12 International Primatological Society July 2014 IPS Bulletin Volume 40 Number 1 President’s Corner IPS Officers [email protected] PRESIDENT Tetsuro Matsuzawa Primate Research Institute Kyoto University Three responsibilities of prima- juncture to reflect on our past and Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, JAPAN [email protected] tologists: Research, Education, plan for the future. The first step, and Public Outreach to this end, was setting up an SECRETARY GENERAL archive of past Officers. I wanted Nancy Caine I hope this finds everyone well. Our California State University San to allow members to see, at a Marcos biennial conference, this year the San Marcos, CA 92096, USA glance, the names and geo- 25th IPS Congress, is now only just [email protected] graphical distribution of those around the corner. It will take place TREASURER, VP FOR formerly holding each IPS Office. in Ha Noi, Vietnam, August 11th - MEMBERSHIP These facts are, in my view, Steve Schapiro 16th, with the IPS General Assembly essential information for IPS UTMDACC on the last day. The IPS Council Dept of Veterinary Sciences members voting to elect future IPS 650 Cool Water Dr. meetings will be held before after Officers. Bastrop, TX 78602, USA the main conference program. [email protected] My second task was to chair Several satellite meetings have also the IPS 2014 Election Committee. VP FOR COMMUNICATIONS been arranged. I encourage all to Claudia Fichtel As you may know, there is an Behavioral Ecology and attend, and look forward to seeing election for half of the IPS officers Sociobiology Unit many of you there. Please join us. German Primate Center once every two years, in the same Kellnerweg 4 I would like to give you a brief year as the IPS Congress. Just 37077 Goettingen, GERMANY overview of my activities carried out [email protected] as IPS President over the past six prior to this year’s election, the IPS Constitution and Bylaws were VP FOR CONSERVATION months. I have performed three Janette Wallis main tasks in this period. The first updated. Following IPS regula- Interdisciplinary Perspectives tions, we asked IPS members to on the Environment (IPE) task was to create a database listing The University of Oklahoma all previous IPS officers. You may nominate candidates to run in the 630 Parrington Oval Monnet Hall, Rm 555 Norman, not realize that we previously election of new IPS officers. My OK 73019-4036, USA lacked an easily accessible record of thanks, once again, to both janettewallis at sbcglobal.net past officers on the IPS website. In nominators and nominees. Voting VP FOR CAPTIVE CARE st order to reconstruct our history, I closed on May 1 and the result Christoph Schwitzer Bristol Conservation and Science reviewed past IPS Bulletins and was announced at the end of the Foundation published Conference Proceedings, month: Nancy Caine as General c/o Bristol Zoo Gardens Clifton, Bristol BS8 3HA, UK and checked with past IPS Secretary, Steve Schapiro as [email protected] Presidents and Officers, with the Treasurer and VP for membership, VP FOR EDUCATION & assistance of the Secretary to the Joanna Setchell as VP for OUTREACH IPS president, Dr. Claire Watson. Research, and Janette Wallis as Elizabeth Lonsdorf Department of Psychology The IPS was founded in 1960. It VP for Conservation. The four Franklin and Marshall College will be our 60th anniversary in 2016. officers, all re-elected, will serve P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604, USA With our society so well- this society over the next four [email protected] established, this seems an ideal years, 2014 - 2018. I would like to VP FOR RESEARCH Joanna Setchell Durham University IPS Website: www.internationalprimatologicalsociety.org Department of Anthropology Dawson Building, South Road Claudia Fichtel, Editor Durham, UK DH1 3LE , UK 12 IPS Bulletin acknowledge the other members of the Election generation to the next. Regarding research and Committee: Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Karen Strier, education, we should not neglect conservation Elisabetta Visalberghi, John Oates, Carolus van and primate welfare issues. I believe strongly that Schaik, and Jorge Martinez Contreras. the study of captive primates should include The Election Committee discussed a number research and efforts towards maximizing animal of important issues that require attention in the welfare, whilst fieldwork should be linked to near future. For example, how best to ensure a research and projects to promote conservation. balanced representation of the geographical range Public engagement involves direct communication of IPS members, whether we should consider with members of the public, to inform them about introducing term limits for IPS Officers and nonhuman-primates, about scientist’s activities, whether or not the exact number of votes for each and to engage their interest and opinions. For candidate should be released following future IPS example, what makes nonhuman primates so elections and, if so, how. fascinating and