Stacey Tecot

About Stacey Tecot

Lab: http://www.leep.arizona.edu

I'm interested in the behavioral and physiological strategies that are used to cope with environmental change, and allow individuals to survive, grow, and reproduce. I prioritize actively blending research with conservation and capacity building. My current focus is on the evolution and mechanisms of cooperation, especially cooperative infant care and bonding between individuals and species. My fieldwork takes place in Madagascar, where I co-direct the Ranomafana Red-Bellied Lemur Project (RRBLP) with Dr. Rachel Jacobs. The goal of the RRBLP is to establish a long-term demographic dataset to track individual reproductive success and population growth/decline over time. This work is done in part with computer-assisted facial recognition technology. At the University of Arizona, I direct LEEP (Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates). We develop new assays to measure noninvasively collected samples, train researchers to analyze their samples, and conduct our own hormonal assays. I'm currently studying a range of species, including lemurs, capuchins, humans, and dogs. I also devote my time to learning and implementing strategies to support students on campus and in the field.

Visit Stacey Tecot's website

Selected Publications

* indicates student co-author

Axel AC, *Harshbarger B, Lewis RJ, Tecot SR. (2024). Consistency in Verreaux’s sifaka home range and core area size despite seasonal variation in resource availability. American Journal of Primatology e23617. http://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23617 

*Gnanadesikan G, *King K, Carranza E, *Flyer A, *Ossello G, *Smith PG, Steklis NG, Steklis HD, Carter SC, Connelly JJ, Barnett M, Gee N, Tecot S, MacLean E. (2024). Effects of human-animal interaction on salivary and urinary oxytocin in children and dogs. Psychoneuroendocrinology,169:107147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107147

*Gnanadesikan GE, Bray EE, *Cook EN, Levy KM, Douglas LELC, Kennedy BS, Tecot SR, MacLean EL. (2024). Basal plasma oxytocin and fecal cortisol concentrations are highly heritable and associated with individual differences in behavior and cognition in dog puppies. Hormones and Behavior, 165:105612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105612

*Gnanadesikan GE, *Carranza E, *King KM, *Flyer AC, *Ossello G, *Smith PG, Steklis N, Steklis HD, Connelly JJ, Barnett M, Gee N, Tecot S, MacLean EL. (2024). Glucocorticoid response to naturalistic interactions between children and dogs. Hormones and Behavior, 161:105523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105523

Grieneisen L, Hays A, *Cook E, Blekhman R, Tecot S. (2024). Temporal patterns of gut microbiota in lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer) living in intact and disturbed habitats. From Molecules to Metapopulations: Global Research led by Primatologists in Canada. E23656. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23656

MacLean E, Carranza E, *Gnanadesikan G, *King KM, Allen AM, Linde-Krieger LB, Feldman R, White-Traut RC, Hammock EAD, Carter CS, Leng G, Tecot S, Bell AF. (2024) Neurophysin I is an analytically robust surrogate biomarker for oxytocin. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 106951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106951 Editor’s pick

Veilleux, CC, Tecot, SR, Lewis, RJ. (2024). Fat storage and drought tolerance in a seasonally-adapted primate: Implications for models of global climate change. Integrative Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1002/inc3.65 Cover and Cover Story

*Whitney TL, Mallot EM, *Diakiw LO, *Christie DM, Ting N, Amato KR, Tecot S, Baden AL. (2024). Ecological and genetic variables co-vary with social group identity to shape the gut microbiome of a pair-living primate. American Journal of Primatology e23657. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23657

Tecot S, *Birr M, *Dixon J, Lahitsara JP, Razafindraibe D, Razanajatovo S, Sanchez-Arroyo A, Tombotiana AV, Velontsara JB, Baden AL. (2023). Functional relationships between estradiol and paternal care in red-bellied lemurs. Hormones and Behavior, 150, 105324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105324

West K, Tecot,S, Borgerson C, Wright P, Walker-Bolton A, Andriamiadanarivo A, Andrianoely D, Celestain J, Elison P, Jordan J, *Liu A, Rafidimanandray R, *Randimbiarimanana C, Razafindrapaoly BN, Razafindrapaoly BN, Aliperti JR. (2023). Commentary: An overdue catalyst: limitations imposed by Covid-19 improve capacity building in community-led environmental education in Madagascar. Special issue: New Ideas in Conservation Education. American Journal of Primatology, 8(5), e23497 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.23497

Eppley T, et al…Tecot SR…(2022). Descending from the trees: Factors leading to terrestriality in arboreal primates. PNAS, 119(42): e2121105119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121105119

