Current Research

Sex Steroid Receptor Distribution Across Lemur Brains in Relation to Social Dominance
  • Lab members involved: Allie Schrock, Isaiah Hamilton
In most social mammals, males are more aggressive than females.  However in some species, females instead show pronounced aggression towards males. Sex hormones, such as testosterone and estradiol, may play a role in this unusual phenomenon. Lemurs are a unique group in which to study these brain differences, because they show great variation in their social systems and male/female dominance patterns. At the Duke Lemur Center, we are studying the brains of animals that died of natural causes to map hormone receptors in species that show a spectrum of female aggression, from being egalitarian to extremely aggressive towards males. Using state-of-the-art genetic techniques applied to brain sections, we will describe the location and quantify the number of sex hormone receptors in males and females of each species. For this study, we will focus on certain brain areas that differ between males and females and play a role in social behavior. These results will add to our knowledge of the relationship between hormones in the brain and female aggression, and shed light on human health conditions in which females are exposed to excessive sex hormones.

Eulemur as a primate model for oxytocin system evolution and function
  • Lab members involved: Allie Schrock, Nick Grebe (past), Annika Sharma (past), Alizeh Sheikh (past)
The functional significance of the mammalian neuropeptide OT has become one of the hottest research topics within biological psychology and social endocrinology in the last twenty years. However, a lack of consensus on how to best accommodate a confusing body of findings has slowed progress toward the development of overarching theoretical models of OT’s functions. Seminal findings from rodent models and more recent studies in pair-bonding monkeys overwhelmingly form the basis for arguments regarding OT’s conserved social functions. Our project builds upon techniques and conceptualizations developed in these model systems, but makes use of an  animal model we argue is better-suited for understanding primate pair-bonding: the Eulemur genus of Malagasy lemurs.

Exploring the role of hormones in structuring lemur epithelial microbiomes and olfactory signals
  • Lab members involved: Sally Bornbusch (past), Nick Grebe (past), Lucy Greenwald (past), Chelsea Southworth (past), Siera Lunn (past), Kristin Dimac-Stohl (past)
The commensal microbes that inhabit primate skin surfaces and scent glands influence host health and contribute to olfactory communication. These microbes are impacted by variation in the host’s endocrine processes. We are assessing the effects of hormonal variation on the microbiomes and olfactory signals of lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center.


Investigating the effects of antibiotics on lemur olfactory signals, microbiomes, and health 
  • Lab members involved: Sally Bornbusch (past), Nick Grebe (past), Rachel Harris (past), Kristin Dimac-Stohl (past)
Although antibiotics are important for human and animal health, the extermination of bacteria throughout the host can impact microbiome structure and function. These antibiotic-mediated changes have implications for the beneficial roles of gut and skin microbes, including the production of microbial metabolites that contribute to the host’s olfactory signals. In captive lemurs, we are studying the impact of antibiotics on various microbiomes, the lemurs’ olfactory profiles, and overall lemur health.

Characterizing gut microbiome structure in captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs living along a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance
  • Lab members involved: Sally Bornbusch (past)
Gut microbiome membership and composition vary widely across individuals and populations of a single species. Factors that influence this variation in microbial communities include anthropogenic disturbances, ranging from more minor influences (e.g. proximity of the animal to human settlements) to extreme disturbances (e.g. deforestation or captivity). We are exploring gut microbiome variation across multiple populations of captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs that experience varying degrees of anthropogenic disturbance.

Examining antimicrobial resistance and gut microbiome structure in relation to lemur health
  • Lab members involved: Sally Bornbusch (past) 
Widely acknowledged as a severe and persistent threat to global human health, antimicrobial resistance has recently been recognized as an ecological concern. Microbes enriched for antimicrobial resistance have permeated natural environments around the world, where they can be picked up by animals. But, the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance in the environment and in wildlife remains poorly understood. By investigating antimicrobial resistance in captive and wild lemurs, and their respective environments, we can shed light on the how antimicrobial resistance propagates within primate hosts and their environments.

