Steffen Foerster
10/29/2015
EDUCATION
2009
Ph.D. (distinction)
Department of Ecology, Evolution and
Environmental Biology, Columbia University
2005
Certificate
Environmental Policy, Columbia University
2001
M.Sc. (distinction)
Department of Ecology, Carolo Wilhelmina
University of Braunschweig, Germany
APPOINTMENTS
2013 – present
Senior Research Scientist, Jane Goodall Research Institute, Department of
Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC
2011 – 2013
Term Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Barnard College,
Columbia University, New York, NY
2009 – 2011
Post-doctoral Research Associate, Boston College, Office of the Vice Provost
for Graduate Education, Chestnut Hill, MA
2007 – 2009
Geospatial Research Assistant, Center for International Earth Science
Information Network (CIESIN), Earth Institute, Columbia University
2001
Field Coordinator, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig &
University of Bielefeld, Germany; project: “Biodiversity Monitoring Transect
Analysis (BIOTA), Kakamega Forest, Kenya”
1999
Research Assistant, University of Jena, Germany; project: “Reproductive
ecology and behavior of the skua (Stercorarius skua) on Foula Island,
Shetland Archipelago”
1997- 1998
Research Assistant, Federal Institute for Biological Research, Braunschweig,
Germany; project: “Population ecology and dynamics of aphids on
agricultural fields”
GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS
2015
Duke Tropical Conservation Initiative (DTCI) Seed Grant (Senior Personnel):
Modeling chimpanzee habitat quality change in time and space in western Tanzania,
East Africa; $8,000
2015
National Science Foundation, Long Term Research in Environmental Biology
(LTREB) Grant Renewal (Senior Personnel): Female settlement patterns and social
relationships in chimpanzees, a male-philopatric species; $447,939
Steffen Foerster - Senior Research Scientist - Duke University
2014
Wenner-Gren Foundation, Post-Ph.D. Research Grant (PI): Social bonds and the
evolution of primate societies: Insights from female chacma baboons; $16,720
2013
National Science Foundation, Biological Anthropology, Senior Research Grant
(Senior Personnel & Acting PI): Pathways connecting social bonds, stress, and fitness
in primate societies; $180,297
2013
Nacey Maggioncalda Foundation, Research Grant (PI): Social bonding and health in
primate societies; $10,000
2006
Earthwatch Institute Grant (PI): Kenya’s Forest Monkeys; $49,800
2005
National Science Foundation, DDIG (co-PI): Contest competition and its relation to
behavior and stress physiology in wild Cercopithecus mitis; $11,800
2005
American Society of Primatologists, Small Grant: Competitive regimes, social
behavior, and stress physiology in mitis guenons; $1,500
2005
Columbia University, Travel Fellowship; $19,800
2004
Animal Behavior Society, Student Research Grant: Effects of competition on
behavior and stress physiology of Sykes’ guenons; $500
PUBLICATIONS
NB: Name appears as S. Förster before 2003; * indicates student participation
Foerster, S., *Zhong, Y., Pintea, L., Murray, C.M., Wilson, M.L., Mjungu, D. & A.E. Pusey
(accepted): Feeding habitat quality and behavioral tradeoffs in wild chimpanzees: a case for
species distribution models. Behavioral Ecology.
Moeller, A.H., Foerster, S., Wilson, M.L. & H. Ochman (accepted): Social behavior shapes the
chimpanzee microbiome. Science Advances.
Foerster, S., Kithome, K., Cords, M., S.L. Monfort (2015): Social status and helminth infections
in female forest guenons (Cercopithecus mitis). American Journal of Physical Anthropology
158: 55-66.
Foerster, S., *McLellan, K., *Schroepfer-Walker, K., Murray, C., *Krupenye, C., Gilby, I.C., &
A.E. Pusey (2015): Social bonds in the dispersing sex: partner preferences among adult
female chimpanzees. Animal Behaviour 105: 139-152.
Morelli, G., Ivey-Henry, P. & S. Foerster (2014): Relationships and resource uncertainty:
cooperative development of Efe hunter-gatherer infants and toddlers. In: Narvaez, D.,
Valentino, K., Fuentes, A., McKenna, J. & P. Gray (eds.): Ancestral Landscapes in Human
Evolution: Culture, Childrearing and Social Wellbeing. Oxford University Press, New York.
pp. 69-103.
Foerster, S., Cords, M. & S. Monfort (2012): Seasonal energetic stress in a tropical forest
primate: proximate causes and evolutionary implications. PLoS One 7: e50108.