*Gnanadesikan GE, Hammock EAD, Tecot SR, Lewis RJ, Hart R, Carter CS, MacLean EL. (2022). What are oxytocin assays measuring? Epitope mapping, metabolites, and comparisons of wildtype & knockout mouse urine. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 143, 105827. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.03.482682

Johnson SE, Tecot SR, Ralainasolo FB, Ratsimbazafy JH, Overdorff DJ, Donati G. Eulemur, true lemurs. (2022). In Goodman, S. M., and Benstead, J. (eds.), The New Natural History of Madagascar (1941-1946), University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Ziegler TE, Tecot S, Fernandez-Duque E, Savage A, Snowdon CT. (2022). Nonhuman primate paternal care: species and individual differences in behavior and mechanisms. In: Gonzalez-Mariscal G (Ed). Patterns of Parental Behavior: From Animal Science to Comparative Ethology and Neuroscience (pp. 213-238). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97762-7

Amato KR, Abreu F, Baden A, Barnett A, Bicca-Marques JC, Boyle S, Chapman C, Chaves OM, Lopes KGD, Eppley TM, Fan P, Fashing P, de la Fuente F, Fortes V, Grueter CC, Hohmann G, Irwin M, Matthews J, Mekonnen A, Ostner J, Nguyen N, Piel A, Pinacho B, Aredes EPQ, Razanaparany T, Rothman J, Schuelke O, Shanee S, Souza-Alves JP, Tecot S, Stewart F, Stone A, Sun B, Vogel E, Wich S, Mallott EK. (2021). Fermented food use in wild primates suggests nutritional benefits. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 175:513-530. http://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24257

Gnanadesikan G, Hammock EAD, Tecot SR, Carter CS, MacLean EL. (2021). Specificity of plasma oxytocin immunoassays: a comparison of commercial assays and sample preparation techniques using oxytocin knockout and wildtype mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 132: 105368. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453021002420

Watzek J, Hauber M, Jack K, Murrell J, Tecot S, Brosnan S. (2021). The origins of collective decision-making: Insights into collective defense behavior from agent-based modeling. Behavioural Processes, 193:104530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104530

Singletary, B, Tecot, S. (2020). Multimodal pair-bond maintenance: A review of signaling across modalities in pair-bonded nonhuman primates. American Journal of Primatology, 82(3): e23105. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23105

Mann AE, Mazel F, Lemay M, Morien E, Kowalewski M, Di Fiore A, Link A, Goldberg TL, Tecot S, Baden A, Gomez A, Sauther ML, Cuozzo F, Britton GAO, Dominy NJ, Stumpf R, Lewis RJ, Swedell L, Amato K, Parfrey LW (2019). Biodiversity of protists and nematodes in the wild non-human primate gut. ISME J, 14:609-622. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0551-4.

Singletary, B, Tecot, S. (2019). Signaling across the senses: A captive case study of pair-bonded red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer) at the Duke Lemur Center, NC, USA. Primates. 60:499-505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00770-9

Tecot, SR, Irwin MT, Raharison J-L. (2019). Faecal glucocorticoid metabolite profiles in diademed sifakas increase during seasonal fruit scarcity with interactive effects of age/sex class and habitat degradation. Conservation Physiology 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz001

Amato, K, Sanders, J, Song, SJ, Nute, M, Metcalf, JL, Thompson, L, Morton, J, Amir, A, McKenzie, V, Humphrey, G, Gogul, G, Gaffney, J, Baden, A, Britton, J, Cuozzo, F, Di Fiore, A, Dominy, N, Goldberg, T, Gomez, A, Kowalewski, M, Lewis, R, Link, A, Sauther, M, Tecot, S, White, B, Nelson, K, Stumpf, R, Knight, R, Leigh, S. (2018). Evolutionary trends in host physiology outweigh diet in structuring primate gut microbiomes. ISME Journal. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0175-0

Erhart, E, Tecot, S, Grassi, C. (2018). Interannual variation in diet, dietary diversity and dietary overlap in three strepsirrhine species in southeastern Madagascar. International Journal of Primatology. 39:289-311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-018-0040-z

Tecot, S and Baden, A. (2018). Profiling caregivers: Hormonal variation underlying allomaternal care in wild red-bellied lemurs. Special Issue. Physiology and Behavior. 193:135-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.007

Raulo, A, Ruokolainen, L, Hanski, I, Lane, A, Baden, A, Amato, K, Knight, R, Leigh S, Stumpf R, White, B, Neson, K, Tecot, S. (2017). Social behavior and gut microbiota in red-bellied lemurs: In search of the role of immunity in the evolution of sociality. Journal of Animal Ecology 87(2): 388-399. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12781

