Karin L. Enstam
Assistant Professor of Anthropology & Adjunct Faculty in Biology
Ph.D. University of California (Davis), 2002
Voicemail: (707) 664-2944
Email: karin.enstam@sonoma.edu
Office: Stevenson 2054H
Webpage
Research Interests:
Primate behavioral ecology, primate anti-predator behavior, evolution of primate social systems, predator-prey interactions, polyspecific associatisons, physical anthropology.
Research Program:
Currently, my research focuses on the relationship between habitat structure and the anti-predator behavior of patas (Erythrocebus patas) and vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops) monkeys in Laikipia, Kenya. I am interested in the strategies vervets and patas employ to escape from predators such as leopards, eagles and snakes, and how these strategies change depending on the structure of the immediate environment (e.g., tree height, canopy cover, grass density). As part of my research, I use GPS coordinates and GIS maps to examine how habitat structure and predator presence affect the ranging behavior and habitat preference of vervet and patas monkeys. Previous research has focused on sub-specific sociality differences in captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and the social behavior of mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) on the island of Grenada.
Representative Publications:
Enstam, K.L. in press. Effects of habitat structure on perceived risk of predation and anti-predator behavior in vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops) and patas (Erythrocebus patas) monkeys. For inclusion in: Primates Anti-Predator Strategies. (S. Gursky and K.A.I. Nekaris, eds.). Springer Science and Business Media, New York. pp. 306-336.
Enstam, K.L. and Isbell, L.A. 2007. The guenons (genus Cercopithecus) and their allies: Behavioral ecology of polyspecific associations. In: Primates in Perspective. (C.J. Campbell, A. Fuentes, K.C. MacKinnon, M.A. Panger, and S.K. Bearder, eds.). Oxford University Press, New York. pp. 252-274.
Enstam, K.L. and Isbell, L.A. 2002. Comparison of responses to alarm calls by patas (Erythrocebus patas) and vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops) monkeys in relation to habitat structure. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 119:3-14.
Enstam, K.L., Isbell, L.A., and de Maar, T.W. 2002. Male demography, female mating behavior, and infanticide in wild patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas). International Journal of Primatology. 23:85-104.
Isbell, L.A. and Enstam, K.L. 2002. Predator (in)sensitive foraging in sympatric female vervets (Cercopithecus aethiops) and patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas): A test of ecological models of group dispersion. In: Eat or Be Eaten: Predator Sensitive Foraging Among Primates. (L.E. Miller, ed.). Cambridge University Press, New York. pp. 154-168.
Course Offerings:
Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Human Fossils and Evolution, Human Development: Sex and the Life Cycle, Forensic Anthropology Methods, Primate Behavior, Methods in Primate Studies.