Main Focus
My work at MPI involves using long-term data on wild orangutans to investigate the drivers of their movement decisions. I am also working to investigate the ecological and social factors that allow sympatric frugivorous primates to coexist within the same tropical forest habitats.
Prior to arriving at MPI, I worked at the Primate and Predator Project in the Soutpansberg mountains of South Africa for several years. I have also been an affiliate with the Center for Conservation Innovation, Defenders of Wildlife working on the role that Pumas (mountain lions, cougars) play in the diverse ecosystems of the western hemisphere and continue to collaborate on a number of related projects.
Curriculum Vitae
2016 – 2021 Ph.D. - Evolution, Ecology & Behavior, Dept. of Environment and Sustainability & Dept. of Anthropology, SUNY-UB, NY, USA
2011 – 2015 B.Sc. with Honors –Biology and Minor in Applied Statistics, Dept. of Environmental and Forest Biology, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), The State University of New York, NY, USA
Experience
Feb. 2020 - Present Affiliate, Center for
Conservation Innovation & Dept. of Field Conservation, Defenders of
Wildlife.
May 2016 – July 2019 The Primate and Predator Project, Limpopo, South Africa.
2015 Research Assistant, Durham University, The Primate and Predator Project,
May 2013 – 2015 Independent Honors
Research, SUNY-ESF,
May – Aug. 2014 Research Assistant, SUNY-ESF, Amphibian Ranavirus Disease Ecology Project
2011 – Sept. 2014 Education Programs Animal Keeper, Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, Syracuse, New York.
Publications
LaBarge, LR., Allan, A. T. L., Berman, C. M., Hill, R. A., Margulis, S. W. 2022. Cortisol metabolites vary with environmental conditions, predation risk, and human shields in a wild primate, Cercopithecus albogularis. Hormones and Behavior. 145(105237). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105237
Allan, A.T.L., LaBarge, LR., Howlett, C., Bailey, AL., Jones, B., Mason, Z., Pinfield, T., Schröder, F., Whitaker, A., White, AF., Wilkinson, H., Hill, R. A. Patterns of predation and meat-eating by chacma baboons in an Afromontane environment. Folia Primatologica. 1, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1163/14219980-bja10004
LaBarge LR, Evans MJ, Miller JRB, Cannataro G, Hunt C, Elbroch LM. 2022. Pumas as ecological brokers: a review of their biotic relationships. Mammal Review, https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12281
LaBarge, LR, Allan, ATL, Berman, CM, Margulis, SW, & Hill, RA. 2021. Extent of threat detection depends on predator type and behavioral context in wild samango monkey groups. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-02959-1
LaBarge, L. R.,
Allan, A. T. L., Berman, C. M., Margulis, S. W, & Hill RA. 2021. Reactive and pre-emptive spatial cohesion
in a social primate. Animal Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.03.005
LaBarge, L. R., Hill, R. A., Berman, C. M., Margulis, S. W., & Allan, A. T. L. 2020. Anthropogenic Influences on Primate Antipredator Behavior and Implications for Research and Conservation. American Journal of Primatology. DOI:10.1002/ajp.23087