Jessica Lynch Alfaro Assistant Professor Department of Anthropology Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4910   Phone: 509-335-7964 Fax: 509-335-3999 Email:jwalfaro@wsu.edu   Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison - Biological Anthropology, 2001 M.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison - Biological Anthropology, 1996 B.A. University of California at Davis ­ English, 1984 RESEARCH INTERESTS: Endocrinology, specializing in primate sexual behavior and reproduction.   RESEARCH SUMMARY: My research program centers on the sexual strategies and reproductive endocrinology of anthropoid primates. My research analyzes sexual behavior and hormonal patterns in wild capuchin monkeys in Brazil. In these males, both testosterone and cortisol concentrations showed a strong seasonal pattern, increasing dramatically during the conception season. During the months when females did not conceive, both hormones remained at base line levels for all males, despite considerable mating activity and the highest frequencies of male-male aggression. Although the social organization of this species is multi-male mutli-female, the mating system has been considered functionally "uni-male" due to overwhelming female mate choice for the dominant male. In my study, I saw insistent and highly conspicuous female sexual solicitation targeted at the alpha male, but surprisingly, this males hormonal pattern were no different from those of other adult males in the group. In addition, although there were marked differences by male dominance rank in the quality of sexual interactions with the females, copulation frequency was the same for both high and low ranking males.   REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS: Altmann J, Lynch JW, Nguyen N, Alberts SC, Gesquiere LR. (2004) Life-history correlates of steroid concentrations in wild peripartum baboons. Am J Primatol. 64(1):95-106. Good T, Khan MZ, Lynch JW. (2003) Biochemical and physiological validation of a corticosteroid radioimmunoassay for plasma and fecal samples in oldfield mice (Peromyscus polionotus). Physiol Behav. 80(2-3):405-11. Strier KB, Lynch JW, Ziegler TE. (2003) Hormonal changes during the mating and conception seasons of wild northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus). Am J Primatol. 61(2):85-99. Lynch JW, Khan MZ, Altmann J, Njahira MN, Rubenstein N. (2003) Concentrations of four fecal steroids in wild baboons: short-term storage conditions and consequences for data interpretation. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 132(2):264-71. Lynch JW, Ziegler TE, Strier KB. (2002) Individual and seasonal variation in fecal testosterone and cortisol levels of wild male tufted capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella nigritus. Horm Behav. 41(3):275-87. Lynch J.W. (2001) Male social behavior and endocrinology in wild tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella nigritus) at the Estação Biológica de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Neotropical Primates. 8(1):44-9.