Congratulations to CHES Director Dr. Erin Vogel, on her recent publication in Science Advances: “Integrated behavioral and metabolically flexible responses of wild orangutans to ecologically driven dietary variation.”
This landmark study provides integrated evidence of how wild orangutans adapt to feast-and-famine cycles by maintaining protein intake and flexibly shifting to body fat and muscle during periods of fruit scarcity. The paper has already received wide attention in the scientific community and media, highlighting its significance for both primate ecology and human health research.
Dr. Vogel also co-authored a companion article in BioScience (“Fermented fruits: scrumping, sharing, and the origin of feasting”, September 2025), which reviews evidence that African apes frequently consume naturally fermented fruits (“scrumping”) and explores implications for the evolution of alcohol tolerance and social behavior.
Check out Dr. Vogel's new publications below!
Integrated behavioral and metabolically flexible responses of wild orangutans to ecologically driven dietary variation
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv7613
Fermented fruits: scrumping, sharing, and the origin of feasting
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/75/9/774/8215783