On-going & completed research

  • Comparative studies on the composition of chemical signals in primates
  • Comparative behavior and neuro-endrocrinology of the genus Eulemur
  • Olfactory communication in ring-tailed lemurs & Coquerel's sifakas relative to social and reproductive factors
  • The genetic diversity of several immune-function genes in captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs
  • Olfactory signals of injury and health in ring-tailed lemurs
  • Bacteria as mediators of olfactory communication in ring-tailed lemurs
  • Neuro-endocrine and behavioral mechanisms of female dominance and reproductive skew in wild meerkats
  • Eco-immunology and the impact of androgens in wild meerkats
  • Ontogeny of olfactory signatures and microbial communities in meerkats ​
  • Investigating the expression of female dominance, masculinization, and aggression in spotted hyenas
  • Relating urinary volatile compounds to hormone profiles in binturongs (completed)
  • Relating variation in olfactory signals to scent-gland bacteria in ring-tailed lemurs (completed)
  • Determining the influence of diet quality on gut bacteria and health in captive and wild lemurs (completed)

Representative Publications

2021
  • Bornbusch, S.L., Harris, R.L., Grebe, N.M. Roche, K., Dimac-Stohl, K.A., & Drea, C. M. (2021). Antibiotics and fecal transfaunation differentially affect microbiota recovery, associations, and antibiotic resistance in lemur guts. Animal Microbiome 3(65). doi:10.1186/s42523-021-00126-z.
  • Greene, L. K., Blanco, M. B., Rambeloson, E., Graubics, K., Fanelli, B., Colwell, R. R., & Drea, C. M. (2021). Gut microbiota of frugo-folivorous sifakas across environments. Animal Microbiome, 3(1), 1-13. doi:10.1186/s42523-021-00093-5.
  • Grebe, N. M., Sharma, A., Freeman, S. M., Palumbo, M. C., Patisaul, H. B., Bales, K. L., & Drea, C. M. (2021). Neural correlates of mating system diversity: oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distributions in monogamous and non-monogamous Eulemur. Scientific Reports 11, 3746 (2021). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83342-6.
2020
  • Drea, C. M., Crawford, J. C., & Boulet, M. (2020). Lack of evidence for pheromones in lemurs. Current Biology, 30(22), R1355-R1357. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.005.
  • Bornbusch, S. L., Grebe, N. M., Lunn, S., Southworth, C. A., Dimac-Stohl, K. A., & Drea, C. M. (2020). Stable and transient structural variation in lemur vaginal, labial and axillary microbiomes: patterns by species, body site, ovarian hormones and forest access. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 96(6), fiaa090. doi:10.1093/femsec/fiaa090.
  • Drea, C. M. (2020). Design, delivery and perception of condition-dependent chemical signals in strepsirrhine primates: implications for human olfactory communication. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375(1800), 20190264. doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0264.
  • Greene, L.K., Williams, C.V., Junge, R.E., Mahefarisoa, K.L., Rajaonarivelo, T., Rakotondrainibe, H., O’Connell, T.M., & Drea, C.M. (2020). A role for gut microbiota in host niche differentiation. ISME J. doi:10.1038/s41396-020-0640-4.
2019
  • Drea, C., Goodwin, T., & delBarco-Trillo, J. (2019). P-mail: the information highway of nocturnal, but not diurnal nor cathemeral, strepsirrhines. Folia Primatologica, 90, 422-438. doi:10.1159/000495076.
  • Grebe, N.M., Fitzpatrick, C.L., Sharrock, K., Starling, A., & Drea, C.M. (2019). Organizational and Activational Androgens, Lemur Social Play, and the Ontogeny of Female Dominance. Hormones and Behavior, 115, 104554. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.07.002.
  • Bornbusch, S.L., Greene, L.K., McKenney, E., Volkoff, S.J., Midani, F.S., Joseph, G. Gerhard, W.A., Iloghalu, U., Granek, J.,  & Gunsch, C.K. (2019). A comparative study of gut microbiomes in captive nocturnal strepsirrhines. American Journal of Primatology, 81, e22986. doi:10.1002/ajp.22986.
