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Melissa Emery Thompson

Scholar In Residence in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Evolutionary Anthropology

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Scholar In Residence in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology · 2025 - Present Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Recent Publications


Chimpanzee mothers, but not fathers, influence offspring vocal-visual communicative behavior.

Journal Article PLoS biology · August 2025 Face-to-face communication in humans typically consists of a combination of vocal utterances and body language. Similarly, our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, produce multiple vocal signals alongside a wide array of manual gestures, body postures an ... Full text Cite

Distribution and prevalence of <i>Sarcina troglodytae</i> in chimpanzees and the environment throughout Africa.

Journal Article Journal of medical microbiology · July 2025 Introduction. Since 2005, the leading cause of death for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary (TCS) in Sierra Leone has been epizootic neurologic and gastroenteric syndrome (ENGS), associated with the b ... Full text Cite

Evolutionary demography of the great apes

Chapter · June 14, 2024 The living hominids share a suite of life history features that distinguishes them from other primates, including larger body size, extended juvenile growth and development, and a long lifespan. While modern humans exhibit many distinctions from their grea ... Full text Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Harvard University · 2005 Ph.D.