About

I am a senior lecturer in Animal Behavioural Ecology and the programme leader for the BSc (Hons) Zoology.

Research interests

Generally I am interested in the evolution of mating systems and male care, with a special focus on mammals. I have started to establish a burying beetle colony at the university to allow students to study these topics in an invertebrate system.

I am also very interested in the behaviour and ecology of domestic cats as well as their impact on small mammal and bird populations.

Recent publications

2017-present

• Fernandez-Duque, E., Huck, M., Van Belle, S., & Di Fiore, A. (2020 - in press) The evolution of pair-living, sexual monogamy, and cooperative infant care: Insights from research on wild owl monkeys, titis, sakis, and tamarins. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24017
• Huck, M., Di Fiore, A. & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2020) Of Apples and Oranges? The Evolution of "Monogamy" in Non-Human Primates. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7:472. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00472.

• Huck, M. & Watson, S. (2019) The use of animal cameras to video-track the behaviour of domestic cats. Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Sciences, 217:63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2019.04.016

• Juárez, C. P., Huck, M., & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2017). Azara's owl monkeys in the Humid Chaco: Primatological long-term studies in Argentina. In: Primatology in Argentina (Ed. by Kowalewski, M.M.&Oklander, L.I.). Mendoza: SAREM (Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos). pp 255-272.017
• Grimsditch, G,  Huck, M., Pisapia, C., Furaha, J., Obura, D., Abdulla, A. & Sweet, M.J. (2017) Variation in size frequency distribution of coral populations under different fishing pressures in two contrasting locations in the Indian Ocean. Marine Environmental Research, 131:146-155. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.09.017
• Huck, M., Juárez, C. P., Rotundo, M.A., Dávalos, V.M. & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2017). Mammals and their activity patterns in a forest area in the Humid Chaco, northern Argentina. Checklist 13(4): 363–378. doi: 10.15560/13.4.363.
• Huck, M. (2017) Migration. The International Encyclopedia of Primatology (Fuentes, A., ed.). 1-3. doi: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0246
• Huck, M. & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2017) The floater's dilemma: use of space by wild solitary Azara's owl monkeys, Aotus azarae, in relation to group rangess. Animal Behaviour, 127:33-41. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.025
• Svensson, M.S., Shanee, S., Shanee, N., Bannister, F.B.,  Cervera, L.,  Donati, G.,  Huck, M., Jerusalinsky, L.,  Juarez, C. P., Maldonado, A.,  Martinez Mollinedo, J.,  Méndez-Carvajal, P. G.  Molina Argandoña, M.A., Mollo Vino, A.D., Nekaris, KAI, Peck, M., Rey-Goyeneche, J., Spaan, D., Nijman, V. (2017). Disappearing in the night: an overview on trade and legislation of night monkeys in South and Central America. Folia Primatologica, 87(5):332-348. doi: 10.1159/00045480

2011-2016

• Huck, M., Juárez, C. P., & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2016). Relationship between moonlight and nightly activity patterns of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and some of its prey species in Formosa, Northern Argentina. Mammalian Biology, 82: 57-64. doi: 10.1016/j.mambio.2016.10.005

• Huck, M., Babb P., Schurr, T., &Fernandez-Duque, E. (2014) Correlates of genetic monogamy in socially monogamous mammals: insights from Azara’s owl monkeys. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281, 20140195.
• Huck, M., van Lunenburg, M., Dávalos, V., Rotundo, M., Di Fiore, A. & Fernandez-Duque, E. 2014. Double effort: parental behavior of wild Azara’s owl monkeys in the face of twins. American Journal of Primatology.doi: 10.1002/ajp.22256
• Fernandez-Duque, F., Huck, M., Dávalos, V. & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2013).Estado poblacional de la moitú (Craxfasciolata) en la selva en galería del riacho Pilagá, Formosa, Argentina. El Hornero. 28(2): 65-74
• Huck, M., Rotundo, M., Juárez, C., & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2013). Primera evidencia craneal y registros documentados de Cuniculus paca (Podentia, Cuniculidae) para el Chaco Húmedo de Argentina.. Mastozoología Neotropical. 20(1): 153-157.
• Fernandez-Duque, E. & Huck, M. (2013) Till death do us part: Intense intra-sexual competition, aggression and death in a sexually monomorphic primate species. PLoS ONE. 8, e53724

• Huck, M. & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2012) Survival of a wild puma missing a foot. Cat News. 57:7-8
• Klavins, J., Huck, M., Rotundo, M., Fernandez-Duque, E. (2012) Trampa-cámara descubre el primer Aguilucho Alas Anchas Buteo platypterus en el Chaco argentino. Revista Cotinga. 34, 57-59.
• Huck, M. & Fernandez-Duque, E. (2012). Building babies when dads help: infant development of owl monkeys and other primates with allo-maternal care. In: Building Babies: Primate Development in Proximate and Ultimate Perspective (Ed. by Clancy, K., Hinde, K. & Rutherford, J.). New York: Springer. pp 361-385.
• Fernandez-Duque, E., Di Fiore, A., Huck, M. (2012). The behavior, ecology, and social evolution of New World monkeys. In: The Evolution of Primate Societies (Mitani J, Call J, Kappeler P, Palombit R, & Silk J, eds).
• Huck, M. & Fernandez-Duque, E. 2012. Children of divorce: effects of adult replacements on previous offspring in Argentinean owl monkeys. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 66, 505-517.
  