  • Greene , L.K., Bornbusch, S., McKenney, E.A., Gorvetzian , S.R., Harris , R., Yoder, A.D., & Drea, C.M. 2019. The importance of scale in comparative microbiome research: New insights from the gut and glands of captive and wild lemurs. American Journal of Primatology.​
  • Gangestad, S.W., Dinh, T., Grebe, N.M., Del Giudice, M., & Emery Thompson, M. (2019). Hormone-Associated Psychological Cycle Shifts Redux: Revisiting a Preregistered Study Examining Preferences for Muscularity. Evolution and Human Behavior.
  • Grebe, N.M., Del Giudice, M., Emery Thompson, M., Nickels, N., Ponzi, D., Zilioli, S., Maestripieri, D., & Gangestad, S.W. (2019). Testosterone, Cortisol, and Status-Striving Personality Features: A Review and Empirical Evaluation of the Dual Hormone Hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior, 109, 25-37.
  • Grebe, N.M., Sarafin, R., Strenth, C.R., & Zilioli, S. (2019). Pair Bonding, Fatherhood, and the Role of Testosterone: A Meta-Analytic Review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 91, 221-233.
2018
  • Greene, L.K., McKenney, E.A., O'Connell, T.M. & Drea, C.M. (2018) The critical role of dietary foliage in maintaining the gut microbiome and metabolome of folivorous sifakas​. Scientific Reports 8.
  • Smyth, K.N., Caruso, N.M., Davies, C.S., Clutton-Brock, T.H. & Drea, C.M. (2018) Social and endocrine correlates of immune function in meerkats: implications for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. R. Soc. open sci.5: 180435.
  • Dimac-Stohl, K.A., Davies, C.S., Grebe, N.M., Stonehill, A.C., Greene, L.K., Mitchell, J., Clutton-Brock, T.H. & Drea, C.M. (2018) Incidence and biomarkers of pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, and neonatal loss during an environmental stressor: Implications for female reproductive suppression in the cooperatively breeding meerkat, Physiology & Behavior, 193A: 90-100.​
  • Harris, R.L., Boulet, M., Grogan, K.E. & Drea, C.M. (2018) Costs of injury for scent signalling in a strepsirrhine primate. Scientific Reports 8.
2017
  • Grebe, N.M. & Drea, C.M. (2017) Human Sexuality. Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. 00:1-14.
  • Grogan, K.E., Sauther, M.L., Cuozzo, F.P., Drea, C.M. (2017) Genetic wealth, population health: Major histocompatibility complex variation in captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Ecology and Evolution. 00:1–12. 
  • Leclaire, S., Jacob, S., Greene, L.K., Dubay, G.R. & Drea, C.M. (2017) Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats. Scientific Reports 7.
2016
  • Davies, C.S., Smyth, K.N., Greene, L.K., Walsh, D.A., Mitchell, J., Clutton-Brock, T.H. & Drea, C.M. (2016) Exceptional endocrine profiles characterize the meerkat: sex, status, and reproductive patterns. Scientific Reports 6.
  • delBarco-Trillo, J., Greene, L.K., Goncalves, I.B., Fenkes, M., Wisse, J.H.,  Drewe, J.A.,  Manser, M.B., Clutton-Brock, T., Drea, C.M. (2016). Beyond aggression: Androgen-receptor blockade modulates social interaction in wild meerkats. Hormones and Behavior. 78: 95-106.
  • Greene, L.K., Grogan, K.E., Smyth, K.N., Adams, C.A., Klager, S.A. & Drea, C.M. (2016) Mix it and fix it: functions of composite olfactory signals in ring-tailed lemurs. Open Science 3.
  • Greene, L.K., Wallen, T.W., Moresco, A., Goodwin, T.E. & Drea, C.M. (2016). Reproductive endocrine patterns and volatile urinary compounds of Arctictis binturong: discovering why bearcats smell like popcorn. The Science of Nature, 103(5-6), 1-11.
  • Grogan, K.E., McGinnis, G.J., & Drea, C.M. (2016) Next- generation genotyping of hypervariable loci in large numbers of a non-model species: technical and theoretical implications. BMC Genomics. 17: 204
  • Smyth, K.N., Greene, L.K., Clutton-Brock, T., & Drea, C.M. (2016) Androgens predict parasitism in female meerkats: a new perspective on a classic trade-off. Biology Letters, 12, 20160660.
  • Smyth, K.N. and Drea, C.M. (2016). Patterns of parasitism in the cooperatively breeding meerkat: a cost of dominance for females. Behavioral Ecology. 27(1), 148–157.
2015
