Dr. Marcela Benítez
@mebenitez.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @AnthroEmory| Hormones and social cognition in 🐒 |SoCaP Lab| Capuchins de Taboga 🇨🇷 | she/her |#queerinstem 🏳️🌈|#latininSTEM | #vamosARG 🇦🇷⚽️🔟
Pinned
🌡️🔥Check out our new Science Advances paper on how #ClimateChange impacts the immune performance of wild capuchins 🐒!
Lead by Jordan Lucore check out the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Watch the explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yl...
Lead by Jordan Lucore check out the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Watch the explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yl...
Check out @apesemory.bsky.social grad student @ecunningham96.bsky.social discuss his work on same-sex behavior in primates!
Listen to @ecunningham96.bsky.social explain how this research project idea began - "From pathology to pleasure Reframing mechanistic studies on same-sex sexual behavior in primates"
October 16, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Check out @apesemory.bsky.social grad student @ecunningham96.bsky.social discuss his work on same-sex behavior in primates!
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Listen to @ecunningham96.bsky.social explain how this research project idea began - "From pathology to pleasure Reframing mechanistic studies on same-sex sexual behavior in primates"
October 15, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Listen to @ecunningham96.bsky.social explain how this research project idea began - "From pathology to pleasure Reframing mechanistic studies on same-sex sexual behavior in primates"
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Recently, graduate students @nicolefurgala.bsky.social, Federico Sánchez Vargas, and Amber Shaw were awarded Lewis and Clark Expedition grants. Evan Cunningham was also awarded a Leakey Foundation Research Grant. We are so excited to see their research advance!
June 11, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Recently, graduate students @nicolefurgala.bsky.social, Federico Sánchez Vargas, and Amber Shaw were awarded Lewis and Clark Expedition grants. Evan Cunningham was also awarded a Leakey Foundation Research Grant. We are so excited to see their research advance!
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Graduate student Evan Cunningham (Advisor: @mebenitez.bsky.social) is also working on field research at the Taboga forest reserve, studying social learning in capuchins.🐵🧠
June 26, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Graduate student Evan Cunningham (Advisor: @mebenitez.bsky.social) is also working on field research at the Taboga forest reserve, studying social learning in capuchins.🐵🧠
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Undergraduate Jackie Zhou (Advisor: @mebenitez.bsky.social) was awarded the Outstanding Junior Award in Anthropology and participated in capuchin research at the Taboga forest reserve in Costa Rica.
June 26, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Undergraduate Jackie Zhou (Advisor: @mebenitez.bsky.social) was awarded the Outstanding Junior Award in Anthropology and participated in capuchin research at the Taboga forest reserve in Costa Rica.
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
On April 18th, @sarahkovo.bsky.social (Advisor: @mebenitez.bsky.social) defended her doctoral dissertation “From Conflict to Cohesion: The effect of intergroup competition on affiliation, oxytocin, and group cohesion in wild capuchin monkeys.” We are so proud of all her amazing work!
June 11, 2025 at 5:50 PM
On April 18th, @sarahkovo.bsky.social (Advisor: @mebenitez.bsky.social) defended her doctoral dissertation “From Conflict to Cohesion: The effect of intergroup competition on affiliation, oxytocin, and group cohesion in wild capuchin monkeys.” We are so proud of all her amazing work!
Congrats Dr. Kovalaskas!
🎉 Thrilled to share that I successfully defended my dissertation a week ago! After a year of chasing feisty capuchins through the forests of Costa Rica, it’s official — PhD complete! 🐒📚 Grateful for all the support along the way from @mebenitez.bsky.social, committee, friends, and family. #PhDone
May 6, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Congrats Dr. Kovalaskas!
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Happy New Year from the APE Lab! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2025 🐵 🥳
January 1, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Happy New Year from the APE Lab! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2025 🐵 🥳
Interrupting your regularly scheduled program to wish you a Mora Christmas and a Feliz Navidog
December 14, 2024 at 4:04 AM
Interrupting your regularly scheduled program to wish you a Mora Christmas and a Feliz Navidog
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Hi there! We are the Anthropology Primatology Lab at Emory. As a joint lab between Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf and @mebenitez.bsky.social, we study primate social behavior, cognition, health, & development. Check out our website at apes.emory.edu and follow along here to see our work and recent news! 🐵🧠📚
APE Lab Home - Anthro Primatology @ Emory
Anthro primatology at emory Welcome to the APE lab! The APE lab is the home of Anthropological Primatology at Emory. Our two PIs, Dr. Marcela Benítez and Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf lead us in studies of p...
apes.emory.edu
December 3, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Hi there! We are the Anthropology Primatology Lab at Emory. As a joint lab between Dr. Elizabeth Lonsdorf and @mebenitez.bsky.social, we study primate social behavior, cognition, health, & development. Check out our website at apes.emory.edu and follow along here to see our work and recent news! 🐵🧠📚
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Proud of our grad student, Jordan Lucore, for her study out in Sci Advances: The immune performance of wild capuchin monkeys declines when they experience higher temperatures, with youngest monkeys the most vulnerable to heat. news.umich.edu/warming-temp...
