S1): 32-33.

Project Sponsors:
Stony Brook University; Conservation International Primate Action Fund; Primate Conservation, Inc.; University of Texas at Austin; National Science Foundation; American Association of University Women; PEO Foundation; American Society of Primatologists; TPW Foundation.