Research scientists Marina Blanco, Ph.D. and Lydia Greene, Ph.D. study lemurs here at the DLC—home to the most diverse population of lemurs outside of Madagascar. Some people might assume that they do this just to hang out with these adorable primates all day, but the truth is that their research could be critical to the survival of some of the world’s most endangered mammals.
Although they study quite different species of lemurs (Marina studies the hibernating dwarf lemur while Lydia specializes in the Coquerel’s sifaka), this married couple support each other as a research team. By studying the lives of lemurs both at the Lemur Center and in Madagascar, Marina and Lydia hope to answer fundamental questions about our distant primate cousins.
“People think we spend our whole lives staring at cute animals in the forest.” Watch the video to learn what it’s really like to study some of the world’s weirdest, most endangered primates!
