Richard McFarland is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and received his Ph.D. from the University of Lincoln, UK. He also holds a Senior Honorary Research Fellow position in the School of Physiology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and affiliate faculty positions in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Center for African Studies at UW-Madison. His research aims to investigate individual, population and species differences in behavioral adaptation and physiological competence, particularly in relation to the consequences of social and climatic challenges. He is the director of the Swebeswebe Primate Research Project in South Africa and studies the behavioral ecology and environmental physiology of wild chacma baboons and vervet monkeys. These are ideal model organisms for his research because they are obligatorily social, experience a wide temperature range in extreme environments, and manifest a range of specialized social and thermoregulatory adaptations. Richard takes both an experimental and mechanistic modeling approach to the study of thermoregulation, examining the role that local climates played in shaping the behavior and thermal competence of living primates, and our primate and hominin ancestors.
A word from Sissel Schroeder, Chair of the Anthropology Department:
On behalf of all of our colleagues in the Department of Anthropology, I extend my most heartfelt congratulations to Rich on his promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. Professor McFarland conducts comparative research on socio-physiological mechanisms of thermoregulation across diverse non-human primate species, research that holds tremendous potential to address major questions about the social and physiological adaptations of primates whose habitats are expected to become warmer as global climates change. His thoughtful teaching style engages students in experiential learning about non-human primates in the classroom, Henry Vilas Zoo, and his field station in South Africa.
Written Q&A with new tenured faculty: Richard McFarland
Describe your primary research, as well as its significance to your field and, if applicable, current issues and events.
I’m interested in the behavioral and physiological strategies that wild primates use in response to environmental and social stress. We’ve known for a long time that being social can have a positive effect on an individual’s survival and reproductive success. This is true for a wide range of species, including many primates, other mammals and also humans. We know far less, however, about why more sociable individuals tend to fare better than those less sociable. A major focus of my current research is to examine the physiological mechanisms that link sociality with fitness in wild primates, and, more broadly, examine the selective pressures that led to the evolution of complex social systems and behavior in the primate lineage. Well over half of all primate species are threatened with extinction. This means there is an urgent need to understand how primates are affected by their environment, and what implications climate change may have on their survival. A second major focus of my research is to examine whether primates have the behavioral and physiological flexibility to cope with highly variable and extreme climates. My most recent focus has been on primate thermoregulation, and the behavioral strategies that primates use to buffer themselves from hot and cold environments.
Describe what your research specifically involves (travel, experiments, historical texts, etc.). What’s most exciting and challenging about it?
For my PhD, I spent two years in Morocco studying wild Barbary macaques, and since 2012 I have been running research projects on vervet monkeys and chacma baboons in South Africa. These are all excellent model species for my research, because they are highly social, experience a wide temperature range in challenging environments and manifest a wide range of specialized behavioral and physiological adaptations. In 2019 I started the Swebeswebe Primate Research Project in South Africa, where I study the behavioral ecology and environmental physiology of wild chacma baboons. My research is largely observational, and most of our time during fieldwork is spent following baboons and collecting behavioral and ecological data. Baboons can travel up to 15 miles a day, over steep cliffs and difficult terrain. Data collection is physically very demanding – which is why I now leave most of that hard work to my students – but few things are more rewarding than being accepted by wild animals and being afforded the privilege to observe them in their natural habitat.
Describe your teaching style. What kinds of strategies do you use to keep students engaged?
All my introductory classes start with a big question: What makes us human? What makes a primate a primate? What are monkeys thinking? Anthropology is a naturally engaging subject, and I have the opportunity to teach my students about the story of human evolution and the complexities of primate behavior. I try to adopt a personal and reflective approach to my teaching and draw upon as much of my own research and experiences as possible in the classroom. I am motivated to train my students to be independent thinkers and equip them with the tools necessary to perform independent research. To that end, my upper-level classes are typically skill-based, focusing more heavily on the scientific method and the acquisition of practical and analytical skills. I recently established a Primate Studies Field School with the Study Abroad program, where I plan to take a group of undergraduates to my field site in South Africa every summer.