Emily Otali

Emily, a Ugandan, obtained a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Sciences in 1994, and a Master's degree in Environment and Natural Resources in 1999; both from Makerere University. Emily was also a member of the University of Cambridge research team that studied the ecology and behaviour of the banded mongooses in Queen Elizabeth National Park, from 1995 to 2000. Realising that human habitation within the National Park was affecting the mongooses; Emily's MSc. Focused on the effects of refuse feeding on the behaviour, reproduction and survival of the banded mongoose.

After many years working on a social mongoose species, Emily turned her interest in sociality to a different species for her PhD: the chimpanzee. Emily began her PhD. research under a Compton Fellowship in 2001, studying the dynamics of party formation by fission and fusion in chimpanzees. This research is based at Makerere University's Biological Field Station in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Chimpanzee social organisation is characterised by flexibility in both the size and composition of groups within a community. Various factors have been suggested to affect group formation: predation, resource defence, feeding efficiency, copulatory success, caring for the young, and prevention of disease. Emily's work is focused on determining which of these factors are most important in influencing an individual's decision to stay with, or leave, a group; and to determine which individuals within the community are responsible for party formation.

An animal's grouping pattern is an essential part of its biology; with numerous implications for wild and captive management. As chimpanzee numbers continue to decline, Emily hopes that her work can help in re-introduction of confiscated chimpanzees into their natural environment. This work may have important implications for the long-term success of such re-introduction programs.