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
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
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
"Coping with climatic extremes in a population of chacma baboons in South Africa". Queens College Biology Symposium, New York, NY. Jan. 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"The Adaptive Value of Sociality in Baboons". Brooklyn College, Department of Biology, New York, NY. Dec. 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. Mar 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
"Male mating strategies in hamadryas and chacma baboons". Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Dec. 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. Nov. 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
