PhD Award 2025 of the German Primate Center for Will O'Hearn

Our former PhD student Will O’Hearn (project B05) has been awarded the 2025 Doctoral Prize by the German Primate Center In his PhD, Will examined how Guinea baboons assess the foraging abilities of their conspecifics and adapt their social behavior accordingly. The central question was whether females prefer male baboons who are particularly successful at finding food. To this end, Will conducted observational studies and behavioral experiments at the DPZ Simenti Field Station in Senegal and at the Nuremberg Zoo. The key finding was that female Guinea baboons use social information about a male’s competence to gain access to a food source themselves. When male Guinea baboons were taught to open a food box using a lever, they were courted more intensely by their female counterparts. However, if the box was removed—and the “trained specialist” could therefore no longer provide additional food—he lost his appeal again. The animals thus make their social decisions based on outcomes rather than on the fundamental competence of their social partner. The award was presented to Will at a ceremony at the German Primate Center on Sept 10, 2025.

Read the DPZ press release

February 2027: 18th Conference of the Gesellschaft für Primatologie in Göttingen

From 17–19 February 2027, the German Primate Center in Göttingen will host the 18th Conference of the Gesellschaft für Primatologie (GfP), organised by Julia Ostner, Julia Fischer and Oliver Schülke. Researchers from all areas of primatology are invited to present their work, exchange ideas and connect across disciplinary boundaries. Registration and abstract submission are now open. Submit your abstract and register at the early-bird rate by 15 November 2026. The final registration deadline is 31 December 2026. Please visit the conference website for all details

Does being a good hunter make a male more attractive?

In Guinea baboons, apparently not. A team around former SFB PhD student Will O'Hearn (now at the University of Exeter) and SFB PI Julia Fischer combined records of 109 meat-eating events with nine years of behavioral observations to test whether males that acquired and shared meat more often were more successful in attracting and retaining females. They found no evidence for such an advantage. Surprisingly, females obtained 41% of the meat they ate from sources other than their unit male, and some even caught prey themselves—the first such observations in this species. The findings suggest that hunting and meat sharing are unlikely to signal male quality in Guinea baboons and that females use other criteria when choosing partners.

Read the full paper here

Marcella Woud and Andre Pittig Recognized at the German Psychotherapy Congress in Berlin

At the 5th German Psychotherapy Congress, held in Berlin from June 8 to 12, 2026, the German Psychological Society (DGP) honored members for their outstanding contributions. The Junior Members of the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Section awarded Marcella Woud and Andre Pittig—associated CRC members—with first and second place in the 2026 Supervisor Award for their dedicated support of doctoral candidates. We’re delighted for Marcella and Andre and offer our heartfelt congratulations on this well-earned recognition