Skip to main content

Anne Pusey

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Anthropology
Evolutionary Anthropology
Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
101 Biological Sciences Bldg, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


I have recently retired and am not taking on new students although I am continuing some research projects.  I am interested in understanding the evolution of sociality, social structure, and the patterns of competition, cooperation and social bonds in animal species, including humans. Most of my work has focused on social mammals: lions and chimpanzees. For the last twenty five years I have worked almost exclusively on the long term Gombe chimpanzee project. I have gathered the data from this study into an archive, currently housed at Duke, and I oversee the computerization of systematically collected daily data, incorporating this and related material into a relational database. I also advise on the ongoing field study at Gombe. Combined analysis of the long-term data and focused new data collection in the field enables study of a wide variety of questions. Current projects in my research group include studies of female social relationships and female settlement patterns. We also participate in collaborative work with colleagues at a number of other institutions on studies of life history, personality, and health, including studying the natural history of SIVcpz.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Anthropology · 2018 - Present Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Anthropology · 2018 - Present Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published April 24, 2023
If it Pays to Be a Jerk, Why Isn’t Everyone That Way?
Published May 3, 2022
Three Faculty Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Published August 26, 2021
Even Chimpanzees Need a Wingman

View All News

Recent Publications


Tropical field stations yield high conservation return on investment

Journal Article Conservation Letters · March 1, 2024 Conservation funding is currently limited; cost-effective conservation solutions are essential. We suggest that the thousands of field stations worldwide can play key roles at the frontline of biodiversity conservation and have high intrinsic value. We ass ... Full text Cite

Reproductive inequality among males in the genus Pan.

Journal Article Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · August 2023 Reproductive inequality, or reproductive skew, drives natural selection, but has been difficult to assess, particularly for males in species with promiscuous mating and slow life histories, such as bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan trog ... Full text Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


LTREB Renewal: Female Settlement Patterns and Social Relationships in Chimpanzees, a Male-Philopatric Species

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2016 - 2021

Studies of the Precursor of the Human AIDS Virus in its Natural Chimpanzee Host

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Pennsylvania · 2015 - 2020

The Benefits of Male Relationships in the Gombe Chimpanzees

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by L.S.B. Leakey Foundation · 2015 - 2017

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


Stanford University · 1978 Ph.D.