  • Crawford, J. & Drea., C.M. (2015). Baby on board: olfactory cues indicate pregnancy and fetal sex in a non-human primate. Biology Letters, 11(2): 20140831.   
  • Drea, C.M. (2015). D'scent of man: A comparative survey of primate chemosignaling in relation to sex. Hormones and Behavior, 68: 117-133.
  • Petty, J.M. & Drea, C.M. (2015). Female rule in lemurs is ancestral and hormonally mediated. Scientific Reports, 5: 9631.    
2014
  • Cunha, G.R., Risbridger, G., Wang, H., Place, N.J., Wilson, J., Grumbach, M., Siiteri, P., Cunha, T.J., Conley, A.J., Barcellos, D., Agarwal, S., Bhargava, A., Drea, C.M., Hammond, G., Weldele, M., Baskin, L.S., Glickman, S. Development of the external genitalia: Perspectives from the spotted hyena. Differentiation, 87 (1): 4-22.
  • delBarco-Trillo, J. & Drea, C.M. (2014). Socioecological and phylogenetic patterns in the chemical signals of strepsirrhine primates. Animal Behaviour, 97: 249-253.
  • Greene, L.K. & Drea, C.M. (2014). Love is in the air: sociality and pair bondedness influence sifaka reproductive signaling. Animal Behaviour 88: 147-156.
  • Kulahci, I.G., Drea, C.M., Rubenstein, D.I. & Ghazanfar, A.A. (2014). Individual recognition through auditory-olfactory matching in lemurs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 281(1784): 20140071. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0071.
  • Leclaire, S., Nielsen, J.F., & Drea, C.M. (2014). Bacterial communities in meerkat anal scent secretions vary with host sex, age, and group membership. Behavioral Ecology, 25 (4): 996-1004.
2013
  • Charpentier, M.J.E. & Drea, C.M. (2013). Victims of infanticide and conspecific bite wounding in a female-dominant primate: a long-term study. PLoS ONE, 8(12): e82830.
  • Charpentier, M.J.E., Mboumba, S., Ditsoga, C., & Drea, C.M. (2013) Nasopalatine Ducts and Flehman Behavior in the Mandrill: Reevaluating Olfactory Communication in Old World Primates. American Journal of Primatology, 75 (7): 703-714.
  • delBarco-Trillo, J., Harelimana, I.H., Goodwin, T.E., & Drea, C.M. (2013) Chemical Differences Between Voided and Bladder Urine in the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis): Implications for Olfactory Communication Studies. American Journal of Primatology, 75(7): 695-702.
  • Drea, C.M., Boulet, M., delBarco-Trillo, J., Greene, L.K., Sacha, C.R., Goodwin, T.E., & Dubay, G.R. (2013) The “Secret” in Secretions: Methodological Considerations in Deciphering Primate Olfactory Communication.  American Journal of Primatology, 75(7): 621-642.
2012
  • delBarco-Trillo, J., Sacha, C., Dubay, G., & Drea, C.M. (2012). Eulemur, me lemur: the evolution of scent-signal complexity in a primate clade. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367: 1909-1922.
  • Hammond, G.L., Miguel-Queralt, S., Yalcinkaya, T.M., Underhill, C., Place, N.J., Glickman, S.E., Drea, C.M., Wagner, A. & Siiteri, P.K. (2012). Phylogenetic comparisons implicate sex hormone-binding globulin in “masculinization” of the female spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Endocrinology, 153(3): 1435-1443. 
  • MacLean, E., Matthews, L.J., Hare, B., Nunn, C.L., Anderson, R.C., Aureli, F., Brannon, E.M., Call, J., Drea, C.M., Emery, N.J., Haun, D.B.M., Herrmann, E., Jacobs, L.F., Platt, M.L., Rosati§, A.G., Sandel*, A., Schroepfer, K.K., Seed, A.M., Tan, J., van Schaik, C.P., & Wobber, V. (2012). How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology. Animal Cognition, 15: 223-238. 
  • Rushmore, J, Leonhardt, S.D., & Drea, C.M. (2012) Sight or scent: lemur sensory reliance in detecting food quality varies with feeding ecology. PLoS ONE 7(8): e41558.
2011
  • Crawford, J., Boulet, M., & Drea, C.M. (2011). Smelling wrong: Hormonal contraception in lemurs alters critical female odour cues. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 278(1702): 122-130.
  • delBarco-Trillo, J., Burkert, B.A., Goodwin, T.E., Drea, C.M. (2011). Night and day: the comparative study of strepsirrhine primates reveals socioecological and phylogenetic patterns in olfactory signals. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 24: 82-98.
