Shahrina Chowdhury
Assistant Professor
Anthropology
Location: 531 Ingersoll Hall Extension
Phone: 718.951.5000 x2136
Fax: 718.951.3169
Email:
Shahrina Chowdhury is a biological anthropologist who studies the behavioral ecology of nonhuman primates. The main focus of her research is to understand the physiological basis of behavioral variation using hormones as a tool to examine stress responses to various challenges, and to determine the adaptive value of sociality by studying variation in social bonds in different primate groups. She has studied chacma baboons in South Africa, examining the effects of social, anthropogenic, and environmental factors on stress physiology and the use of behavioral flexibility as a coping mechanism for stress mitigation. Currently, as associate director of the Filoha Hamadryas Project in Ethiopia, she collaborates on a long-term field study of hamadryas baboons with the goal of understanding the evolution of a complex multi-level society. Chowdhury is also faculty in the Anthropology Program at the CUNY Graduate Center and the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP).
Education:
Ph.D., Graduate Center, CUNY - 2018 (Anthropology - Biological)
M.Phil., Graduate Center, CUNY - 2014 (Anthropology - Biological)
M.A., Columbia University - 2004 (Conservation Biology)
B.A., University of Chicago - 1998 (Environmental Studies (Ecology & Evolution))
Areas of Expertise:
Chowdhury is a biological anthropologist who specializes in the study of the biology and behavior of nonhuman primates, including social behavior, ecology, endocrinology, and conservation.
Books and Publications
Erkens, J., Salaymeh, J.K., Beamish, E., Chowdhury, S., Swedell, L., Guatelli-Steinberg, D., McGraw, W.S. and McGrath, K. 2022. Stress-related enamel defect prevalence and severity in Papio ursinus and P. anubis. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 177(S73): 54. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2022
Evans, K.D., Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. 2022. The value of aggression in maintaining a multilevel society. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 177(S73): 55. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2022
Evans, K.D., Swedell, L. and Chowdhury, S. 2022. Respect for males amid suppression of females: Selective use of aggression and fitness correlates in the male-dominated society of hamadryas baboons. Journal of Human Evolution 165: 103151. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2022
Phelan, R., Chowdhury, S., Beamish, E., Swedell, L., Plavcan, M., Guatelli-Steinberg, D. and McGraw, S. 2022. Sexual dimorphism in a sample of semi-commensal chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) from South Africa. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 177(S73): 143. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2022
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. How secondary males help or hinder primary males in two baboon societies. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 174(S71): 18-19. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2021
Chowdhury, S., Brown, J.L. and Swedell, L. 2021. Costs of seasonality at a southern latitude: Behavioral endocrinology of female baboons in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. Hormones and Behavior 134: 105020. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2021
Evans, K.D., Swedell, L. and Chowdhury, S. The benefits of selective use of aggression by male hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 174(S71): 29. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2021
Habig, B., Chowdhury, S., Foerster, S. and Swedell, L. 2021. Predictors of helminth parasite infection in female chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 14: 308-320. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2021
Amann, A., Chowdhury, S., Beehner, J. and Swedell, L. Demographic factors influencing glucocorticoid variation in wild hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171(S69): 7. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2020
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. 2020. Seasonal variation in day length and its implications for interpretation of activity budgets of chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171(S69): 52. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2020
Chowdhury, S., Brown, J. and Swedell, L. Anthropogenic effects on the physiology and behavior of chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. Conservation Physiology 8(1): coaa066, https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa066. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2020
Evans, K.D., Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Coercive takeovers and fitness in male hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171(S69): 82. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2020
Swedell, L., Chowdhury, S., Fannin, L.D., Daegling, D.J. and McGraw, W.S. Craniodental correlates of feeding within Papio and the interpretation of hominin behavior. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171(S69): 278. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2020
Chowdhury, S., Brown, J.L. and Swedell, L. Hormones from noninvasively collected samples to assess physiological responses to social, environmental and anthropogenic stressors in nonhuman primates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 168(S68): 42. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2019
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Living with climate extremes and behavioral coping in a population of chacma baboons in South Africa. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 165 (S66): 49. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2018
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Coping with death: behavioral mitigation of the loss of an alpha male by female chacma baboons in South Africa. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 162 (S64): 143. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2017
Bryer, M.A.H., Swedell, L. and Chowdhury, S. Fatty food or fertile females? Consortships and raiding behavior in male chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 159 (S62): 104. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2016
