David Morgan graduated from Western
Carolina University in 1992 where he
majored in Biology. Following his
undergraduate studies, Morgan worked at
several zoological institutions
including the Smithsonian Institute's
National Zoo and Busch Gardens in Tampa.
His long-term interest in African great
apes led him in 1997 to a research
assistantship with the Mbeli Bai Gorilla
Project located in the Nouabale-Ndoki
National Park of the Republic of Congo.
In 1999, Morgan initiated a study of
chimpanzees in the nearby pristine
forests of the Goualougo Triangle. His
investigation on the social structure,
spatial distribution and feeding ecology
of three neighboring communities of
chimpanzees was the focus of his
doctoral research at Cambridge
University, U.K.
Morgan along with Crickette Sanz are
co-directors of the Goualougo Triangle
Ape Research Project which is a
long-term research project focusing on
the behavioral ecology of sympatric
chimpanzees and gorillas in the Congo
Basin. As a research fellow of the
Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study
and Conservation of Apes at Lincoln Park
Zooand the Wildlife Conservation
Society's Congo Program, Morgan
collaborates with other field biologists
and scientists on research projects
aimed at improving the
conservation
status of chimpanzee and gorilla
populations throughout Africa. His particular research interests
include evaluating the effects of mechanized
logging on apes, assessing the
co-existence of gorillas and chimpanzees in lowland forests, and
evaluating the spatial distribution and organization of
neighboring chimpanzee communities in terms of territoriality
and habitat use.
He
serves on the Section of Great Apes of
the IUCN's Primate Specialist Group and
is a founding member of the A.P.E.S.
database initiative.