Crouse, D, Jacobs, RL, Richardson Z, Klum, S, Jain, A, Baden, AL, Tecot, SR. (2017). LemurFaceID: A face recognition system to facilitate lemur conservation. BMC Zoology. 2:2-14. doi: 10.1186/s40850-016-0011-9

Eronen, JT, Zohdy, S, Evans, A, Tecot, S, Wright, PC, Jernvall, J. (2017). The Culm Before the Storm: Global Climate Change Driving the Extinction of the Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus). Current Biology. 27:3384-3389. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.050

Zohdy, S, Bisanzio, D, Tecot, S, Wright, PC, Jernvall, J. (2017). Aggression and hormones are associated with heterogeneity in parasitism and parasite dynamics in the brown mouse lemur. Animal Behaviour. 132:109-119. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.08.002

Tecot, S. (2016). Wright, P. C. In: A. Fuentes (ed.). International Encyclopedia of Primatology. Wiley-Liss.

Kamilar, JM, Tecot, SR. (2016). Anthropogenic and climatic effects on the distribution of Eulemur species: A niche modeling approach. Special Issue: New Research Directions in the Genus Eulemur. International Journal of Primatology 37:47-68. doi:10.​1007/​s10764-015-9875-8

Tecot, S, Singletary, B, Eadie, E. (2016). Why “monogamy” isn’t good enough. American Journal of Primatology, Special Issue on Monogamy. 78(3): 340-354. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22412

Kamilar, JM, Tecot, SR. (2015). Connecting proximate mechanisms and evolutionary patterns:  Pituitary gland size and mammalian life history. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 28:1997-2008. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12715

Tecot, S, Baden, A. (2015). Primate allomaternal care. In: R. Scott, S. Kosslyn, eds.  Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource. Hoboken, NJ:  John Wiley and Sons. 1-16. doi: 10.1002/9781118900772.etrds0263

Zohdy S, Gerber B, Tecot S, Blanco MB, Winchester JM, Wright PC, Jernvall J. (2014). Teeth, sex, and testosterone: Ageing in the world’s smallest primate. Plos ONE 9:e109528. doi: 10.137/journal.pone.0109528.

Tecot, S, Gerber, B, King, S, Verdolin, J, Wright, PC. (2013). Risky business: Sex ratio, mortality, and group transfer in Propithecus edwardsi in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Behavioral Ecology 24: 987-996 doi: 10.1093/beheco/art008

Tecot, S. (2013). Variable energetic strategies in disturbed and undisturbed rain forest habitats: fecal cortisol levels in southeastern Madagascar. Leaping Ahead: Advances in Prosimian Biology (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects). J. Masters, M. Gamba, F. Génin, R. Tuttle, eds. New York: Springer. Pp. 185-195. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_21

Tecot, S, Baden, A, Romine, N., Kamilar, J. (2013). Reproductive strategies in Malagasy strepsirhines. In: Rutherford J, Hinde K, Clancy K (eds) Building babies: Primate development in proximate and ultimate perspective (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects). New York: Springer.

Tecot, S and Romine, N. (2012). Female leadership of group movements in a pair-living, co-dominant, monomorphic primate species. American Journal of Primatology. 74:591-601. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22011

Tecot, S, Baden, A, Romine, N, Kamilar, J. (2012). Infant parking and nesting, not allomaternal care, influence Malagasy primate life histories. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1393-5

King, SJ, Boyer, DM, Tecot, SR, Zohdy, S, Blanco, M, Wright, PC, Jernvall, J. (2012). Lemur habitat and dental senescence in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. American Journal of Physical Anthropology Special Issue on Dental Ecology. 148(2):228-237. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21589

Wright PC, Erhart EM, Tecot SR, Baden AL, Arrigo-Nelson S, Morelli TL, Deppe A, Ratelolahy F, Blanco M, Atsalis S, Johnson SE, Ratolahy F, Tan CLM, Zohdy S. (2012). Long-term lemur research at Centre ValBio, Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. In: Kappeler PM, Watts D, editors. Long-term research in Primates. Dordrecht: Springer.

