Through a Monkey's Eyes

U of C primatologist Amanda Melin is spending five months studying capuchin monkeys in the tropical forests of Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica. She is investigating whether the monkeys' colour-blindness has any bearing on their selection of food. Check out her blog Through a Monkey's Eyes.

Profile: Amanda Melin, 26, is completing her PhD in Biological Anthropology in the University of Calgary's Department of Anthropology. As a field researcher, Melin has to see the world through a monkey's eyes, as she studies the effect of colour vision on the foraging behavior of capuchin monkeys. All males and some female capuchins are colour blind, and Melin wants to find out if deficiency of colour vision has any bearing on their food selection. Melin is part of Alberta's SCIberMENTOR program, which provides mentorship opportunities for girls in science and engineering. She is keeping a weekly blog of her experiences on the SCIberMENTOR website.