Staff, Students & Associates

Conservation Biology Masters Students (2011/12)

Jenneca McCarter

Email: jenneca.mccarter@uct.ac.za

Jenneca was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the United States. She obtained her BA in Biology with Honors from the University of Arkansas in December 2009. She has undertaken ecological field studies in various areas around South Africa. She worked for the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), helping to oversee ecological research projects conducted by undergraduates from both the USA and South Africa in the Kruger National Park. The projects covered a wide range of topics, from the potential roles of elephants and rodents in the dispersal of Marula Trees (Sclerocarya birrea), to how bark characteristics might affect post-fire survival in savanna trees. Although she has wide-ranging interests in ecology and conservation biology, Jenneca’s main research interest is primate ecology and the application of conservation practices to primate populations. She has always been fascinated by non-human primates, with a particular interest in African species. To gain experience with non-human primates, Jenneca has worked for the last five years at the Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum with eleven species of primates. She hopes to eventually make an impact on the conservation of non-human primates, and to assist in the resolution of human-wildlife conflict issues. Some of Jenneca’s other interests include violin, soccer, being outdoors, learning foreign languages, and dance.

Mini-thesis

The evolution of MHC supertypes in Chacma Baboons (Supervisor: Dr Jacqui Bishop)