  • Drea, C.M. (2011). Endocrine correlates of pregnancy in the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta): Implications for the masculinization of daughters. Hormones & Behavior, 59(4): 417-427.
  • Place, N.J., Coscia, E.M., Dahl, N.J., Drea, C.M., Holekamp, K.E., Roser, J., Sisk, C.L., Weldele, M.L., & Glickman, S.E. (2011). The anti-androgen combination, flutamide plus finasteride, paradoxically suppressed LH and androgen concentrations in pregnant spotted hyenas, but not in males. General & Comparative Endocrinology, 170 (3): 455-459.
2010
  • Boulet, M., Crawford, J., Charpentier, M.J.E., & Drea, C.M. (2010). Honest olfactory ornamentation in a female-dominant primate. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 23(7): 1558-1563.
  • Charpentier, M.J.E., Crawford, J., Boulet, M., & Drea, C.M. (2010). Message ‘scent’: lemurs detect the genetic relatedness and quality of conspecifics via olfactory cues. Animal Behaviour, 80: 101-108.
  • Starling, A.P., Charpentier, M.J.E., Fitzpatrick, C., Scordato, E.S. & Drea, C.M. (2010). Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Hormones & Behavior, 57: 76-85.
2009
  • Boulet, M., Charpentier, M.J.E., & Drea, C.M. (2009). Decoding an olfactory mechanism of kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in primates. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9:281.
  • Drea, C.M. (2009). Endocrine mediators of masculinization in female mammals. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(4): 221-226.
  • Drea, C.M. & Carter, A.N. (2009). Cooperative problem solving in a social carnivore. Animal Behaviour, 78: 967-977.
  • Leonhardt, S.D., Tung, J., Camden, J.B., Leal, M. & Drea, C.M. (2009). Seeing red: behavioral evidence of trichromatic color vision in strepsirrhine primates. Behavioral Ecology, 20(1): 1-12.
2008
  • Charpentier, M.J.E., Boulet, M. & Drea, C.M. (2008). Smelling right: The scent of male lemurs advertises genetic quality and relatedness. Molecular Ecology, 17(14): 3225-3233.
  • Charpentier, M.J.E., Williams, C. & Drea, C.M. (2008). Inbreeding depression in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): Genetic diversity predicts parasitism, immunocompetence, and survivorship. Conservation Genetics, 9(6): 1605-1615.
  • Drea, C.M. & Scordato, E.S. (2008). Olfactory communication in the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta): form and function of multimodal signals. In: J.L. Hurst, R.J. Beynon, S.C. Roberts, & T. Wyatt (eds.), Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11, pp. 91-102. Springer Press, New York.
  • Drea, C.M. & Weil, A. (2008). External genital morphology of the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta): females are naturally ‘masculinized.’ Journal of Morphology 269(4): 451-463.
2007
  • Drea, C.M. (2007). Sex and seasonal differences in aggression and steroid secretion in Lemur catta: are socially dominant females hormonally ‘masculinized’? Hormones & Behavior 51(4): 555-567.
  • Scordato, E.S. & Drea, C.M. (2007). Scents and sensibility: information content of olfactory signals in the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta). Animal Behaviour 73(2): 301-314.
  • Scordato, E.S., Dubay, G. & Drea, C.M. (2007). Chemical composition of scent marks in the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta): glandular differences, seasonal variation, and individual signatures. Chemical Senses 32: 493-504.
2006
  • Drea, C.M. (2006). Studying primate learning in group contexts: tests of social foraging, response to novelty, and cooperative problem solving. Methods 38(3): 162-177.
  • Glickman, S.E., Cunha, J.R., Drea, C.M., Conley, A.J. & Place, N.J. (2006). Mammalian sexual differentiation: lessons from the spotted hyena. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism 17: 349-356.
2005-1991
  • Drea, C.M. (2005). Bateman revisited: the reproductive tactics of female primates. Integrative & Comparative Biology 45(5): 915-923.
