Department of Anthropology Graduate Colloquium - Seminar

Dr. Katherine Amato, Professor at Northwestern Univesity will give a seminar entitled "Incorporating the Microbiome into Primate Ecology and Evolution."

Because of their myriad influences on host phenotypes, gut microbes likely play an important role in shaping host ecology and evolution.
Primates are an excellent system for understanding these dynamics given the diverse phenotypes
and ecologies represented within a single taxonomic order as well as the availability of a wealth of physiological and behavioral data.
This talk explores current evidence that the gut microbiome may be influencing host survival
and reproduction in different environmental contexts. As more studies targeting these questions accumulate, the microbiome has the
potential to transform the fields of host
physiology, ecology, and evolution, and vice versa.