• Huck, M., Rotundo, M., Fernandez-Duque, E. 2011. Growth and development in wild owl monkeys (Aotus azarai) of Argentina. International Journal of Primatology, 32, 1133-1152.
• Huck, M., Jędrzejewski, W., Borowik, T., Jędrzejewska, B., Nowak, S. & Mysłajek, R. W. 2011. Analyses of least cost paths for determining effects of habitat types on landscape permeability: wolves in Poland. Acta Theriologica, 56, 91-101.

2004-2010

• Huck, M., Jędrzejewski W., Borowik, T., Miłosz-Cielma, M., Schmidt, K., Jędrzejewska, B., Nowak, S., and Mysłajek, R. W. 2010. Habitat suitability, corridors and dispersal barriers for large carnivores in Poland. Acta Theriologica, 55, 177-192.

• Davison, J., Huck, M., Delahay, R. J. & Roper, T. J. (2009) Restricted ranging behaviour in a population of urban badgers. Journal of Zoology, 277, 45-53doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00509.x.

• Davison, J., Huck, M., Delahay, R. J. & Roper, T. J. 2008. Urban badger setts: characteristics, patterns of use and management implications. Journal of Zoology, 275, 190-200.
• Huck, M., Davison, J. & Roper, T. J. 2008. Predicting European badger sett distribution in urban environments, Wildlife Biology,14, 188-198.
• Huck, M., Frantz, A. C., Dawson, D. A., Burke, T. & Roper, T. J. (2008) Low genetic variability, female biased dispersal and high movement rates in an urban population of Eurasian badgers (Meles meles). Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 905-915.
• Huck, M., Davison, J. & Roper, T. J. (2008) Comparison of two sampling schemes and three home range estimators using radio-tracking data from urban badgers. Wildlife Biology, 14, 467-477.

• Huck, M., Roos, C., & Heymann, E. W. 2007. Spatio-genetic population structure in moustached tamarins, Saguinus mystax. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 132, 576-583.
• Löttker, P., Huck, M., Zinner, D. P. & Heymann, E. W. 2007. Grooming relationships between breeding females and adult group members in a cooperatively breeding primate. American Journal of Primatology, 69, 1-14.
• Smith, A. C., Knogge, C., Huck, M., Löttker, P., Buchanan-Smith, H. M., Heymann, E. W. & Smith, A. B. 2007. Long-term patterns of sleeping site use in wild saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and mustached tamarins (S. mystax): effects of foraging, thermoregulation, predation, and resource defense constraints, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 134, 340–353.

• Huck, M., Löttker, P., Heymann, E. W. & Heistermann, M. 2005. Characterization and social correlates of fecal testosterone and cortisol levels in wild male moustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax). International Journal of Primatology, 26, 159-179.
• Huck, M., Löttker, P., Böhle, U.-R. & Heymann, E. W. 2005. Paternity and kinship patterns in polyandrous moustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 127, 449-464.

• Huck, M., Löttker, P. & Heymann, E. W. 2004. The many faces of helping: Possible costs and benefits of infant carrying and food transfer in moustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax). Behaviour, 141, 915-934.
• Huck, M., Löttker, P. & Heymann, E. W. 2004. Proximate mechanisms of reproductive monopolization in male moustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax). American Journal of Primatology, 64, 39-56.
• Löttker, P., Huck, M. & Heymann, E. W. 2004. Demographic parameters and events in wild moustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax). American Journal of Primatology, 64, 425-449.
• Löttker, P., Huck, M., Heymann, E. W. & Heistermann, M. 2004. Endocrine correlates of reproductive status in breeding and non-breeding wild female moustached tamarins. International Journal of Primatology, 25, 919-937.
• Huck, M., Löttker, P., Heymann, E. W., & Heistermann, M. 2004. Aspects of the behavioral and endocrine ontogeny of six moustached tamarins, Saguinus mystax(Callitrichinae), Neotropical Primates, 12, 131-135.

1999 - 2003

• Shahuano Tello, N., Huck, M. & Heymann, E. W. 2002. Boa constrictor attack and successful group defence in moustached tamarins, Saguinus mystax. Folia Primatologica, 73, 146-148.
• Laughlin, K., Huck, M. & Mendl, M. 1999. Disturbance effects of environmental stimuli on pig spatial memory. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 64, 169-180.

