Dr. Sylvia Amsler

Email: sjamsler@ualr.edu

Dr. Sylvia Amsler is a primate behavioral ecologist who investigates the behavior of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. Her field research has focused on an unusually large community of wild chimpanzees in the Kibale National Park located in Uganda.

In her work, she addresses questions about ranging patterns, energetic constraints, and territorial behavior of male chimpanzees. Her research and teaching interests involve the application of evolutionary theory to the behavior of nonhuman primates and humans.

A former primate keeper at the Little Rock Zoo, Dr. Amsler maintains strong ties with the zoo and serves as liaison between the UA Little Rock Anthropology Program and the zoo’s Great Ape Behavioral Enrichment Program. Dr. Amsler received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan in 2009.

Courses taught by Dr. Amsler include Physical Anthropology, Primatology, and Human Behavioral Ecology.