The 40 th meeting of the American Society of Primatologists

The 40 meeting of the American Society of Primatologists (ASP) was held at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. on August 25-28, 2017. The conference offered attendees the opportunity to learn from a variety of topics, such as primate conservation, welfare and enrichment, health, and infant development. Participants also had the chance to attend diverse symposia and round table discussions. The opening reception took place at the National Zoo on Friday night with multiple animal demonstrations, including a demonstration of feeding Redd, the eleven-month old orangutan that is the zoo’s newest ape. As refreshments were enjoyed, colleagues from across the country mixed and mingled while touring the exhibits housing gorillas and orangutans. Saturday kicked off with the president’s welcome from Kimberley Phillips (Trinity University). This was followed by a data blitz, during which students had two minutes to highlight their research and generate excitement about their subsequent presentations. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from Pat Kobor of the American Psychological Association during a roundtable discussion about science advocacy and communicating with congressional staffers. During the Distinguished Primatologists Address, Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth (University of Pennsylvania) discussed 20 years of research on primate social cognition and its adaptive value in the evolution of primate cognition. Cheney and Seyfarth considered what monkeys and primates know about their social companions and how this information improves survival and reproduction.