Edward McLester

Edward McLester is a Conservation Biology Lecturer at Marwell Wildlife and the University of Southampton, with affiliations at the University of Konstanz's Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour. His work focuses on primate behavioral ecology and conservation, particularly cercopithecine monkeys in Africa and UK wildlife conservation. He holds a PhD in Animal Behaviour from Liverpool John Moores University and a BSc Zoology from the University of Nottingham and National University of Singapore.

Research priorities include golden-bellied mangabey conservation, group movement dynamics in red-tailed monkeys, and primate community ecology. His studies have documented novel behaviors such as mangabey carnivory and interspecific competition with bonobos. Ongoing projects combine GPS tracking, acoustic analysis, and remote sensing to assess primate habitat use in African biodiversity hotspots.

Teaching responsibilities include the MRes Wildlife Conservation program, emphasizing fieldwork in Kenya and South Downs National Park. He supervises research on UK wildlife connectivity and advises students integrating conservation strategy with academic rigor. Collaborations include the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and IUCN primate conservation initiatives.

Publications highlight mangabey endangerment status, vocal communication mechanisms, and primate dietary adaptations. Recent work emphasizes golden-bellied mangabeys' critical conservation needs, with 2025 IUCN listings and field-based population monitoring efforts.