Citation. Chivers, D. J. 1986. Current issues and new approaches in primate ecology and conservation. Pages 3-17 in J. G. Else and P. C. Lee, editors. Primate Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press.   [1265  CC]

Introduction. Primate ecology originated more than 50 years ago from the studies of Carpenter (1934, 1940) on howler monkeys and gibbons, but it has only really developed in the last 20 years following the 1960's boom in primate field studies (DeVore, 1965; Altmann, 1967; Jay, 1968). Attention was focused on the ecological aspects of primate behaviour by the work of Crook & Gartlan (1966) and Eisenber, Muckenhirn & Rudran (1972), when it became apparent that social behaviour was influenced by habitat, producing differences even between populations of the same species. this has led to a dichotomy in primate field studies, and in related captive and laboratory studies.

Keywords. primates, primate ecology, primate conservation