Thad Q. Bartlett
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Washington University, 1999
Research
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Washington University, 1999
Research
What drew me to the field of anthropology initially was an interest in the evolution of human behavior, specifically the role of natural selection in shaping the behavior of modern humans. During the course of my education my interest shifted to the behavior of living non-human primates, but what has remained constant is an overarching interest in Darwinian evolution as it relates to social behavior. I continue to follow developments in human behavioral ecology, however, the bulk of my research activity concerns behavioral adaptations of non-human primates.
Primate behavioral ecology focuses on how individuals adapt to constraints imposed by physical and social environments. To be successful in an evolutionary sense, animals have to cope, minimally, with three problems: finding food, avoiding predators, and finding reproductive partners. Solutions to these problems will differ under differing ecological conditions. One goal of primatology is to document patterns of response across species in order to better understand the principles that guide primate evolution. Under the umbrella of primate behavioral ecology I have actively engaged two theoretical issues, (1) the evolution of primate social organization, particularly monogamy, and (2) the evolutionary significance of infanticide by adult males. More recently I have started collaborating with Dr. Peter Nathanielsz and his colleagues at the U.T. Health Sciences Center on a project exploring the behavioral and cognitive outcomes of nutritional stress.
Teaching
I have taught broadly in Anthropology, including cultural anthropology and archaeology. I currently teach undergraduate and graduate courses in human origins, human nature, and primate behavior and ecology.
Representative Publications
2009 - Bartlett, Thad Q. The Gibbons of Khao Yai: Seasonal Variation in Behavior and Ecology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
In press - Bartlett, Thad Q. Seasonal Home Range Use and Defendability in White-Handed Gibbons (Hylobates lar) in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. In The Gibbons: New Perspectives on Small Ape Socioecology and Population Biology. Edited by Lappan, S. M., Whittaker, D. and Geissmann, T. Berlin: Springer.
2007 - Bartlett, Thad Q. "The Hylobatidae: Small apes of Asia." In Primates in Perspective. Edited by CJ Campbell, A Fuentes, KC MacKinnon, M Panger and SK Bearder. Pp. 274-289. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2003 - Bartlett, Thad Q. "Intragroup and Intergroup Social Interactions in Hylobates lar." International Journal of Primatology 24(2): 239-259.
