Concordia University
M.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: Sarah E. Turner
Start: 2025-05-14
End: 2027-12-15

Project

Beyond the Blink: How AI Can Help Document Fleeting Play Behaviours and Individual Interactions
My MSc research examines how juvenile Japanese macaques with congenital disabilities integrate into social play groups at the Awajishima Monkey Center in Japan. Up to 17% of this free-ranging population exhibits limb malformations, offering a unique lens on how physical impairments shape sociality and resilience. To address the challenge of tracking ~400 individuals, I propose retraining deep learning models through transfer learning to automate facial recognition and behavioural identification using still frames from 4K footage. This approach will reduce observer bias, increase efficiency, and generate large-scale, longitudinal data on play behaviour. Ultimately, the project bridges behavioural ecology with machine learning, advancing understanding of the adaptive value of play while developing non-invasive digital tools for ecological and conservation research.

Keywords

AI, machine learning, behavioural ecology, Play, Congenital disabilities