Background
I received my B.A. degree in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2001 where I was primarily interested in primate evolution and behavior. From 2001-2006, I changed course. I obtained an M.A. degree in Higher Education Administration from Boston College in 2003 and then worked at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine for 5 years, first as an Admissions Counselor and then as the Graduate Studies Manager. In 2006, I decided to return to my interest in Biological Anthropology. I worked as a Primate Field Assistant in Kenya for 6 months and then began this M.S. program in Biology at SFSU.
Research Overview
My current research interests deal with phylogeography, phylogenetics, and population genetics questions pertaining to primates.
I am investigating the phylogeography of the Angolan Black and White Colobus monkey, Colobus angolensis palliatus, a geographically isolated C. angolensis subspecies that has been classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN. This subspecies resides in unprotected and increasingly fragmented forests in southern Kenya, in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania, and in the Tanzanian Southern Highlands.
In the California Academy of Sciences Osher Lab, I am currently doing a comparative analysis of C. angolensis palliatus cytochrome b and control region sequences collected from individuals residing in sites throughout their geographic range in order to uncover the evolutionary relationships among and between these populations, one of which has been purported to belong to a different subspecies. In general, I hope to discover important new information on the degree of genetic variability present in these populations that can be helpful in formulating conservation strategies.
Contact Information:
Monica McDonald
San Francisco State University,
Deptartment of Ecology and Systematic Biology
California Academy of Sciences
mmcdonald@calacademy.org
 Monica McDonald Resume, 2008 (57 kb)
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