Nick Chapoy

@nickchapoy.bsky.social

Anthropologist/Primatologist PhD candidate at Tulane University, NOLA Studying vocal communication in white-faced capuchins in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica

We are currently accepting applications for two positions on this project! Research Fellow/Post doc : tinyurl.com/postdocNTU PhD Student: tinyurl.com/PhDNTU Come work with us! @bridgetwaller.bsky.social @neuroprimato.bsky.social

Leverhulme Trust@leverhulme.ac.uk · 3mo ago

Through a series of cognitive experiments and behavioural studies with non-human primates @jamiewhitehouse.bsky.social and team will identify the role that processing facial expressions has in the evolution of mapping social networks. media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/jwhi...

Todd with a Santa Rosa delicacy, squirrel tartare. Capuchins primarily eat fruit/seeds/insects but they are true omnivores. When the opportunity arises they will absolutely hunt bigger prey such as birds, lizards and mammals like this variegated squirrel

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It’s not uncommon for capuchins to babysit one another’s infants, but Kraken has taken it to another level. For weeks he’s carried Frodo almost nonstop. Even during fights he sets him down, then scoops him back up. As alpha, there’s about a 90% chance Frodo is his. See the resemblance?

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Kenai is one of few males still alive since I first arrived in 2021. While capuchins can live into their 30s, a long climb up the social hierarchy, followed by a violent deposition, has left its marks on this 17 year old abuelo. These days, he spends his time on the periphery, avoiding the drama.

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One of the most common questions I’m asked: how do we find monkeys in the middle of the forest. The ‘put to bed’ is the most energetically conservative strategy but requires a very early alarm clock

Can white-faced capuchins discern dominance status through vocalizations? 📣🐒 This season, I’m running a playback experiment using lost calls from dominant and subordinate males to test whether listeners respond differently and can infer social rank solely from vocalizations.

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Field season is underway in the tropical dry forest of Parque Nacional Santa Rosa in NW Costa Rica. I am conducting my dissertation research on vocal communication in white-faced capuchin monkeys! Follow along for fieldwork moments and cute monkey photos.

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Excited to share our methods preprint on CapuchinAI! 🐒💻 We built a field touchscreen + real-time facial recognition system (YOLOv7) that lets wild capuchins “log in” and complete individualized cognitive tasks. @emoryuniversity.bsky.social @gatechengineers.bsky.social #PrimateCognition #AI

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bioRxiv Animal Behavior and Cognition@biorxiv-behav.bsky.social · 9mo ago

CapuchinAI: Leveraging AI to study wild primate cognition https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.07.687266v1

Ran into our old friend Greg while searching for monkeys- it’s good to be home in Santa Rosa! 🐒🌳 I’ve also had a less welcomed reunion with the local chiggers. Any pro tips to stop the itching? 🙏🏼 #fieldwork

Hello BlueSky! I’m so excited to join this growing community of ethologists! I’m a PhD candidate at Tulane, studying vocal communication and dominance in white-faced capuchins. I’m off to the field next week, but for now, a cautious encounter between a capuchin and Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine.