California Lutheran University received its largest National Science Foundation grant to date with funding of $307,486 to enable Assistant Professor Anita Stone and her students to study sexual selection in Brazilian squirrel monkeys.
Stone, a Thousand Oaks resident and the study’s lead principal investigator, will work alongside 12 undergraduate students for four summers studying sexually selected traits and behaviors of the squirrel monkeys that live in the eastern Amazonia Forest. The lead investigator has studied the female-dominant species for 22 years, five of which were with Cal Lutheran students.
The researchers will employ Brazilian field assistants, take local children and teachers on field trips into the forest and present research to residents to promote local conservation.
Previously, the largest NSF grant received by Cal Lutheran was $233,401 for John Stauffer Professor of Analytical Chemistry Katherine Hoffmann, according to a university spokesperson.
The grant allocated to Stone and students also supports the participation of women and other underrepresented groups in science, according to a statement from Cal Lutheran. The university is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education.
