Linda marie fedigan biography for kids

Dr. Linda Marie Fedigan

  • Member of the Order of Canada

    • Awarded on: May 12, 2016
    • Invested on: February 17, 2017

    For her contributions to advancing our understanding of the behaviour and society of several primate species, and for her dedication as a mentor to the next generation of primatologists.

    Linda Marie Fedigan has made enduring contributions to the study of primates, some of our closest evolutionary relatives. Canada Research Chair in Primatology and Bioanthropology at the University of Calgary, she established a world-class research station in Costa Rica’s Àrea de Conservación Guanacaste. Known for her field work, she has conducted groundbreaking long-term studies of the life history and reproductive patterns of female monkeys, which have increased our understanding of how primates adapt to their environments. An exemplary mentor, she is also known for her academic study of the role of women in science.

In Admiration of Linda Marie Fedigan

As the Twig Is Bent…

One would not have predicted that the child of a German-Italian war bride and her US Air Force husband, born in 1949 in Enid, Oklahoma, would become a renowned primatologist. Linda's toddler years were spent near her father's family in rural Georgia, while he was away serving in Korea. It could not have been an easy time for her mother, but after her father returned, he was periodically based in Germany, so that as a child Linda lived close to her German and Italian grandparents and other European relatives. She learned German -one of the several languages she speaksand with language and experience came multiple ways of perceiving the world.

When Linda was in junior high, another socially and intellectually expanding experience presented itself during her father's term of duty in San Antonio. Those were the years of Sputnik, the first artificial space satellite that was launched by the Soviet Union in 1956. To many Americans that achievement showed that, "Ivan was smarter than Johnny" (Fedigan, Pers. Comm. December 2016), and enormous emphasis was placed on renewing excellence in learning. It should be no surprise to anyone who knows Linda that she was selected for a special scholarship at a private school that sought to train young scientists. She thrived in the small class setting, primed with motivated teachers, academically high-achieving classmates, and drills in science, languages, and math. So much so that, when her father was again assigned for a tour of duty in Germany, she was too advanced for 11th grade at the American high school on base. Nevertheless, Linda's mother was unwilling to let her daughter go off to college.

Only after a year of "one rather boring high school on base" did 17-year-old Linda escape to the American College in Paris, where she spent 2 years. Linda regards her time at the American College as a formative experience, but it is worth n

The Santa Rosa Primate Field Project

I initiated this project in Costa Rica in 1983. My long-term goal is to describe the behavioral ecology, conservation parameters and life histories of the 3 primate species (capuchins, howlers and spider monkeys) in the park. I have conducted frequent censuses of the monkey groups throughout the 100 km2 park over a 25 year period, and several groups of each species were first targeted 23 years ago for intensive, longitudinal study. We collect continuous life history data on selected female capuchins. Twenty-seven advisees have completed their theses (eight doctoral, 19 masters) at the site under my supervision, and two more (two Doctoral, one Masters) are currently underway. Numerous undergraduate and graduate students have assisted in my fieldwork and been part of our research team. I employ Costa Rican field assistants year-round on the project (Rodrigo Morera 1985-1995, Saul Cheves 2011-present, Ronald Lopez 2016-present), and I hire other Costa Ricans on shorter-term contracts. A 1998 film on our project was produced by OMNI Film Productions for the series "Champions of the Wild" (Discovery Channel). Dorothy Fragaszy, Elisabetta Visalberghi and I co-authored a book entitled The Complete Capuchin Monkey, published by Cambridge University Press in March 2004.

Macaca fuscata © 2003 Linda M. Fedigan

Gender and Science

Beginning with an interest in how the gender of the scientist affects their research on sex differences, I have moved to a wider focus on the role of gender in scientific disciplines such as anthropology, primatology and biology. Publications include papers on the role of women in models of human evolution; feminism and primatology; science and the successful female; and historical analyses of the effects of gender on changing views of life history research. I co-hosted an international Wenner-Gren conference on the role of gender, method and theory in the history of primatology, and

  • Linda Marie Fedigan, CM

    • Linda Marie Fedigan

    American-Canadian anthropologist and primatologist

    Linda Marie Fedigan, CM FRSC (born 1949) is a Canadian-based American academic, educator, and Canada Research Chair in Primatology and Bioanthropol at the University of Calgary, Alberta. In addition, Fedigan is also the Executive Editor of the American Journal of Primates and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Prior to accepting her current position, Fedigan was a professor at the University of Alberta, teaching anthropology from 1974 until 2001.

    Education

    Fedigan was born in Oklahoma and began her formal studies in anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Originally, she had plans to become a cultural anthropologist but later decided to focus on primatology due to her interest in sociality. She earned a Ph.D in 1974 for her study of social roles in a transplanted troop of Japanese monkeys living on the Arashiyama West Primate Research Station at La Moca Ranch, Texas.

    Research

    Fedigan's focus is on social structure, sex differences, reproduction, behavioural ecology and conservation of Costa Rica and Japanese monkeys. Fedigan was one of the first female primatologists who elected to study female life histories and male-female interactions. Past research projects include the Arashiyama West Primate Research Station, the Santa Rosa Primate Field Project and examinations of gender and science (descriptions included in this article).

    The Arashiyama West-East Primate Project

    Research on a group of Arashiyama Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) began near Kyoto, Japan in 1954. In the summer of 1966, the group naturally separated forming two troops and in 1972, one of the two troops was translocated to Texas for research and training of American and Japanese students. The troops were renamed Arashiyama West and East. In Tex

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