Robert O’Malley
Contact Information
Office: GFS 120
Phone: (213) 740-1900
E-mail: romalley@usc.edu
Mail Code: 0371
Started at USC: Fall 2004
Education:
2004 – present
Graduate Student, Integrative & Evolutionary Biology (Biological Sciences)
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
2002
M.A., Anthropology
Thesis: “Variability in foraging and food processing techniques among white-faced capuchins
(Cebus capucinus) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica.”
University of Alberta, Edmonton
1999
B.A., Anthropology & Zoology
Miami University, Oxford
Faculty Advisor(s):
Dr. Craig Stanford, Anthropology
http://www.usc.edu/dept/elab/anth/FacultyPages/stanford.html
Research Topics: primatology, wild chimpanzees
Research Description:
Robert O’Malley is a 3rd-year PhD student in the Integrative and Evolutionary Biology program, but has been an
active primatologist for almost ten years. He has completed a tool-use study on orangutans at the National Zoo in
Washington, D.C., assisted with caring for rehabilitant gibbons at a sanctuary in Thailand, and worked with a variety
of nonhuman primates while serving as a veterinary associate (enrichment/socialization specialist) at the National
institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. He has published several papers on manual laterality (i.e., hand preferences)
in nonhuman primates. He has conducted extensive field work in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, examining
patterns of foraging and food-processing in white-faced capuchins. His intended dissertation research will explore
social, ecological, and nutritional aspects of insectivory by wild chimpanzees.
Collaborations:
Dr. Linda Fedigan, University of Calgary
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~fedigan/fedigan.htm
Dr. William C. McGrew, University of Cambridge
Awards:
Integrative and Evolutionary Biology Interdisciplinary Research Award (2006)
$500 in support of summer research activities
USC College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Theme Summer Supplement (2005)
$2000 in support of summer research activities.
University of Southern California Joint Initiative Graduate Merit Award (2004-2009)
Stipend of $23,000/year (3 years’ graduate teaching assistantship, 2 years’ graduate fellowship); award also covers
USC tuition and health center fees.
University of Calgary Anthropology Department Visiting Speaker Grant (2003)
$380 to defray expenses for presenting at the 2003 ASP meeting
University of Alberta Graduate Student Association Grant (2002)
$50 to defray expenses for presenting at the 2002 AAPA meeting
Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research (2001)
$400 research grant to support MA field work in Costa Rica
University of Alberta Tuition Scholarship (1999-2001)
Covers University of Alberta tuition for two and a half years of graduate study
University of Alberta Graduate Assistantship (1999-2002)
Monthly stipend of $1,150(CAN)/month during the academic year
Miami University Zoology Department Research Grant (1999)
$750 to support volunteer work with white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) in Thailand
Miami University Rebecca Andrews Memorial Award (1999)
$980 to support volunteer work with white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) in Thailand
Miami University Roschmann Award (1999)
$180 to defray expenses for the 1999 AAPA meeting
Miami University Undergraduate Presentation Award (1999)
$200 to defray expenses for the 1999 AAPA meeting
Miami University Undergraduate Summer Scholarship (1999)
$2,000 to support research at the National Zoological Park
Miami University Read Bain Memorial Scholarship (1998)
$100 for recognition of excellence in anthropology
Howard Hughes Medical Grant (1996)
$2,500 to support a summer research project on meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) at the Miami University
Ecological Research Center
Miami University Harrison Scholarship (1995-1999)
Highest scholarship awarded by Miami University; pays in-state tuition, room and board.
National Merit Finalist (1995)
$750/yr for four years
Eagle Scout Award w/ Bronze Palm (1992)
Publications:
Horvath, J.L., Croswell, M., O’Malley, R.C., & McGrew, W.C. Plant species with potential as food, nesting
material, or tools at a proposed chimpanzee refuge site in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. International Journal of
Primatology.
O’Malley, R.C., McGrew, W.C. Hand preferences in captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Primates 47(3): 279283.
O’Malley, R.C. & Fedigan, L.M. Evaluating social influences on food processing behavior in white-faced
capuchins (Cebus capucinus). American Journal of Physical Anthropology 127(4):481-491.
O’Malley, R.C. & Fedigan, L.M. Variability in food processing behavior among white-faced capuchins (Cebus
capucinus) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 128(1):63-73.
O’Malley, R.C. Parallels and contrasts with primate cultural research (Commentary). Behavioral and Brain
Sciences 24(2): 349.
O’Malley, R.C. & McGrew, W.C. Oral tool use by captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Folia Primatologica 71:
334-341.