Foerster, S., Wilkie, D., Morelli, G., Demmer, J., Starkey, M., Telfer, P., Steil, M., Lewbel, A.
(2012): Correlates of bushmeat consumption among remote rural households in Gabon,
Central Africa. Conservation Biology 26: 335-344.
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Steffen Foerster - Senior Research Scientist - Duke University
Foerster, S., Cords, M. & S.L. Monfort (2011): Social behavior, foraging strategies and fecal
glucocorticoids in female blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis): Potential fitness benefits of
high rank in a forest guenon. American Journal of Primatology 73: 870-882.
Foerster, S., Wilkie, D., Morelli, G., Demmer, J., Starkey, M., Telfer, P. & M. Steil (2011):
Human livelihoods and protected areas in Gabon: A cross-sectional comparison of welfare
and consumption patterns. Oryx 45: 347-356.
Foerster, S. & S. Monfort (2010): Fecal glucocorticoids as indicators of metabolic stress in wild
female Sykes’ monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis). Hormones and Behavior 58: 685697.
Foerster, S. (2008): Two incidents of venomous snakebite on juvenile blue and Sykes monkeys
(Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni and C. m. albogularis). Primates 49: 300-303.
Foerster, S. & M. Cords (2005): Socialization of infant blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis
stuhlmanni): Allomaternal interactions and sex differences. Behaviour 142: 869-896.
Förster, S. & M. Cords (2002): Development of mother-infant relationships and infant behavior
in wild blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni). In: Glenn, M.E. & M. Cords (eds.).
The Guenons: Diversity and Adaptation in African Monkeys. Plenum-Kluwer. pp. 245-272.
MANUSCRIPTS IN REVIEW OR PREPARATION
Foerster, S., *Schaber, K., Pusey, A.E. & T. Gillespie (in prep.): Chimpanzees with stronger
social bonds have fewer parasites.
Foerster, S., Franz, M., Murray, C.M., Gilby, I.C. *Feldblum, J. & A.E. Pusey (in prep.):
Female chimpanzees queue for social status.
Weiss, A., *Schroepfer-Walker, K., Foerster, S., *Feldblum, J., & A.E. Pusey (in prep.):
Personality is linked to social status acquisition and change in wild chimpanzees.
Foerster, S., *Steiniche, T., Monfort, S.L. & L. Swedell (in prep.): Energy balance across the
estrus cycle and its relation to reproductive function in female chacma baboons.
Foerster, S., *Valdivieso, J., Swedell, L. & A. Weiss (in prep.): Personality variation and health
in free-ranging chacma baboons.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Foerster, S., *Schaber, K.L., Lonsdorf, E.V., Travis, D.A., Pusey, A.E. & T.R. Gillespie (2015):
Sociality and parasite infections in a community of wild chimpanzees. Contributed poster;
Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine, Durham, NC.
Foerster, S., *McLellan, K., *Schroepfer-Walker, K., Murray, C.M., *Krupenye, C., Gilby, I.C.
& A.E. Pusey (2015): Determinants of social preferences among female chimpanzees (Pan
troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Invited poster, Symposium
on Female Bonds; Annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
(AAPA), St. Louis, MO.
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Steffen Foerster - Senior Research Scientist - Duke University
Foerster, S., *McLellan, K., *Schroepfer-Walker, K., Murray, C., *Krupenye, C., Gilby, I. C.,
& A.E. Pusey (2014): Determinants of association partner preferences among unrelated
female chimpanzees. Contributed poster; 1st Annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Bioanthropology Interest Group, Richmond, VA.
Foerster, S., *Ali, N. & S. Monfort (2014): Social network structure in female forest guenons
(Cercopithecus mitis): Ecological and physiological correlates. Contributed talk; Annual
meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA), Calgary,
Canada.
Foerster, S. & *N. Ali (2013): Food availability and social network structure in female blue and
Sykes’ monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis). Contributed talk; 2nd CUNY Animal Behavior
Conference, New York, NY.
Foerster, S., Kithome, K., Cords, M. & S. Monfort (2012): Female social status and its
relationship to nematode infections in Cercopithecus mitis. Contributed talk; 24th Congress
of the International Primatological Society (IPS), Cancun, Mexico.
Foerster, S., Cords, M. & S. Monfort (2011): Energetic stress in a tropical forest guenon: causes
and implications for female reproduction. Contributed poster; Joint meeting of the
International Ethological Conference (IEC) and the Animal Behavior Society (ABS),
Bloomington, IN.
