Elise Huchard

Elise Huchard is a Research Director at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), affiliated with the Montpellier Institute of Evolutionary Sciences (ISEM) at the University of Montpellier. She is a member of the Evolutionary Anthropology Team and serves as an elected member of the ISEM Unit Council (2021-2026).

Dr. Huchard is a behavioral ecologist specializing in the evolution of social and mating systems in mammals. Her research explores social, reproductive, and life history strategies from an evolutionary perspective, with a focus on:

• The evolution of reproductive seasonality across mammals
• Sexual conflict and social hierarchies in mammalian societies
• Social influences on development in both sexes
• The links between animal behavior and animal ethics

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on male-female power relationships, reproductive timing in primates, social reconciliation behaviors, and the ethical implications of behavioral research. She employs both observational data from long-term field studies and comparative approaches to address fundamental questions in behavioral ecology.

Dr. Huchard is actively engaged in the scientific community through several key roles:

• Editor-in-chief of the Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology section of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
• Recommender for PCI Ecology
• Member of the Scientific Committee for the Interdisciplinary Day on Animal Condition

She currently supervises three PhD students whose research investigates sibling rivalry in primates, the evolution of reproductive seasonality across mammals, and sexual coercion in mandrills. Dr. Huchard co-directs the long-term Tsaobis Baboon Project in Namibia and collaborates closely with the Mandrillus Project in Gabon, maintaining extensive field research programs that have generated significant contributions to primatology and behavioral ecology.