King, SJ, Morelli, TL, Arrigo-Nelson, S, Ratelolahy, FJ, Godfrey, LR, Wyatt, J, Tecot, S, Jernvall, J, Wright, PC. (2011). Morphometrics and pattern of growth in wild sifakas (Propithecus edwardsi) at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. American Journal of Primatology. 73(2):155-172. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20881

Wright, PC, Tecot, SR, Erhart, E, King, SJ, Baden, AL, Grassi, C. (2011). The role of lemurs in maintaining Madagascar ecosystems: Implications for forest composition. American Journal of Primatology. 73:1-18. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20936

Rakotonirina, L.H., Spirall, G.J., Ratsimbazafy, J.H., Ravelonjanahary, S., Ralaiarison, R., Tecot, S., Hall, A., Calhoon, T., Randria, G.R. (2010). Effet de la dégradation de l’habitat sur la consommation alimentaire d’Eulemur rubriventer dans deux sites: Talatakely et Vatoharanana, du Parc National de Ranomafana. Lemur News. 15:47-51.

Tecot, S. (2010). It’s all in the timing: Out of season births and infant survival in Eulemur rubriventer. International Journal of Primatology. 31(5): 715-735. DOI:10.1007/s10764-010-9423-5.

Tecot, S and Wright, PC. (2010). “Primate Conservation Efforts”. Yearbook of Science and Technology. McGraw Hill: New York.

Baden, A, Lu, A, Tecot, S. (2009). 2009 annual meetings of the American Society of Primatologists. Evolutionary Anthropology. 18:164-165.

Tecot, S. (2008). In Reference to Lemurs: A Comprehensive Field Guide and Call to Action on Behalf of the Unique Primates of Madagascar (book review). American Journal of Primatology. 70:204-206.

Overdorff, DJ and Tecot, S. (2006). Social pair-bonding and resource defense in wild red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer).  In: Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation.  Ed. Gould, L. and Sauther, M. L. Springer: New York. 235-254.

Tecot S, *Ossello, G, *Smith, P, Rakotonirina, LHR, TELO Albert, RANDRINIRINA V, RAKOTONIRINA TE, Peñaherrera-Aguirre, M. (2023). Diurnal fecal glucocorticoid metabolite rhythms in a cathemeral primate, the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer), and across mammalian species. American Journal of Primatology, 85(8), e23521. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23521

Courses Taught

ANTH364: Natural History of our Closest Relatives

ANTH368: Methods in Primatology

ANTH431/531: Primate Sexuality

ANTH470/570: Primate Behavior

ANTH495D/595D: Special Topics in Biological Anthropology: 1) Primate Behavioral Ecology 2) Socioendocrinology Methods

ANTH595D: Special Topics in Biological Anthropology: Comparative Human Evolutionary Biology

ANTH696D: Anthropology Graduate Student Professional Development Series 1

ANTH492: Directed Research

Areas of Study

Primate behavioral ecology, socioendocrinology, cooperation and bonding, allomaternal infant care and pair-bonding, reproductive endocrinology, conservation, life history, gut microbiome

Noninvasive monitoring

Projects

Preserving Knowledge of Endemic Species in Madagascar Through Storytelling

LemurFaceID: A Face Recognition System for Red-Bellied Lemurs (R. Jacobs, A. Black, Co-PIs)

Oxytocin Pathways and the Health Effects of Human-Animal Interaction (E. MacLean, Co-PI)

Collaborative Research: The function and mechanism of male intrasexual relationships in a variable system: resistance, tolerance, or bonding, and the role of females (R. Lewis, Co-PI)

Profiling caregivers: The hormonal correlates of allomaternal care in red-bellied lemurs (A. Baden, Co-PI)

Making an alpha male: Socioendocrinology of dominance in male white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) (K. Jack and E. Wikberg, Co-PIs)

The effects of kinship, group membership, diet, and sociality on the gut microbiome of red-bellied lemurs (A. Baden, L. Diakiw, A. Raulo, A. Lane, Co-PIs)

Population genetics of red-bellied lemurs (A. Baden, R. Jacobs, Co-PIs)

Testing field hormone extraction methods and storage times on fecal progesterone assays in Verreaux's sifaka (R. Lewis, M. Birr, Co-PIs)

Circadian patterns of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (G. Ossello, P. Smith, M. Peneherrera-Aguirre, L. Rakotonirina, Co-Authors)

Gut microbiome methods develop and gut microbiome – hormone relationships during parental care in red-bellied lemurs (with Co-I L. Grieneisen)

A randomized controlled trial to improve mother-infant synchrony among women with childhood adversity (A. Bell, Co-I)

Perinatal stress, social support, and neuroendocrine regulation among mothers with opioid use disorder and their infants: Implications for infant attachment and development (A. Allen, Co-I)

Research Interests

Primatology

Endocrinology

Ecology

Life History

Energetics

Conservation Biology

Reproduction

Cooperation

Social and Mating Systems

Feminist Biology