Christopher A. Shaffer, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan
Biological/Environmental Anthropologist
My work focuses on the ecological and cultural interactions between humans and wildlife, particularly in the context of hunting and natural resource management.
Research
Community-based natural resource management
Subsistence hunting is critically important for the food security and cultural identity of many people throughout the tropical world, particularly Indigenous groups, but is also a major threat to wildlife conservation and potential source of zoonotic disease. Read More »
Human dimensions of socio-ecological systems
A major focus of my research is understanding the influence of human activity, particularly traditional subsistence strategies and ecological knowledge, in shaping tropical forest socio-ecological systems.
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Movement and community ecology of nonhuman primates
My work also focuses on spatial and agent-based modeling of community and movement ecology of non-human primates at a field site I established with Conservation International called the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession (UECC) in Guyana. Read More »