Seed Dispersal Ecology

Under the tutelage of Drs. Kathryn Sieving and Doug Levey I am studying the role that northern buffed cheeked crested gibbons (Nomascus annamensis) play in the forest community as seed dispersers. I am working with Conservation International in the Veun Sai-Pang Conservation Area in Northeastern Cambodia.

For my PhD project I am focusing on one species of tree, Microcos paniculata, locally known as po plee-a. My goal is to determine if the gibbon seed dispersal pattern has any effect on the seed germination and seedling survival of M.paniculata. Stay tuned for the results, they will change your life!

I like primates, I like plants and I like ecology. Seems reasonable to study all three.

The field crew. Left: Me, Sou, Santiago,                                                                                Sitha, and Noy.

Microcos fruit