Nadine Müller-Klein

Research interests:

• I am broadly interested in social relationships and social evolution, trying to understand the “hows and whys” of health and fitness benefits of strong affiliative relationships and social integration. I am particularly interested in the links between sociality, health and physiology and the mechanisms by which social interactions can impact health, e.g. exposure and susceptibility to pathogens. For my Ph.D., I am investigating those links in semi free-ranging Barbary macaques at Affenberg Salem, Southwest Germany, working on the effect of social network position, social relationships and physiology on gastrointestinal parasite infection.
  
  Working on parasite infections, I also developed a strong interest in host-parasite interactions and disease ecology as well as immunology – and, by extension, health monitoring using non-invasive markers, as for instance neopterin, and a deep scientific curiosity for animal personalities and the physiology of aging, particularly in combination with relationships and health.

Education

• June 2014 to August 2018: Ph.D. student at the Behavioural Ecology Department, University of Göttingen in the Ph.D. program “Behaviour and Cognition”. Thesis title: Costs and benefits of sociality in semi free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)
  The thesis is part of the DFG research Unit Sociality and Health in Primates (SoHaPi)
• January to July 2013 & October 2013 to May 2014: Research assistant, Behavioural Ecology Department, University of Göttingen
  Main tasks: Teaching, literature research, participation in writing a grant writing for the DFG research Unit SoHaPi
• October 2010 to January 2013: Master of Science, Master program “Developmental, Neural and Behavioural Biology”, University of Göttingen
  Master thesis: Influence of MHC-II on mate choice in wild Assamese macaques
• October 2007 to June 2010: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor program “Humanbiologie” (Biomedical Science), Philips-University Marburg, focus on neurobiology
  Bachelor thesis: “Die Regulation von hTRPV4 durch die intrazelluläre Calciumkonzentration”

Publications

• Müller-Klein N, Heistermann M, Strube C, Franz M, Schülke O & Ostner J (in press) Exposure and susceptibility drive reinfection with gastrointestinal parasites in a social primate. Functional Ecology.

• Müller-Klein N, Heistermann M, Strube C, Morbach Z, Lilie N, Franz M, Schülke O & Ostner J (in press) Physiological and social consequences of gastrointestinal nematode infection in a nonhuman primate. Behavioral Ecology.
• Paschek N, Müller N, Heistermann M, Ostner J, Schülke O (2019) Subtypes of aggression and their relation to anxiety in Barbary macaques. Aggressive Behavior
• Müller N, Heistermann M, Strube C, Schülke O & Ostner J (2017) Age, but not anthelmintic treatment, is associated with urinary neopterin levels in semi-free ranging Barbary macaques Scientific Reports 7, 41973
• Müller N, Ostner J, Schülke O & Walter L (2014) Towards the non-invasive assessment of MHC genotype in wild primates: analysis of wild Assamese macaque MHC-DRB from fecal samples, American Journal of Primatology 76, 230-238

Conference Contributions

• Müller N (2018) Closing the can of worms - disentangling risk and protective factors for gastrointestinal parasite infections in a nonhuman primate. 9th European Conference on Behavioural Biology (ECBB), Liverpool (Presentation)
• Müller N (2017) Costs and benefits of sociality in semi free-ranging Barbary macaques. Wissenschaftliches Kolleg - Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Göttingen (Presentation)
• Müller N (2017) Macaques, sociality and parasites – (How) do social interactions predict parasite infection? 7th European Federation for Primatology (EFP) Meeting, Strasbourg
• Müller N (2017) Macaques, sociality and parasites – (How) do social interactions predict parasite infection? 35th International Ethological Conference (IEC) & Summer Meeting of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB), Estoril (Presentation, symposium contribution)
• Müller N (2017) The connection between health, age, and parasite infection in semi-free ranging Barbary macaques at Affenberg Salem. DVG-Tagung der Fachgruppe Parasitologie und parasitäre Erkrankungen, Hannover (Presentation)
• Müller N (2017) Physiological and social consequences of gastrointestinal parasite infection in semi-free ranging Barbary macaques. 15th Conference of the Gesellschaft für Primatologie (GfP), Zürich (Presentation)
• Müller N (2016) Effect of experimental antihelmintic treatment on urinary C-peptides in semi free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) at Affenberg Salem, 26th Meeting of the International Primatological Society (IPS), Chicago (Presentation)
• Müller N (2015) Comparing social networks before and after experimental deworming in Barbary macaques at Affenberg Salem. 14th Conference of the Gesellschaft für Primatologie (GfP), Leipzig (Poster)
• Müller N (2013) Towards the non-invasive assessment of MHC-genotype in wild primates. 9th Göttinger Freilandtage (GFT) , Göttingen(Poster)
• Müller N (2013) Towards the non-invasive assessment of MHC-genotype in wild primates. International Conference on Behavior, Physiology and Genetics, Berlin (Poster)