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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SWARTZ JOINS GREAT APE TRUST OF IOWA Resident scientist sees significant opportunities for study of memory and learning at the great ape research center DES MOINES, Iowa, December 16, 2004 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- An expert in the field of primate memory and learning has joined the scientific team at Great Ape Trust of Iowa. Dr. Karyl B. Swartz, former chair of the Department of Psychology at Lehman College of The City University of New York (CUNY), will serve as a resident scientist at the great ape research center in Des Moines. For three decades, Swartz has investigated the organization of memory, learning, attention and self-recognition in orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas and rhesus monkeys. Her early research efforts involved mother and infant recognition studies in non-human primates, which led to further scientific studies of primate cognition. "I'm interested in how apes shape their world - how they generate strategies to solve problems and complete tasks," says Swartz. "In turn, this could teach us more about human learning and memory and how to improve it." 
Along with her institutional research, Swartz has conducted memory studies with orphaned wild orangutans in Indonesia. She believes additional scientific research could improve rehabilitation efforts for both wild and captive primates - something Swartz sees as a significant opportunity for Great Ape Trust.
"I'm interested in understanding how the early experiences in orphaned or displaced orangutans affect behavior," Swartz says. "This might help relocation efforts in the wild and provide a clearer understanding of the behavior of captive animals coming from undesirable or distressed situations such as private ownership, biomedical research or the entertainment industry." Swartz is currently investigating organization of memory by orangutans as well as several ongoing studies of orangutan cognition in collaboration with Dr. Robert Shumaker, director of the orangutan research program at Great Ape Trust. She also looks forward to conducting studies at Great Ape Trust with bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas. Swartz earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Brown University, her master's degree in psychology from George Peabody College and a bachelor's degree from The College of Wooster. In addition to her professorship at Lehman College, where she joined the faculty in 1982, Swartz has been affiliated academically with the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC; Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville, Gabon, Africa; the Regional Primate Research Center at the University of Washington and Purdue University. Great Ape Trust began as the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary in early 2002. In June of 2003, work crews began developing the former sand and gravel quarry near the Des Moines River. Located about five miles southeast of downtown Des Moines on more than 230 acres of lowlands, river forest and lakes, Great Ape Trust of Iowa will be the largest great ape facility in North America and one of the first worldwide to include all four types of great ape: bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans for the study of their cognitive and communicative capabilities. Great Ape Trust is dedicated to providing sanctuary and an honorable life for great apes, studying the intelligence of great apes, advancing conservation of great apes and providing unique educational experiences about great apes. Great Ape Trust is certified by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). To learn more about Great Ape Trust of Iowa, go to www.GreatApeTrust.org. CONTACT: Al Setka Director of Communications Great Ape Trust of Iowa 515.243.3580 515.720.7430 (mobile) asetka@greatapetrust.org |
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