Foerster, S., Cords, M. & S. Monfort (2010): Metabolic but not psychological stressors
modulate temporal and inter-individual variation in fecal glucocorticoid levels among wild
female Cercopithecus mitis in two Kenyan populations. Contributed talk; Annual meeting of
the American Society of Primatologists (ASP), Louisville, KY.
Foerster, S. & S. Monfort (2008): Determinants of seasonal changes in fecal glucocorticoid
levels in Sykes’ monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis). Contributed poster; 22nd
Congress of the International Primatological Society (IPS), Edinburgh, UK.
Foerster, S. & M. Cords (2003): Arboreality and infant behavioral development: new data from
wild blue monkeys. Contributed talk; Annual meeting of the American Association of
Physical Anthropologists (AAPA), Tempe, AZ.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2012 – 2013
Barnard College, Department of Biology
Animal Behavior (Lecture; 1 semester)
Vertebrate Biology (Lecture; 1 semester)
Stress in primate societies (Senior Seminar; 2 semesters)
Statistics and Research Design (Lecture/Lab; 2 semesters)
Ecology (Lecture/Lab; 2 semesters)
Senior Thesis Research (Seminar; 2 semesters)
2009 – 2013
Columbia University, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Env. Biology
Animal Behavior through Fieldwork (Lecture/Lab; 5 semesters)
2009
Lehman College, CUNY, Department of Anthropology
Human Biological Variation (Lecture/Lab; 2 semesters)
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Steffen Foerster - Senior Research Scientist - Duke University
2008 – 2009
Baruch College, CUNY, Department of Natural Sciences
Introduction to Ecology (Lab; 4 semesters)
STUDENT ADVISING
Undergraduate
2015/16
Duke University
2014/15
Duke University
2013/14
Duke University
2012/13
2011/12
Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College
Laura Lewis (summer research)
Jonathan Valdivieso (independent research)
Kelsey Sumner (thesis committee)
Chandra Swanson (thesis research)
Anna Willborough (thesis research)
Patsy DeLacey (thesis committee)
Ying Zhong (independent research)
Jordan Lucore (independent research)
Karen McLellan (thesis research)
Ying Zhong (independent research)
Cassandra Pallei (independent research)
Ilana Zucker-Scharff (thesis research)
Nadya Ali (thesis research)
Sofia Prado-Irwin (independent research)
Ashley Walker (independent research)
Graduate
2011/12
2006-2008
Columbia University
Kenyatta University
Annie-Margaret Dean (thesis co-advisor)
Kiio Kithome (M.Sc. thesis research)
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Editorial and peer-review
Editorial board
Journal of Integrative Zoology (2015 – 2018)
Grants
L.S.B. Leakey Foundation; Primate Conservation
Journals
American Journal of Primatology; Animal Behaviour; Behaviour; Biological
Conservation; Canadian Journal of Zoology; Ecology of Food and Nutrition
Hormones and Behavior; Integrative Zoology; International Journal of
Primatology; Journal of Ethology; Journal of Integrative Zoology; Oryx;
PLoS One; Scientific Reports
Departmental service
2012
2011
CV
Tenure-track faculty search, Evolutionary Genetics, Barnard College
Tenure-track faculty search, Cell Biology, Barnard College
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Steffen Foerster - Senior Research Scientist - Duke University
Other
2005 – 2009
International representative and webmaster of the Kakamega Environmental
Education Program (KEEP), a Kenyan grassroots organization devoted to
biodiversity conservation in Western Kenya
1995 – 2001
Scientific advisor to the Ministry of Environment and Conservation, Province
of Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Society of Primatologists
International Primatological Society
International Society for Behavioral Ecology
Animal Behavior Society
SKILLS
Field work
Focal animal sampling – Electronic data collection protocols – Fecal and
urine collection and processing – Baboon darting – Vegetation mapping –
Phenology transects – Breeding bird surveys – Small mammal trapping –
Mark recapture studies
Lab work
Hormone extraction from fecal samples – Radio Immunoassays – Enzyme
Immunoassays – Assay validation
GIS
Remote sensing & image classification – Raster & vector processing –
Home range analyses – Network connectivity – Map production
Software: ArcGIS, QGIS, R, Google Earth Engine
Statistics
Maximum Likelihood Fitting – Generalized fixed & mixed-effects models
– Generalized estimating equations – Randomization – Model selection –
Social network analysis – Nonparametric techniques
Software: R, R Studio, SPSS, JMP Pro, Stata
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