Professor of Ecology, Conservation and Environment at Anglia Ruskin University, and Founder & Director of the Little FireFace Project

Interview July 2026 by Stuart Thompson

What is the main focus of your current research?

I have worked mainly on nocturnal primates and conservation projects since the 1990s looking at different lorises across their habitat ranges. Since 2011, my work has focused on the critically endangered Javan slow loris on the island of Java, Indonesia. My research has been multi-dimensional. I initially investigated the evolution of their venom and why they are venomous. However, this research led to the realization of just how deeply social that population is, by showing elements of female dominance alongside intense maternal, paternal, and sibling care. Nocturnal primates studied over the short term without the right technology often appear solitary, but newer tools and long-term data reveal their complex social lives. I am now broadly interested in using them as a model to understand the evolution of primate social behavior.

A major applied facet of my work addresses how primates survive alongside growing human populations. Over 24 years tutoring on the master’s programme at Oxford Brookes, it was often difficult to steer students away from romanticizing fieldwork in remote, untouched rainforests. In reality, those pristine habitats are dwindling. So understanding how primates survive in areas of higher density human population for me is really interesting. In Java, this involves working with coffee farmers to improve their business models and enhance biodiversity in their fields to command higher prices. Over the past 15 years, we have also engaged the broader community, from schoolchildren to women and local teachers, to foster pride and awareness of surrounding biodiversity. As modern life becomes more urbanized and reliant on technology, people easily lose touch with the wildlife sharing their immediate environments. Bridging that disconnect through conservation education and public science communication is central to what I do.

Where do you see your research making the biggest impact?

Unfortunately, people remain relatively uninterested in nocturnal primates, focusing largely on three or four species out of roughly 650. There will likely always be only a handful of researchers interested in pure behavioral studies of slow lorises, though perhaps more will be drawn to what they reveal about the evolution of primate social organization.

Beyond primatology, however, I see our socioeconomic and behavior-change models making the biggest impact, particularly for conservation. The real value lies in how we assess outreach projects and track long-term behavior change to move from basic awareness, where someone simply knows a primate lives in their area, to inspiring genuine action to protect it. Developing ways to reliably evaluate those behavior-change models, even within shorter-term studies, is where I believe this work has the widest reach.

What kind of advancements in the field are you particularly excited about?

I am especially excited about accelerometers. I am fortunate to study a species that is straightforward to tag, yet displays extraordinary movement patterns. They are spiraling, stretching, and climbing rather than simply leaping. Accelerometers have been a powerful tool for studying slow lorises, particularly because nocturnal primates are out of direct sight like 60% of the time. The data will completely transform our understanding of their activity patterns, including their cryptic social behavior. Thermal cameras and drone technology are equally game-changing. Looking at what appears to be a solitary loris in the bamboo through a thermal lens often reveals four individuals existing in close proximity. Using drones equipped with thermal imaging to survey canopy tops allows us to assess populations without disturbing them. Ultimately, these passive methods mean we do not have to inhabit the forest constantly. Our physical presence often creates paths that hunters can exploit. Non-invasive technologies allow us to monitor wildlife rigorously while letting animals, and the rainforest, remain genuinely wild.

What do you admire in your model system?

No matter the species, it is incredible that there is always something fundamentally new and extraordinary to discover. Just this year, we recorded a completely new ultrasonic vocalization from the slow lorises. A couple of years ago, we realized they communicate in nearly pure ultrasound, and we even discovered a new facial muscle that likely facilitates those calls. These ultrasonic vocalizations explain so many field mysteries like how one loris will suddenly take off across the canopy to meet and groom another, guided by signals we couldn't hear.

I also love the unexpected natural history observations that, even as a sample size of one, completely transform how you view a species. We see lorises interacting with other animals in fascinating ways: they swat at bats or groom wild mice instead of eating them, while recently we documented one preying on an owl, which came as a complete shock.

Beyond the lorises themselves, working in this ecosystem continually surprises us. The other day a pangolin appeared in our study area. Our coffee initiative is certified by the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, requiring a strict hunting ban on all protected species to maintain certification. Seeing a pangolin thrive there shows the broader impact of that protection.

What was your route into the position you currently hold?

I originally intended to study journalism. However, as I had maxed out my science credits in high school, entering university required me to take a science with a lab, and the only open slot was biological anthropology. I had no idea studying wild animals was a viable career, but once I found out, I immediately changed my major to anthropology.

