Email:

mblair1SPAMFILTER@amnh.org

Phone:

212-313-7077

Research Interests

Mary E. Blair is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC). She is also the coordinator for the CBC's Enhancing Diversity in Conservation Science Initiative. Her research interests include the ecology, evolution, behavior, and conservation biology of primates and other mammals. Her current research integrates molecular techniques with geographic information systems (GIS) modeling to understand the behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary responses of animals to environmental change. Mary received her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Primatology from Columbia University. She was an American Association of University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Writing Fellow and received her B.A. in Biology and Anthropology from Swarthmore College.

• Publications

  Representative Publications:

  • Blair, M.E., Sterling, E.J., and M.M. Hurley. 2011. Taxonomy and conservation of Vietnam's primates: A review. American Journal of Primatology 73(11): 1093-1106. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20986.
  • Blair, M.E. and D.J. Melnick. 2012. Genetic evidence for dispersal by both sexes in the Central American Squirrel Monkey, Saimiri oerstedii citrinellus. American Journal of Primatology 74: 37-47. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.21007.
  • Blair, M.E. 2011. Habitat modification and gene flow in Saimiri oerstedii: Landscape genetics, intraspecific molecular systematics, and conservation. Ph.D. Dissertation, Columbia University, New York, NY. 205 p. Available from: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
  • Grobler, P., Jacquier, M., deNys, H., Blair, M., Whitten, P.L., and T.R. Turner. 2006. Primate sanctuaries, taxonomy and survival: a case study from South Africa. Ecological and Environmental Anthropology 2(2): 12-16.

  Published Abstracts

  • Blair, M. and D.J. Melnick. 2010. Landscape heterogeneity influences gene flow in the Central American Squirrel Monkey. Primate Research 26 (Suppl): [Abstract]. Podium presentation at the 2010 International Primatological Society (IPS) Congress, Kyoto Japan.
  • Blair, M. and D.J. Melnick. 2010. Population genetic structure and landscape genetics of the endangered Central American Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedii). American Journal of Physical Anthropology 141 (Suppl.50): [Abstract]. Poster presentation at the 2010 American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) Annual Meeting, Albequerque, NM.
  • Hodgson, J.A. and Blair, M. 2010. Inferring geographic origin of a population range expansion using GIS and multi-locus genomic data: the origin of modern humans as a test case. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 141 (Suppl.50): [Abstract]. Poster presentation at the 2010 AAPA Annual Meeting, Albequerque, NM.
  • Blair, M. and D.J. Melnick. 2008. The effect of habitat fragmentation on population genetic structure in the Central American Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedii). Primate Eye 96 (Abst#192): [Abstract]. Poster presentation at the 2008 IPS Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • Blair, M. and M. Cords. 2008. Behavioral indicators of female choice in blue monkeys in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 135 (Suppl.46): [Abstract]. Poster presentation at the 2008 AAPA Annual Meeting, Columbus, OH.
  • Dacier, A., Morales-Jimenez, A.L., Blair, M. and T.R. Disotell. 2008. Phylogeny of New World monkeys (Primates: Platyrrhini) based on large genomic sequence data. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 135 (Suppl. 46): [Abstract]. Podium presentation at the 2008 AAPA Annual Meeting, Columbus, OH.