Warming temperatures impact immune performance of wild monkeys, U-M study shows
A capuchin monkey called Tiny groups fellow monkey Tevez in the Taboga forest reserve of Costa Rica. The monkeys are part of the Capuchinos de Taboga Research Project. Image credit: Capuchinos de Tabo...
news.umich.edu
December 2, 2024 at 5:50 PM
Proud of our grad student, Jordan Lucore, for her study out in Sci Advances: The immune performance of wild capuchin monkeys declines when they experience higher temperatures, with youngest monkeys the most vulnerable to heat. news.umich.edu/warming-temp...
🌡️🔥Check out our new Science Advances paper on how #ClimateChange impacts the immune performance of wild capuchins 🐒!
Lead by Jordan Lucore check out the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Watch the explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yl...
Lead by Jordan Lucore check out the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Watch the explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yl...
December 2, 2024 at 7:45 PM
🌡️🔥Check out our new Science Advances paper on how #ClimateChange impacts the immune performance of wild capuchins 🐒!
Lead by Jordan Lucore check out the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Watch the explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yl...
Lead by Jordan Lucore check out the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Watch the explainer video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yl...
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
New paper with the Serra da Capivara capuchins found they could learn an artificial task by watching closely, which in turn means being tolerated by other monkeys.
The authors, led by Camila Coelho, suggest that the same process supports tool use in these primates 🧪🐒
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The authors, led by Camila Coelho, suggest that the same process supports tool use in these primates 🧪🐒
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 19, 2024 at 10:15 PM
New paper with the Serra da Capivara capuchins found they could learn an artificial task by watching closely, which in turn means being tolerated by other monkeys.
The authors, led by Camila Coelho, suggest that the same process supports tool use in these primates 🧪🐒
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The authors, led by Camila Coelho, suggest that the same process supports tool use in these primates 🧪🐒
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Social learning is triggered by environmental cues in immigrant birds | doi.org/10.1371/jour... | PLOS Biology | #ornithology 🪶
November 19, 2024 at 9:30 AM
Social learning is triggered by environmental cues in immigrant birds | doi.org/10.1371/jour... | PLOS Biology | #ornithology 🪶
A Snapshot of Scientific Thought on Emotions in Animals.
Check out our recent survey of #animalbehavior researchers' perception of #animalemotions and consciousness.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
news.emory.edu/features/202...
Check out our recent survey of #animalbehavior researchers' perception of #animalemotions and consciousness.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
news.emory.edu/features/202...
November 18, 2024 at 11:41 PM
A Snapshot of Scientific Thought on Emotions in Animals.
Check out our recent survey of #animalbehavior researchers' perception of #animalemotions and consciousness.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
news.emory.edu/features/202...
Check out our recent survey of #animalbehavior researchers' perception of #animalemotions and consciousness.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
news.emory.edu/features/202...
Hi! I’m Marcela Benítez (she/her)
#anthropologist 🧑🔬| #primatologst 🐒| #queerinstem🌈
•Co-director of Capuchinos de Taboga in Costa Rica 🇨🇷
•Director of SoCaP lab @Emory
•Broadly interested in social behavior 🤝, cognition 🧠, hormones & behavior 🧬, field experiments 🌴, queer animals 🌈🦍, soccer ⚽
November 18, 2024 at 11:35 PM
Hi! I’m Marcela Benítez (she/her)
#anthropologist 🧑🔬| #primatologst 🐒| #queerinstem🌈
•Co-director of Capuchinos de Taboga in Costa Rica 🇨🇷
•Director of SoCaP lab @Emory
•Broadly interested in social behavior 🤝, cognition 🧠, hormones & behavior 🧬, field experiments 🌴, queer animals 🌈🦍, soccer ⚽
Reposted by Dr. Marcela Benítez
Removing institutional barriers to long-term fieldwork is critical for advancing ecology: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 2024 www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Removing institutional barriers to long-term fieldwork is critical for advancing ecology
Long-term fieldwork is essential for ecology and conservation, but is hindered by
institutional barriers, such as the publish-or-perish culture of academia, and funding
limitations. Here, we discuss t...
www.cell.com
November 18, 2024 at 12:16 AM
Removing institutional barriers to long-term fieldwork is critical for advancing ecology: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 2024 www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...