2024 Florida Primatology Meeting
The Elgin Center is thrilled to announce the
2024 Florida Primate Meeting, a gathering of professionals from various fields who work with or around primates.

This conference aims to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation in primate conservation, husbandry, and research.

Conference Details:
Dates: April 19-20, 2024
Location: Historic Indian River Courthouse,
Vero Beach, Florida
Hosted by: The Elgin Center


Important Dates:
Abstract submission deadline: March 15, 2024
Notification of acceptance: March 22, 2024


Keynote Speaker
Ofir Drori
We are honored to have Ofir Drori as our keynote speaker.

Ofir Drori’s adventure started in the rainforest of central Africa, where he arrived as an adventurer and turned into an activist. He was roaming the continent, trying to make a difference. When he came in contact with the gorillas, he was inspired to write about the extinction of great apes as a journalist. His life changed in 2002, when he met a baby chimpanzee named Kita, that was being held by wildlife traffickers. He managed to save her, and get her trafficker jailed. This was the first ever trafficker to be put into jail in all of central and west Africa.

Having founded the organizations LAGA - The Last Great Ape, Anti Corruption Cameroon, and the EAGLE Network, Ofir has been on the front lines fighting animal trafficking and enforcing wildlife trafficking laws. He has been awarded the World Wildlife Fund Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal, the Interpol Ecomessage Award, The Clark Bavin Enforcement award, the Condé Nast Traveler Environment Award. the Future For Nature Award, and the Shining World Compassion Award. Ofir is the author of The Last Great Ape: A Journey Through Africa and a Fight for the Heart of the Continent.
Schedule
               
Friday, April 19
4:00 - 6:00 pm - Registration
6:00 pm - Welcome
Andrew Halloran

6:00 - 9:30 pm - Opening Reception

7:15 pm - Introduction of Keynote Speaker
     Sian Evans

7:30 pm - Keynote Address
     Ofir Drori

Session 1: Posters
6:00 - 9:30 pm

An assessment of captive adult Ma’s owl monkeys (Aotus nancymaae) responses to different novel sensory enrichment
     Melany Flint, Sian Evans, Roger Bendana, Dylan Vulcain, Maria Lopez, Karla Viera,
     Karen Viera, Juan Pablo Perea-Rodriguez

Changes in Bornean Orangutan Behavior in a Zoo Habitat After a Permanent Group Split
     Hailey R. Eckelman, Paige M. Davenport, Madison J. Enman, Cassidy W. Taylor,
     Sue M. Pasquine, Lauren E. Highfill, Timothy D. Bransford

Non-human primate longevity. Expanding an existing database with the inclusion of contributions from nontraditional captive facilities
     Eliza Jones, Wendy Newton and Sian Evans

Owl monkeys (Aotus nancymaae) detect visual modifications to the facial pelage of their pair mates
     Madeline Sanders, Mia Alikhan, Macy Wilcox, Christy Wolovich

Motor planning in Colombian spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris): A test of the morphological constraint hypothesis
     Christopher Shoukry, Daniel J. Weiss, and Eliza L. Nelson

Variability in the glandular microbiome of captive owl monkeys
     Ambra Fugate, Fallon Guild, Christy Wolovich, and Melanie Langford

Group Training 6.1: Cotton-top tamarins
     Grace Scott

Understanding Aggressive Behaviors in Captive Nonhuman Primates: A Collaborative Research Initiative
    Elizabeth Engle
Saturday, April 20
8:30: Welcome

9:00 - 9:30: Plenary Talk: Immeasurable Losses to Primatology in 2024.
Sian Evans
Session 2: Primate Care & Welfare
9:30 - 11:00

9:30 - 9:45: Welcome to the Bachelor Pad: monitoring the introduction of two blackback western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to an existing group of silverbacks.
     Alex Riley, Austin Leeds

9:45 - 10:00: Individual and Group Welfare Management: Establishing baselines, goals, and best practices.
     David Kleven

10:00 - 10:15: The Dania Beach Vervet Project: The isle of misfit toys.
     Missy Williams

10:15 - 10:30: Fracture Treatment in the Sanctuary Setting: A case study.
     Lisa Lewis

10:30 - 10:45: A Hose by any Other Name: Designing and Constructing Environmental Enrichment for the Primate Exhibits at the Naples Zoo.
     Andrew Zamora