  • Drea, C.M. (2004). Mammalian olfactory communication. In: M. Bekoff (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Vol.1 (pp. 369-374). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
  • Drea, C.M. & Frank, L.G. (2003). The social complexity of spotted hyenas, in Animal Social Complexity: Intelligence, Culture, and Individualized Societies, edited by F.B.M de Waal & P.L. Tyack (2003), pp. 121-148, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Drea, C.M., Place, N.J., Weldele, M.L., Coscia, E.M., Licht, P. & Glickman, S.E. (2002). Exposure to naturally circulating androgens during foetal life incurs direct reproductive costs in female spotted hyenas, but is prerequisite for male mating. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 269: 1981-1987.
  • Drea, C.M., Vignieri, S.N., Cunningham, S.B., & Glickman, S.E. (2002). Responses to olfactory stimuli in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta): I. Investigation of environmental odors and the function of rolling. Journal of Comparative Psychology 116(4): 331-341.
  • Drea, C.M., Vignieri, S.N., Kim, H.S., Weldele, M.L., & Glickman, S.E. (2002) Responses to olfactory stimuli in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta): II. Discrimination of conspecific scent. Journal of Comparative Psychology 116(4): 342-349.
  • Drea, C.M., Coscia, E.M., & Glickman, S.E. (1999). Hyenas, Encyclopedia of Reproduction, edited by E. Knobil, J. Neill, & P. Licht, vol. 2, pp. 718-725, San Diego: Academic Press.
  • Drea, C.M. & Wallen, K (1999) Low status monkeys "play dumb" when learning in mixed social groups, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 96(22): 12965-12969.
  • Drea, C.M. (1998) Social context affects how rhesus monkeys explore their environment, American Journal of Primatology 44: 205-214.
  • Drea, C.M. (1998) Status, age, and sex effects on performance of discrimination tasks in group-tested rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), Journal of Comparative Psychology 112(2): 170-182.
  • Drea, C.M., Weldele, M.L., Forger, N.G., Coscia, E.M., Frank, L.G., Licht, P., & Glickman, S.E. (1998) Androgens and masculinization of genitalia in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). 2. Effects of prenatal anti-androgens, Journal of Reproduction & Fertility 113: 117-127.
  • Glickman, S.E., Coscia, E.M., Frank, L.G., Licht, P., Weldele, M.L., & Drea, C.M. (1998) Androgens and masculinization of genitalia in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). 3. Effects of juvenile gonadectomy. Journal of Reproduction & Fertility, 113(1): 129-135.
  • Glickman, S.E., Zabel, C.J., Yoerg, S.I., Weldele, M., Drea, C.M., & Frank, L.G. (1997) Social facilitation, affiliation and dominance in the social life of spotted hyenas, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 807: The Integrative Neurobiology of Affiliation, edited by C.S. Carter, I. I. Lederhendler, & B. Kirkpatrick, pp. 175-184, NY: New York Academy of Sciences.
  • Drea, C.M., Hawk, J.E., & Glickman, S.E. (1996) Aggression decreases as play emerges in infant spotted hyaenas: preparation for joining the clan, Animal Behaviour 51(6): 1323-1336.
  • Drea, C.M., Hawk, J.E., & Glickman, S.E. (1996) The emergence of affiliative behavior in infant spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), Poster presented at the New York Academy of Sciences Conference on the Integrative Neurobiology of Affiliation, Washington, DC.
  • Drea, C.M. & Wallen, K. (1995) Gradual acquisition of visual discrimination tasks in a social group of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), Animal Learning & Behavior, 23(1): 1-8.
  • Drea, C.M., Wallen, K., Akinbami, A., & Mann, D.R. (1995) Neonatal testosterone and handedness in yearling rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), Physiology & Behavior, 58(6): 1257-1262.
  • Fagot, J., Drea, C.M., & Wallen, K. (1991) Asymmetrical hand use in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in tactually and visually regulated tasks, Journal of Comparative Psychology, 105(3): 260-268.

