Orkin Lab

Département d'anthropologie
Département de sciences biologiques

Our lab studies the adaptive evolution of primates and their commensal microbes. We are molecular anthropologists who specialize in genomics, metagenomics, and proteomics.We work in the field, in the lab, and on the computer cluster, collaborating with biologists and anthropologists across the world.

Research

Primate conservation and landscape genomics

A complex interaction of environmental and anthropogenic effects influences levels of genomic diversity in primate populations. We study how the modification of primate habitat caused by shifting climates, deforestation, and human population expansion affects gene flow, genetic diversity, speciation, and extinction.We work with a wide range of primate species, including capuchin monkeys, gibbons, lemurs, and galagos with field projects in Costa Rica and China.We also develop new approaches to molecular ecology, including fecalFACS cell sorting and scat detection dogs.Orkin et al. (2025) Ecological and anthropogenic effects on the genomic diversity of lemurs in Madagascar. Nature Ecology & EvolutionOrkin et al. (2025) Landscape and conservation genetics of western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) in China. American Journal of PrimatologyOrkin et al. (2016) Cost-effective scat-detection dogs: unleashing a powerful new tool for international mammalian conservation biology. Scientific Reports

Primate adaptation to changing and hostile environments

Capuchin monkeys living in the dry forest of Santa Rosa, Costa Rica must survive extreme droughts and food scarcity in a highly seasonal ecosystem. How have they adapted to do this?We use comparative genomics to examine how genes affecting metabolism and kidney function allow for local adaptation to these environmental challenges.Long-term study of the capuchin gut microbiome gives us a window into how commensal microbes facilitate seasonal adaptation to fluctuating food and water resources.Orkin et al. (2021) The genomics of ecological flexibility, large brains, and long lives in capuchin monkeys revealed with fecalFACS. PNASOrkin et al. (2019) Seasonality of the gut microbiota of free-ranging white-faced capuchins in a tropical dry forest. The ISME JournalOrkin, Webb, & Melin (2019) Small to modest impact of social group on the gut microbiome of wild Costa Rican capuchins in a seasonal forest. American Journal of Primatology

Anthropology of heritage preserved foods

Preserving seasonally abundant foods has facilitated the expansion and growth of human populations throughout our history. Salt and smoke alter the selective environment of microbes during wild fermentation, modifying the taste and texture of foods in culturally meaningful ways.Through multiomic anthropology, we study how heritage preservation practices bring about culturally preferred foods like pickles and smoked salmon.Flachs and Orkin (2019) On pickles: biological and sociocultural links between fermented foods and the human gut microbiome. Journal of Ethnobiology and EthnomedicineFlachs and Orkin (2019) Fermentation and the Ethnobiology of Microbial Entanglement. Ethnobiology Letters.