10:45 - 11:00 Break
Session 3: Primate Ecology
11:00 - 12:15


11:00 - 11:15: A field report on the Tonkolili Chimpanzee Project.
     Andrew Halloran, Christina Cloutier-Barbour

11:15 - 11:30:The Impacts of hybridisation on guenon male loud calls in Gombe National Park, Tanzania
     K. Coates and K. M. Detwiler

11:30 - 11:45: Collaborative efforts to conserve red colobus (Piliocolobus badius temminckii) in The Gambia, West Africa
     Michael Mayhew, Christy Wolovich, Lamin Saho, Samsideen Barry, Meta Barry,
     Idrissa Njie, Buba Bah, Abdourahman Sidibeh, Zainab Badjie, Jennifer D. Cramer,
     Joshua Linder

11:45 - 12:00: Using modified 2D photographic images to examine the role of contrasting facial pelage in intraspecific communication in owl monkeys (Aotus nancymaae).
     Mia Alikhan, Madeline Sanders, Macy Wilcox, Christy Wolovich

12:00 - 12:15: Ancient and contemporary hybridization in guenons.
     Kate Detwiler

12:15 - 2:00: Lunch
Session 4: Enrichment Roundtable
2:00 - 3:15


The enrichment roundtable will explore novel enrichments from five different facilities, and an assessment tool that can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of various enrichment items. Each panelist will give a five minute presentation, followed by a roundtable discussion.

Colleen Murphy, Jungle Friends
Dana Vloch, Lion Country Safari
Holly Lickteig, Project Chimps
Ivana Nemcik, Save the Chimps
Darby Proctor, Florida Tech
Andrew Halloran, Elgin Center


3:15 - 3:30 Break
Session 5: Social Housing Roundtable
3:30 - 4:45


The social housing roundtable focuses on methods of offering non-human primates a rich social enrichment according to their species-specific needs. The roundtable features different facilities and an array of species. Each panelist will give a five minute presentation followed by a roundtable discussion.

Missy Williams, Dania Beach Vervet Project
Jennifer Friedman, Save the Chimps
Andrew Zamora, Naples Zoo
Albert Ferraro, Brevard Zoo
Eliza Nelson, Florida International University
Sian Evans, DuMond Conservancy


4:45 - 5:00 Closing Remarks
Don't miss out.
Register Online
We look forward to seeing you there.
Registration &
Abstract Submission
Join us April 19 & 20 in
Vero Beach
Online registration is NOW OPEN.

ALL participants Must RSVP in addition to paying their registration fees.

Registration fees:
$37.50 for students / pre-professional
$75 for faculty / professional


Participants may pay registration fees  via Credit Card (through Stripe) or Venmo.


Professionals - register with a credit card        HERE

Students - register with a credit card
  HERE

You may pay registration fees via Venmo to @Christy-Wolovich

If paying via Venmo, be sure to include the following note:
Florida Primate Meeting registration and include your NAME


Register soon as space is limited!

If you need to pay by check, please contact Andrew Halloran [email protected]
Conference Location
HISTORIC INDIAN RIVER COUNTY COURTHOUSE

2145 14th Avenue
Vero Beach, FL 32960

Where to Stay?

Vero Beach has many hotels in a variety of price ranges.
The Old Courthouse is in downtown Vero Beach (which is about 3 miles from the beach).
 
Suggested options:
 
$ - Howard Johnson’s 1985 90th Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32966
(772) 410-8453
Located on US-1, 1.2 miles from the Old Indian River Courthouse


$$ - Hampton Inn and Suites 611 20th Pl, Vero Beach, FL 32960
(772) 774-4010
Located at the Miracle Mile, 1 mile from the Old Indian River Courthouse


$$ - Ocean Breeze Inn 3384 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach, FL 32963
(772) 231-2300
Located on the beach, 3.5 miles from the Old Indian River Courthouse


$$$ - The Historic Driftwood Inn, 3150 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach, FL 32963
(772) 231-0550
Located on the beach, 3.6 miles from the Old Indian River Courthouse


$$$$ - Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, 9250 Island Grove Terrace, Vero Beach, FL 32963
(772) 234-2000

Full scale Disney Resort with attractions. Located on the beach, 10.5 miles from the Old Indian River Courthouse.

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