Media Coverage    

 Lab news! Archive

December 2018
  • Congratulations to Lydia for her contribution to NPR's The State of Things! See media coverage for link.
September 2018
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! The critical role of dietary foliage in maintaining the gut microbiome and metabolome of folivorous sifakas. See publications for more details!​
August 2018 
  • Congratulations to Nick for receiving a 2-year NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for his work with Eulemur as a primate model for oxytocin system evolution and function! 
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Social and endocrine correlates of immune function in meerkats: Implications for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. See publications for more details!
June 2018
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Incidence and biomarkers of pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, and neonatal loss during an environmental stressor: Implications for female reproductive suppression in the cooperatively breeding meerkat. See publications for more details!
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Costs of injury for scent signalling in a strepsirrhine primate. See publications for more details!
April 2018
  • ​Congratulations to Sally on winning a 2018 Anthropocene Graduate Research Grant!​
March 2018
  • ​Congratulations to Sally on National Geographic coverage of her undergraduate work on eusociality in snapping shrimp! (see media coverage for link)
December 2017
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Human Sexuality. See publications for more details!
August 2017
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Genetic wealth, population health: Major histocompatibility complex variation in captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). See publications for more details!
June 2017
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats. See publications for more details!
  • Congratulations to Nick for winning the The New Investigator Award from the Human Behavior and Evolution Society.
  • Congratulations to Lydia for being awarded a Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation Award.
March 2017
  • Congratulations to Dr. Kendra Smyth for successfully defending her dissertation!
January 2017
  • Rachel and Kendra present on olfactory cues of injury and illness in lemurs and the consequences of prenatal androgen exposure for offspring health in meerkats at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology in New Orleans, LA. Congratulations to Kendra for winning best student poster in the Division of Ecoimmunology and Disease Ecology!
​December 2016
  • Kendra and Alex present on offspring health mediation by maternal traits in wild meerkats at the 4th Annual Ecology Symposium in Durham, NC. 
November 2016
  • Congratulations to Lydia for successfully completing her prelim and officially becoming a PhD candidate.
  • Rachel presents on injury and health alterations to scent signals in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Regional Meeting of the Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology in Durham, NC.
October 2016
  • Welcome Nicholas Grebe, the Drea Lab's newest postdoc.
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Androgens predict parasitism in female meerkats: a new perspective on a classic trade-off. See publications for more details! 
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Patterns of parasitism in the cooperatively breeding meerkat: a cost of dominance for females. See publications for more details! ​
August 2016
  • Kendra and Charli present on organizational and activational effects of androgens in meerkats at the International Society for Behavioral Ecology's meeting in Exeter, UK.
May 2016
  • Congratulations to Professor Christine Drea on her induction into the Bass Society of Fellows for Excellence in Teaching and Research, as the Earl D. McLean, Jr. Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology!
​ April 2016
  • Congratulations to Sammi and Alex for successfully defending their Undergraduate thesis!
  • Congratulations to Kendra for getting a STERN fellowship :)
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab!  Mix it and fix it: functions of composite olfactory signals in ring-tailed lemurs. See publications for more details! 
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab!  Reproductive endocrine patterns and volatile urinary compounds of Arctictis binturong: discovering why bearcats smell like popcorn. See publications for more details!
February 2016
  • Welcome Rachel Harris who joined the lab as a postdoc.
  • Congratulations to Kendra for getting a NSF doctoral dissertation improvement grant (DDIG)!!!
January 2016
  • Congratulations to Kendra for winning best DEDE student oral presentation at SICB!
November 2015
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab!  Beyond aggression: Androgen-receptor blockade modulates social interaction in wild meerkats. See publications for more details!
August 2015
  • Welcome Sally Bornbusch who joined the lab as a EvAnth graduate student.
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Patterns of parasitism in the cooperatively breeding meerkat: a cost of dominance for females. See publications for more details!
July 2015
  • Joe Petty successfully defended his PhD!
May 2015
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab :) Female rule in lemurs is ancestral and hormonally mediated. See publications for more details!
March 2015
  • Series premiere of "Killer IQ: Lion vs. Hyena." Part 1, 'Predator Games' airs Mar 4 and part 2, 'Predator Challenge,' airs Mar 11 on the Smithsonian Channel. 
February 2015
  • New paper out of the Drea Lab! Baby on board: olfactory cues indicate pregnancy and fetal sex in a non-human primate. See publications for more details!
January 2015
  • Welcome Samantha Epstein, our newest undergraduate researcher!
September 2014
  • Katie successfully defended her Ph.D. AND started a post-doc at Emory University!
  • Kendra returned to the Kalahari Meerkat Project for 6 months of fieldwork!
  • Welcome Ed Kabay, our newest research assistant!
  • Welcome Hannah Derrick, our newest undergraduate researcher!
August 2014
  • Lydia joined the lab as a UPE graduate student! 

























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