Patricia Berles

I studied Biology at the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena and completed my master’s degree in Evolution, Ecology and Systematics. In my master’s thesis, I studied the mastication of dogs.

Currently, I am working at the Nyakatura Lab as a Ph.D. student. My doctoral thesis is embedded in a project in cooperation with the German Primate Centre in Göttingen and the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena. The aim of the project is to understand the jumping behavior and correlated differences in hindlimb morphology of the Callitrichidae (Mammalia, Primates) from an evolutionary perspective. The main focus of my work is on field work in Amazonian Peru, where I will observe Saguinus fuscicollis (the saddleback tamarin) and S. mystax (the moustached tamarin) in their natural habitat, in order to exactly determine their habitat use. Subsequently, I will perform a in-depth motion analysis of jumping in selected callitrichids using the X-ray motion analysis facility in Jena.