Bournemouth University | About the University

About the University

Dr Amanda H Korstjens
BSc, MPhil, PhD

Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthropology

Professional Details

Degrees:
	BSc, Biology, 1990, Utrecht University (Netherlands)
	MPhil, Biology, 1995, Utrecht University
	PhD, Biology: Behavioural Ecology, 2001, Utrecht University
	PGCert in Academic Practice, 2008, Bournemouth University

Membership of Professional Organisations/External Bodies:
	Elected Council Member, Primatological Society of Great Britain
	Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
	Member, Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
	Member, Flora and Fauna International
	Member, Conservation International
	Member, International Primatological Society

Area(s) of Interest

Research Centre:
	Centre for Forensic and Biological Sciences (FBS)

Area(s) of Interest:
	Biological Anthropology, Behavioural Ecology, Primatology

Academic Group(s):
	Forensic and Bioarchaeological Sciences, Archaeology, Anthropology and Heritage

Units Led:
	Human Anatomy and Physiology 1st year Evolutionary Anthropology 3rd year Biological Anthropology 1st year Behavioural Ecology MSc

Relevant Posts Within Industry/Academia:
	Regular peer reviewer for international journals e.g. Behav Ecol Sociobiol, Int J Primatol, Am J Primatol Occasionally review international grant proposals and book chapters

Profile

My main interest is the complexity of behavioural strategies in humans and other animals. I study how these strategies are determined by the social and ecological environment that an individual lives in. Most of my research focuses on primates (incl. humans).
My main research topics are:
I. The constraints and the evolution of sociality
II. The evolution of mating strategies and female sexual signals
III The evolutionary origins of infant abuse in primates and humans

Ongoing research projects include:
1. I investigate mating strategies of Ugandan colobine monkeys. This project focuses on the link between hormones and behaviour and the evolution of mating strategies. Collaboraters: Dr Michael Heistermann, German Primate Centre (DPZ); Prof. Redouan Bshary, University of Neuchatel (Switzerland); and Prof. Colin Chapman, McGill University (Canada).
2. In collaboration with Dr Filippo Aureli and Dr Norberto Asensio from Liverpool John Moores’ University I study the behavioural ecology of Costa-Rican spider monkeys.
3. As an associate of the British Academy project ‘From lucy to language’, I work on developing mathematical models to help us understand early human social systems and primate distribution patterns in relation to climate. This work is done together with Prof. Robin Dunbar, University of Oxford, and Dr Julia Lehmann, Roehampton University.