Robert W. Sussman, Ph.D. is Professor of Physical Anthropology and Environmental Sciences at Washington University. Professor Sussman is a specialist in the ecology and social structure of primates (human and nonhuman) and ways in which the study of primates can help us understand the biological basis of the evolution of human behavior. He has conducted research in Madagascar, Mauritius, Costa Rica and Guyana, Of particular interest in Madagascar has been a long-term study (now more than 30 years) of the demography, ecology and social organization of two species of ring-tailed lemurs (the subject of Marlin Perkins’ documentary “Lemurs of Madagascar” in 1981). He co-founded the Beza Mahafaly Reserve in Madagascar where current studies involve monitoring deforestation with satellite images, attempting to determine its causes, and consequences on the lemurs of the region.

His topic for the May 2nd program will be “Man the Hunted,” which is also the title of his latest book (with his former graduate student, Donna Hart, “Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators, and Human Evolution”). In this book, the anthropologists’ position is that our hominid ancestors were more hunted by predators than they were hunters and that it was by adapting skills such as learning to walk upright, living in social groups that provided protection, etc., that improved the odds of man’s survival.