a comparative model for understanding some aspects of human and other primate ecology and behavior. Early humans were also subject to non-tropical environments and were forced to live with extreme temperature swings across the different seasons. Previously, it was often argued that cave use by anthropoid primates (monkeys and apes) was to help regulate temperature. But Cuozzo and his colleagues’ new lemur information suggests that these primates are using caves as sleeping sites to avoid native and introduced predators. These new data provide a framework for interpreting possible cave use by early human ancestors and other extinct primates, indicating their potential use of caves for protection from predators, similar to the ring-tailed lemurs described by Cuozzo and colleagues. Since more people are populating Madagascar, new predators such as dogs and cats have emerged. This has posed a new threat to the lemur species. Cuozzo said that caves found along the ground could be considered traps for lemurs if being chased by predators. As shown in this research, only caves found high on cliff faces, where predators can’t climb, are chosen by these lemurs as sleeping sites. Research efforts are ongoing for the study of this ring-tailed primate. Cuozzo is among those leading efforts to find answers for this recent change in primate behavior. The work of Cuozzo and his colleagues was funded by various sources, including a UND Faculty Seed Money Grant, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado College, The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, The National Geographic Society, and the U.S. National Science Foundation. n Photographs courtesy of Frank Cuozzo.
PHOTO BY JACKIE LORENTZ
to help design teaching methods that may mediate these effects. Currently, Rhoades is among the few researchers in the United States studying this topic. He is working with researchers in New Zealand, Scotland and South Africa who are also studying novel education techniques. The field of education has generally been resistant to complexity research, instead opting for the traditional direct classroom approach to teaching, said Rhoades. But he contends, “This research is giving us answers to questions we just aren’t getting with other teaching methods.” Even though his study remains in the confines of a local taekwondo dojang, Rhoades hopes someday to conduct his research in public schools. n
Jesse Rhoades is exploring how the natural tendency of students to form their own social networks can be utilized to create better teaching strategies. These might also suggest more effective ways to mediate bullying or other behavior issues.
UND Discovery n Spring 2014 n 15