IUCN CEESP-SSC Conservation of Animal Cultures Inter-Commission

Erin is a behavioral ecologist and conservation biologist whose work sits at the intersection of research and on-the-ground impact for great apes, especially chimpanzees. She is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Pan behavioral ecology by prioritizing ecological perspectives and comparative approaches, all the while translating scientific discovery into impactful, evidence-based conservation policy and practice.

At the heart of her research is a commitment to producing rigorous science that not only expands our fundamental understanding of animal behavior and evolution, but also shapes how we approach real-world conservation challenges. She is deeply invested in demonstrating how the study of charismatic species such as apes can both inform core theories in behavioral ecology and catalyze high-impact conservation interventions.

She spearheads several major initiatives, including two cornerstone field research platforms—the BonDiv Project, focusing on bonobo behavioral ecology and conservation across the Congo Basin, and the Moyen-Bafing Chimpanzee Project in Guinea, studying chimpanzees living in an arid savanna-mosaic landscape. She also leads the Western Chimpanzee Conservation Regional Alliance, chairing the Working Group on Chimpanzee Cultures, and co-chairing the IUCN’s new joint-commission taskforce dedicated to the conservation of animal cultures.

Philippa Brakes is a behavioural ecologist and marine mammal biologist. Her research on social learning and culture in cetaceans and other non-humans, uses a combination of theoretical and empirical techniques to unravel how these processes influence conservation and welfare outcomes for wildlife. She has worked with a wide range of vertebrate species and is also interested in how perceptions of wildlife vary across human cultures, particularly across the Pacific Islands region, as well as how adaptive and maladaptive information is transmitted within and between human and non-human cultures. She is currently a Research Fellow with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Honorary Lecturer at the University of Exeter, a member of the IOC-UNESCO Project on Ocean Communication Messaging and Messengers  and a member of the Cetacean Ecology Research Group at Massey University in New Zealand. Since 2014, she has been leading work on animal culture and conservation through the UNEP Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, where she is the Chair of the Expert Group on Animal Culture and Social Complexity, and is co-Chair for the newly formed IUCN CEESP-SSC Conservation of Animal Cultures Task Force.