Membership of professional bodies

I am a member of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, the International Primatological Society, and the Deutsche Ethologische Gesellschaft (German Ethological Society).

Additionally, I am Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Professional interests

I received my PhD at the University of Bielefeld, Germany / the German Primate Centre in Göttingen in 2004 with a study on behavioural, genetic, and hormonal aspects of the mating system of a small Neotropical primate species.

After a brief postdoc at the German Primate Centre extending my genetic studies on the species, I went for two years to the University of Sussex, where I studied the behaviour and social structure of urban badgers.

My next postdoc led me to Eastern Poland where I modelled in a GIS approach corridors and barriers for populations of wolves and lynx in Poland. I then started a collaboration with the Owl Monkey Project of Prof. E. Fernandez-Duque of the University of Pennsylvania (now Yale University) to study aspects of the mating system and male care in owl monkeys of northern Argentina.

Qualifications

Postgraduate qualifications

• Diplom in Biology (Dipl Biol.) , University of Bielefeld, Germany (which is equivalent to a Masters).

Research qualifications

• Dr. rer nat. in Biology, University of Bielefeld / German Primate Centre.

Teaching qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education

Recent conferences

• Invited talk at the Research Seminar of the German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Nov 2019. "On Apples, Oranges, "Monogamy", and Comparative Studies".
• International Primatological Conference, Aug 2016, Chicago. "The Floater's Dilemma: Home-range use of wild solitary Azara's owl monkeys (Aotus azarae) in relation to group ranges"
• Behaviour 2013 (33^rd IEC), Aug 2013, Newcastle-Gateshead, UK. "Genetic monogamy and extra-pair paternity in pair-living mammals"
• 8^th Göttinger Freilandtage, Sep 2011, Göttingen, Germany. "Till death do us part? - Intense sexual competition constrains tenure length in a serial monogamous, sexual monomorphic species"
• AAPA conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Apr 12-16, 2011, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. "Children of divorce: effects of adult replacements on survival and dispersal of young owl monkeys in the Argentinean Chaco"

Experience in industry

Research posts

• German Primate Centre: Spatio-genetic structure in moustached tamarins. February - October 2005
• University of Sussex: Behaviour and social structure in urban badgers. December 2005 - November 2007
• Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Analysis of connectivity and barriers to wolf dispersal among patches of suita. September 2008 - September 2009
• University of Pennsylvania: Fatherhood and paternal care in socially monogamous owl monkeys (Aotus azarai). January 2010 - December 2011
• German Primate Centre: Guest scientist. January 2012 - November 2012.

In the media

Some of the research with my collaborator from Yale University has received media coverage (the Times (19th May 2014) and various international newspapers) and I have been interviewed by the Guardian (30th Jul 2013) to comment on scientific articles by others.

One of my articles on validating video-tracking to determine domestic cat behaviour has received considerable interest from the press, with a feature in Science Magazine (https://w500ww.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/researchers-strapped-video-cameras-16-cats-and-let-them-do-their-thing-here-s-what-they), radio interviews for the "Science Friday" programme (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/now-playing-the-real-secret-life-of-pets/) and BYURadio (Constant Wonder). This also led to an interview with a production company (TVOntario, Canada), who came to film my cat Leyhausen and interview me for a documentary on the secret lives of domestic cats.  Additionally, the Washington Post, the Spanish newspaper El Pais, some Japanese TV broadcaster (Nippon TV) and the German international radio broadcaster “Deutsche Welle” all requested information about this study.

International experience

• Sep 1995- Jul 1996: 1 year study abroad (University of Edinburgh)
• Sep 2000 - Feb 2002: Peru (data collection for PhD)
• Dec 2005 - Nov 2007: Postdoc in Brighton (that's abroad for me :-)
• Sep 2008 - Sep 2009: Postdoc in Białowieża, Poland
• Jan 2010 - Dec 2011: Postdoc in Formosa, Argentina and Philadelphia, USA
• Dec 2012 - present: Derby University

Teaching responsibilities

I participate in various modules in Biology and Zoology, including:

• Advanced Methods in Zoology (6BY509)
• Behavioural Ecology (6BY502)
• Biological Basis of Animal Behaviour (5BY503)
• Conservation Biology in Principal & Practice (7BY501)
• Study Skills (3EV501)
• Ecology (4BY503) 
• Research Methods (5BY535)
• Essential Skills for Scientists (7BY514)
• Field Biology (5BY510)
• Vertebrate Biology (5BY516)
• Wildlife Conservation (6BY508)
• Independent Studies (6BY995)
• Independent Scholarly Activities (7EL996)

Furthermore, I am programme coordinator for all With Foundation programmes within the Environmental Sciences (Biology, Zoology, and the Geosciences).