LaP – Laboratory of Primatology
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The LaP (Laboratory of Primatology) is part of the Biodiversity Department at São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro campus, Brazil. Our research focuses on how anthropogenic activities - driven environmental changes - such as defaunation and forest fragmentation - impact primate behavior, ecology, and the critical ecosystem services they provide. In addition to primates, we also study other mammal groups and dung beetles.
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Our projects cover a wide range of topics, including:
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Primate ecology and behavior
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Seed dispersal and post-dispersal seed fate
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Movement ecology
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Stress physiology
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Functional and landscape ecology
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We welcome researchers and students interested in joining our team! If you're passionate about these topics, send us an email introducing yourself and your research interests.
Contact us: laurence.culot@unesp.br (Laurence Culot)​​
Laurence Culot - Coordinator
Laurence Marianne Vincianne Culot was born in Belgium and holds a BA in Biological Sciences (2003), a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences with a focus on animal biology (2005), and a Ph.D. in Sciences (2009) from the University of Liège, Belgium, with a research period at the German Primate Center in Göttingen. She conducted postdoctoral research at São Paulo State University (UNESP) under Prof. Mauro Galetti, studying the effects of defaunation—especially of primates—on seed recruitment and the genetic structure of Cryptocarya mandioccana in the Atlantic Forest. Laurence has researched primates in Guinea, the Peruvian Amazon, and the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. She is currently a Professor at UNESP’s Institute of Biosciences in Rio Claro, where she leads studies on primate ecology, resilience, and their role in forest regeneration. She was the First Secretary of the Brazilian Primatological Society (2020–2023). Read More
