Biography
I hold a PhD in Psychology from the University of Stirling, UK and MSc in Environmental Science from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, which both gave me foundation to pursue studies in conservation and behaviour of primates.
I have worked with a number of primate species since 2003, focusing on long-tailed macaques, chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos. Although I held research roles with primates in captivity, my primary focus and interest is primate behaviour in the wild. I studied behaviour of wild primates in Uganda, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo. This includes the first systematic study of repertoire of gestural communication in wild chimpanzees, and the first investigation of the gestural and vocal determinants of social relationships in wild chimpanzees.
Research
Currently, the focus of my research is a comparative study of vocal and gestural communication and sociality in wild chimpanzees and bonobos. The aim of this research is to determine the complexity of communication and its connection to social complexity using social networks approach. I have collected social and communication data from two groups of wild bonobos at Wamba research camp. My Ph.D. student is collecting data using the same methodology with wild East African chimpanzees in Uganda.
Bonobos are the least known great ape species, due to their limited distribution in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I aim to increase knowledge about bonobos by launching bonobo habituation site at the Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve, in the north-western province of Tshuapa. This site contains three groups of bonobos overlapping in space use in an area of an intact forest, whereby human use is prohibited. This offers a unique opportunity to explore a number of key questions about cultural complexity of the bonobos, such as how social relationships both within and between groups are related to dietary complexity in absence of anthropogenic pressures in the habitat.
Key Publications
Roberts, A. I., Vick, S.-J. & Buchanan-Smith, H. 2012 Usage and comprehension of manual gestures in wild chimpanzees. Animal Behaviour 84, 459-470. (DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.05.022).
Roberts, A. I., Vick, S.-J., Roberts, S. G. B., Buchanan-Smith, H. M. & Zuberbühler, K. 2012 A structure-based repertoire of manual gestures in wild chimpanzees: Statistical analyses of a graded communication system. Evolution and Human Behavior 33, 578-589. (DOI:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.05.006).
Roberts, A. I., Vick, S.-J. & Buchanan-Smith, H. 2013 Communicative intentions in wild chimpanzees: Persistence and elaboration in gestural signalling. Animal Cognition 16, 187-196. (DOI:10.1007/s10071-012-0563-1).
Roberts, A. I., Vick, S.-J., Roberts, S. G. B. & Menzel, C. R. 2014 Chimpanzees modify intentional gestures to coordinate a search for hidden food. Nature Communications 5 3088. (DOI:10.1038.ncomms4088).
Roberts, A. I., Roberts, S. G. B. & Vick, S.-J. 2014 The repertoire and intentionality of gestural communication in wild chimpanzees. Animal Cognition 17, 317 - 336. (DOI:10.1007/s10071-013-0664-5).
Roberts, S. G. B. & Roberts, A. I. 2016 Social brain hypothesis, vocal and gesture networks of wild chimpanzees. Frontiers in Psychology 7. (DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01756 ).
Roberts, A. I. & Roberts, S. G. B. 2016 Wild chimpanzees modify modality of gestures according to the strength of social bonds and personal network size. Scientific Reports 6. (DOI:10.1038/srep33864).
Roberts, S. & Roberts, A. I. 2018 Visual attention, indicative gestures, and calls accompanying gestural communication are associated with sociality in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodyres schweinnfurthii). Journal of Comparative Psychology 133, 56-71. (DOI:10.1037/com0000128).
Roberts, A. I., Murray, L. & Roberts, S. G. B. 2019 Complex sociality of wild chimpanzees can emerge from laterality of manual gestures. Human Nature 30, 299-325. (DOI:10.1007/s12110-019-09347-3).
Roberts, A. I. & Roberts, S. G. 2020 Communicative roots of complex sociality and cognition. Biological Reviews 95, 51-73. (DOI:10.1111/brv.12553).
Roberts, S., Dunbar, R. & Roberts, A. 2022 Communicative roots of complex sociality and cognition: Neuropsychological mechanisms underpinning the processing of social information. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. (DOI:10.1098/rstb.2021.0295).
Roberts, A. I. & Roberts, S. G. B. 2022 Intentional gesturing increases social complexity by allowing recipient's understanding of intentions when it is inhibited by stress. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. (DOI:10.1098/rstb.2021.0305).
Roberts, S., Robin, D. & Roberts, A. 2022 Communicative roots of complex sociality and cognition: Preface to the theme issue Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
Damjanovic, L., Roberts, S. G. & Roberts, A. I. 2022 Language as a tool for social bonding: evidence from wild chimpanzee gestural, vocal and bimodal signals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 377, 20210311.
Other Professional Activities
PhD research supervision
