Gunst-Leca, Noelle

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Psychology Department

Phone
(403) 329-2682
Email
noelle.gunstleca@uleth.ca

Psychology Department

Phone
(403) 329-2682
Lab

About Me

After a M.Sc. in Ecophysiology and Ethology (2002), I received a Ph.D. in Ecology (2008) from the University of Georgia (USA) under the supervision of Dr. Dorothy Fragaszy. During my Ph.D., I studied the development of foraging competence in the wild brown capuchin monkeys of Raleighvallen Nature Reserve, Suriname. From 2011 to 2015, I did a post-doctorate at the University of Lethbridge (Canada) under the supervision of Dr. Paul Vasey, during which I studied the development of sexual behaviors in Japanese macaques.

Since 1996, I have been working in collaboration with Dr. Jean-Baptiste Leca on several research projects (group movement in white-faced capuchins, fur rubbing in white-faced and brown capuchins, development of extractive foraging in brown capuchins, stone handling and fish eating in Japanese macaques, as well as stone handling, eye covering play, and robbing/bartering practice in Balinese long-tailed macaques), and conservation projects (population density of ebony leaf-eating monkeys and mona monkeys).

Since September 2015, I have been studying female-male mounting, monkey-deer mounting, and all-male groups in Japanese macaques, as well as the development of extractive foraging in Balinese long-tailed macaques.

I am also the Principal Investigator of a project on the sustainable wildlife-human coexistence on the island of Grenada (West Indies), with an emphasis on the community-based conservation of the introduced mona monkeys. This project is funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2019-2021).

Research Interests

Sexual behaviour and social dynamics in all-male groups of Japanese macaques.

Development and mechanisms underlying the object/food bartering practice and extractive foraging in Balinese long-tailed macaques.

Towards sustainable human-wildlife coexistence on the island of Grenada: Cost/benefit analysis and community-based conservation of the non-native mona monkeys.