important, threats to endangered The third task was to chair the 2014 IPS species and raising awareness of welfare issues. Lifetime Achievement Award Committee. Thank Perhaps most important of all, we can explain to you very much to everyone who took the time the public how they can best contribute to help and effort to make a nomination. The Committee protect nonhuman primates. was presented with a huge selection of excellent I want to take this opportunity to share my candidates. I was incredibly touched to know that recent efforts, within my own field of expertise, so many people have dedicated their lives to following the three strands I have outlined above. nonhuman primates: be it through contribution to My scientific research has always involved research, teaching and public engagement, studying chimpanzees in captive settings and in conservation, and/or promoting welfare. It was the field, in parallel. The well-known Ai-Project an extremely difficult task to choose a single began in 1978 and continues today. Field workers awardee from the many highly deserving in Bossou and Nimba, Guinea, this year, nominees. The LAA 2014 will be awarded to confronted a new challenge, the first Ebola Prof. Jeanne Altmann, who has dedicated herself outbreak in West Africa. I took the decision to to the study of baboons. She has published a vast recall all research colleagues and students from number of articles, including the landmark paper, the field. Next, we held a meeting in Japan to in 1974, introducing methods for how best to discuss the best policy to ensure people’s safety in observe and record animal behavior. Jeanne the future and raise awareness among Guinean Altmann has also served as a Vice president of people living near the field site. Having finalized a Conservation for IPS. I acknowledge my fellow plan for implementation, we gradually Lifetime Achievement Award Committee recommenced fieldwork, from June, in close members: Nancy Caine, Elisabetta Visalberghi, collaboration with our Guinean colleagues. Julia Fischer, Claudia Fichtel, John Oates, and Recently, my colleagues and I launched a Augustin Basabose. leading graduate program in ‘Primatology and The term of the IPS president is limited to a Wildlife Science’ (PWS), within Kyoto single term of four years, according to the IPS University, to promote excellence in education. Constitution and Bylaws. My term began in 2012, PWS supports young scholars, with the aim of after the 24th IPS Congress in Cancun, Mexico, creating a new generation of trained professionals and will end in 2016 right after the 26th IPS who will dedicate themselves to promoting Congress in Chicago (August 2016). Almost half conservation and welfare of nonhuman primates, of my term has already passed. I will continue to and public outreach on these issues. Please take a do my utmost to serve this society, in look at the web site: www.wildlife-science.org. collaboration with the IPS Officers and all IPS To help further public outreach, I took on the members. role of director of the Japan Monkey Center It is my opinion that every scientist should (JMC) this year. The JMC was founded in 1956, carry out three major strands of activity: research, the first institution of the early pioneers of education, and public outreach (or public Japanese primatology led by the late Kinji engagement). Scientific research is important Imanishi (1902 - 1992). The center comprises both because it provides guiding empirical evidence to a museum and a zoo specializing in nonhuman keep us headed in the right direction. Education primates. The zoo currently houses 68 different is necessary to pass our efforts from one species of nonhuman primates with a total of 985 2 12 IPS Bulletin individuals. The JMC, financed initially by a primatologist was the former vice-chancellor of prominent railway company, became an Cambridge University, UK University: Professor independent nonprofit NGO as of April this year. Alison Richard. I hope that Dr. Yamagiwa’s long Kyoto University researchers will collaborate to career of studying wild gorillas helps him face the continue existing JMC endeavors, among them: very difficult challenge of heading a vast number publishing the longest-running specialist primate of people with different opinions, beliefs and journal “Primates”, published by Springer, and values. Please join me in welcoming him at the managing a unique zoo of nonhuman primates, congress in Ha Noi as a member of our IPS as a window on nature. family. To conclude my report, I want to give you my most recent news: the former president of IPS, Tetsuro Matsutzawa Juichi Yamagiwa, has been elected as the next President, IPS president of Kyoto University, beginning a 6 year term from October 2014. Another fellow VP for Research [email protected] 2013 Research grants competition population status of Ethiopia’s herbivorous The competition was very strong again this year, primate and consequences for ecosystem with 93 applications (a 16% increase from last processes” year), from 21 countries (vs.