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Effects of male social upheaval on social bonds and stress in female chacma baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 156 (S60): 105. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2015
Chowdhury, S., Pines, M., Saunders, J. and Swedell, L. The adaptive value of secondary males in the polygynous multi-level society of hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 158: 501-513. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015
Pines, M., Chowdhury, S., Saunders, J. and Swedell, L. The rise and fall of leader males in a multi-level society: takeovers and tenures of male hamadryas baboons. American Journal of Primatology 77: 44-55. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Factors affecting turnovers and takeovers in chacma and hamadryas baboon societies. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 153 (S58): 94. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2014
Chowdhury, S., Pines, M., Saunders, J. and Swedell, L. To commit or play the field? Costs and benefits of male mating strategies in hamadryas versus chacma baboons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 150 (S56): 98-99. (Books and Publications: Abstract) 2013
Cords, M. and Chowdhury, S. Life history of blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. International Journal of Primatology 31: 433-455. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2010
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
PSC-CUNY TRAD-A Cycle 52. "Physiological consequences of male coercion and female compliance in a complex multilevel society". $3,360. (Grants and Fellowships) 2021
PSC-CUNY TRAD-B Cycle 51. "Significance of social bonds and stress in the hamadryas baboon social system". $5,955. (Grants and Fellowships) 2020
PSC-CUNY TRAD-B Cycle 50. "Sociality and stress in male and female hamadryas baboons: the maintenance of a complex social system". $6,000. (Grants and Fellowships) 2019
Leakey Foundation Research Grant for PhD dissertation research "Sociality, Stress and Reproduction in Female Chacma Baboons". $13,500. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant BCS-0824590 for "Sociality, Stress, and Fitness in Female Chacma Baboons". $15,000. (Grants and Fellowships) 2008
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. 2022. Seasonal differences in day length and the behavioral ecology of chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. Poster presented at the XXVIIIth conference of International Primatological Society, Quito, Ecuador, January 2022. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2022
"Baboons in Anthropogenic Landscapes." Anthropology Colloquium, Anthropology Program, CUNY Graduate Center, December 4. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2020
Evans, K.D., Swedell, L. and Chowdhury, S. "Selective use of aggression and fitness correlates in male hamadryas baboons." Paper presented at the annual conference of Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists (NEEP). November 13-14. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2020
"Effects of seasonality on the physiology and behavior of chacma baboons in South Africa." Brooklyn College Science Retreat. May 13. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
Swedell, L. and Chowdhury, S. "The behavioral biology of hamadryas baboons in comparative perspective, with implications for hominin evolution." Oral presentation at second conference of the African Primatological Society. Entebbe, Uganda, September. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2019
"Coping with climatic extremes in a population of chacma baboons in South Africa." Queens College Biology Symposium, New York, NY. January 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"The Adaptive Value of Sociality in Baboons." Department of Biology, Brooklyn College. December. 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"Sociality and stress in female baboons." CUNY Ecology and Evolutionary Biology annual recruitment event. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. March 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
"Male mating strategies in hamadryas and chacma baboons." Department of Anthropology, Yale University. New Haven, CT. December 1. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
"Meet the Primatologist." Meet the Scientist Drop-in Sessions. Sackler Educational Laboratory, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, November 5. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Anthropogenic stress in female chacma baboons in a commensal population in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. XXVIth conference of International Primatological Society, Chicago, IL. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2016
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on behavior and physiology of female chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. Annual meeting of Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists (NEEP). New York, NY. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2016
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Social stability in the face of environmental and social instability: social behavior of a small troop of semi-commensal chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa and implications for wildlife management. XXIVth Congress of the International Primatological Society. Cancun, Mexico. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2012
Chowdhury, S. and Swedell, L. Intertroop dynamics and sociality of suburban chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula. Annual meeting of the Primate Ecology and Genetics Group (PEGG), the South African Primatology Association. Durban, South Africa (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
Chowdhury, S. Stress and reproduction in a managed population of chacma baboons in the Cape Peninsula. Annual meeting of the Primate Ecology and Genetics Group (PEGG), the South African Primatology Association. Hogsback, South Africa. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
Professional Leadership
New York Academy of Sciences, Anthropology Section, Board of Advisors (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2021
New York Academy of Sciences, Anthropology Section, Board of Advisors (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2020