A pivotal moment was when I saw Jane Goodall speak. Her famously anthropomorphic presentation of chimpanzees, while popular, pushed me in the opposite direction: I wanted to study the primates least related to us. Reading my textbook by Alison Jolly, I noticed nocturnal primates received almost no coverage. In 1993, I attended the Creatures of the Dark conference at Duke Primate Center which was the first gathering of nocturnal prosimian biologists since I was born. There, I met Simon Bearder from Oxford Brookes and Robin Crompton from Liverpool, who actively encouraged me to join them since so few people studied bushbabies and lorises.

After finishing my PhD and completing a one-year maternity cover, I moved to the UK to work with Simon Bearder developing the MSc in Primate Conservation at Oxford Brookes. We built an exceptional, award-winning programme that earned a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, reshaping dynamic coursework around student employability. However, university-wide restructuring led to staff cuts and threats to the course. We initially agreed to go part-time to protect the programme, but it became clear that someone moving on would help secure the others.

Right around then, there was an opening at Anglia Ruskin University. Leaving Oxford Brookes after so long felt unimaginable, but taking the role has been completely rejuvenating. Anglia Ruskin now hosts the largest group of primatologists at any UK university. Being situated in a Life Sciences department frames our research within broader evolutionary, ecological, and wild animal welfare contexts, placing me right next door to geneticists and toxinologists. We have just received approval for a brand new master’s course, MSc Primatology and Conservation, launching next year, and being based in Cambridge offers fantastic collaboration with the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the major conservation charities based here.

Who have been key figures helping you in your career?

Simon Bearder was fundamental in steering me toward nocturnal primates; his passion for getting researchers to look at the dark was infectious. Robin Crompton was equally influential. When we met, he encouraged me to take the European Certificate in Primatology in Strasbourg. The lecturers were legendary figures, including Yves Rumpler, Jean-Jacques Petter, Elke Zimmermann, and Bernhard Meier. That connection with Robin directly shaped my career trajectory: he invited me onto the editorial board of Folia Primatologica, later appointed me associate editor, and when he stepped down, asked me to succeed him as Editor-in-Chief. Leading the world’s oldest primatology journal since 2016 traces back entirely to that meeting.

Alison Jolly was another profoundly special mentor and colleague when she was a research associate at Oxford Brookes. She was deeply committed to conservation education, and we bonded over writing children's books. Despite authoring foundational primate textbooks, she never held a conventional academic post, instead balancing family life, extensive travel with her husband, and groundbreaking field research. Her ability to forge her own path was endlessly inspiring, and I miss her dearly.

Finally, my students have shaped me just as much as my mentors. Having supervised 36 completed PhDs, over 300 master’s students, and more than 300 Indonesian students on our Java project, watching emerging researchers find their footing is deeply rewarding. Recognizing that spark of potential in the next generation and nurturing their success continues to drive my work.

What advice would you give to prospective students looking to enter primatology?

Study a genus that has never been studied before. There are still species where you can become the world expert almost immediately because so little is known about them. Even if you are initially drawn to the field by large, charismatic primates, consider the neglected species sharing their habitats. Think of Jill Pruetz’s work at Fongoli, where studying chimpanzees revealed them hunting bushbabies with spears, or observations of female orangutans preying on slow lorises. Looking at interspecies interactions opens entirely new cultural and ecological questions.

There can sometimes be a negative perception in primatology around spending your career focused on a single taxon or study site, but there is immense value in being an unapologetic "species champion". Committing deeply to one group has allowed me to branch out into diverse disciplines such as bioacoustics, venomics, behavioral ecology, accelerometry, and conservation education, rather than confining myself to a narrow behavioral trait like color vision or handedness.

At the same time, resist the modern "FOMO" mindset of country-hopping every few months, for example ticking off Costa Rica, then South Africa, then Thailand. Principal investigators constantly need dedicated research coordinators and field site managers who will stay for two, three, or five years. It takes at least a year just to orient yourself. Real insight happens when you commit to sustained anthropological immersion: staying long enough to truly understand the animals, the local community, and the landscape. Deep commitment is where real conservation impact begins.

Where can people find your work?

Instagram: @littlefireface

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDSmGm73N49-OvLAqbJu8ag

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleFirefaceProject/

Website: https://www.nocturama.org