🌿 EvoCoex Lab

Evolution and Coexistence Lab

Raquel F. Pereira Costa, PhD
Program-Specific Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Education and Human Development
Nagoya University

Research Aims

Our lab investigates the dynamics of close human–animal interactions, from wild ecotourism settings to controlled zoo environments. Building on fieldwork in Uganda that highlighted risks of aggression and disease transmission, we now focus on why people seek close contact with animals, using captive contexts to investigate how interaction quality (not just frequency) shapes human–animal connections. What do these encounters mean for visitor learning, animal welfare, and conservation engagement? What does it mean for the welfare of wild and captive animals? Our goal is evidence-based guidelines that protect animal welfare while fostering meaningful, conservation-oriented visitor experiences. Human psychological outcomes are studied as part of this bidirectional dynamic—but animal welfare remains our primary ethical and scientific commitment.

Research Interests

Human-Animal Interactions & Communication
Primate Behavior, Cognition, and Welfare
Conservation, Ecotourism, and Human-Wildlife Coexistence
Evolutionary Roots of Human Sociality and Language
Visitor Psychology and Public Education

About the Lab

Our team includes collaborators, students, and research assistants in Japan, Portugal, USA, France, and Brazil.

Communication via Gesture & Facial Expression: Analyze the structure, diversity, and intentionality of visual signals in apes and humans during naturalistic interactions.
Cultural Modulation: Comparing Japanese and Western human participants to test how cultural norms shape nonverbal communication.
Psycho-physiological Measurements: Assessing human wellbeing during close contact with animals.

Our Team

Principal Investigator

Raquel F. P. Costa, PhD
Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Nagoya University

Raquel is a primatologist with extensive field experience across ecosystems in Portugal, Spain, Uganda, and Japan. Her work integrates behavioral ecology, animal welfare, and conservation biology. In addition to her research on nonhuman primates, she maintains a focus on human evolution and leads an Evolutionary Psychology seminar at Nagoya University. Raquel also coordinates the Scientific Section of the Movimento Mulheres pela Primatologia, an initiative dedicated to studying and advancing gender equity in science.

External Collaborators

Misato Hayashi
Associate Professor, Chubu Gakuin University, Japan Monkey Centre

Rafaela Sayuri Takeshita
Associate Professor, Kent State University

Tasuku Igarashi
Professor, Nagoya University

Catherine Hobaiter
Professor, St. Andrews University

Catia Correia-Caeiro
Research Fellow, Kyoto University

Valeria Romano
Permanent Researcher, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

Angela Brandão
Consultant, University of Lisbon

No Photo

Emilee Hart
Assistant Professor, Drake University

Students & Research Assistants

Mamoru Sakura
Ph.D. Student, Communication and Intergroup Psychology, Nagoya University
Research focuses on communicative and psychological processes of positive contact across social groups.
Email: sakura.mamoru.j5@s.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

May Eaindra Khin
Doctoral Student, Social and Cultural Psychology, Nagoya University
Research interests include cross-cultural communication and mental health stigma, with a particular focus on how cultural values and social norms shape attitudes toward mental illness.
Contact: may.eaindra.khin.i0@s.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Fitri Hanifa
Undergraduate Student & Research Assistant, Biological Sciences, Nagoya University
Collecting data at JMC >> human communication.
Email: hanifa.fitri.a4@s.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Mei Yamaguchi
Undergraduate Student & Research Assistant, Department of Education, Chubu Gakuin University
Collecting data at JMC >> human communication and physiology.

Samantha A. McAnany
Undergraduate Student & Research Assistant, Kent State University
Collecting data at Akron Zoo >> human & animal communication.

Chie Hayashi
Senior Student & Research Assistant, Nanzan University
Collecting data at JMC >> human communication and physiology.

Alicia Ahlstrom
Senior Student & Research Assistant, Nanzan University
Collecting data at JMC >> human communication and physiology.

Mulheres pela Primatologia (Women for Primatology)

Coming soon!

Raquel coordinates the Scientific Section of Movimento Mulheres pela Primatologia, an initiative dedicated to studying and advancing gender equity in primatology and science more broadly. Upcoming activities include workshops, networking events, and research on gender disparities in the field.

📢 Sci Comm Events!

June 2026: Raquel gave a talk at JMC about "A Shared Crisis: The History of Ebola in Humans and Gorillas, and the Current Emergency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda". Participants then donated ¥15,000 to Gorilla Doctors!

🔬 Join Our Team

We welcome motivated students and research assistants interested in human-animal interaction research. No prior experience required—just curiosity and commitment!

Current openings: Part-time RAs for zoo-based data collection (Japanese fluency required).

📧 Contact: see section below

📰 Lab News

June 2026: We received the YLC Collaborative Research Grant for a new project to start soon!
June 2026: Dr. Takeshita from Kent State University is visiting us at Nagoya!
June 2026: Welcomed Chie Hayashi and Alicia Ahlstrom to the team!
May 2026: Preliminary trials at Akron Zoo! Welcome to the team Sami!
April 2026: Welcomed Sakura Mamoru and May Khin to the team!
Jan 2026: Welcomed Fitri Hanifa and Mei Yamaguchi to the team!

Funding

Use of Research Assistant and Technical Assistant Program
Under the MEXT's "Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment (Female Leader Development Type)"
"Cross-species communication"
Tailor Made Grant 2026 (Tokai Pathways to Global Excellence)
"Bridging Worlds: Exploring Turn-Taking Communication Between Apes and Humans to Promote Nature Conservation, One Health, and Responsible Tourism"
Sumitomo Electric Group Social Contribution Fund Academic Research Grant 2026
"Promoting public education and One Health through improved human-animal interaction"
YLC Collaborative Research Grant 2026
"When the zoo touches your heart: How do encounters with primates affect visitors' physical and mental well-being?"

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the funding agencies.

📚 Selected Papers

Costa, R., Xu, S., Brandão, A., & Hayashi, M. (2025). Reconnection with nature through empathy: rewiring people and animals by assessing zoo visitors' connection to species and the need for their conservation. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1517430.

Correia-Caeiro, C., Costa, R., Hayashi, M., Burrows, A., Pater, J., Miyabe-Nishiwaki, T., ... & Liebal, K. (2025). GorillaFACS: The Facial Action Coding System for the Gorilla spp. PloS One, 20(1), e0308790.

Costa, R., Brandao, A. & Hayashi, M. (2024). The behavioral sequences of mountain gorillas under tourism pressure – insights for tourism sustainability. Primates Conservation, IUCN Special Group, 37: 121-133.

Costa, R., Romano, V., Pereira, A. S., Hart, J. D., MacIntosh, A., & Hayashi, M. (2023). Mountain gorillas benefit from social distancing too: Close proximity from tourists affects gorillas' sociality. Conservation Science and Practice, 5(1), e12859.

Costa, R., Tomonaga, M., Huffman, M. A., Takeshita, R., Bercovitch, F., Kalema‐Zikusoka, G., & Hayashi, M. (2023). The impact of tourist visits on mountain gorilla behavior in Uganda. Journal of Ecotourism, 1-19.

Costa, R., Tomonaga, M., Otsuka, R., Huffman, M. A., Bercovitch, F., Kalema-Zikusoka, G., & Hayashi, M. (2021). The Dispersal Dilemma Among Female Mountain Gorillas: Risk Infanticide or Gain Protection. African Journal of Ecology, 59:273–276.

Hart, E. N., Costa, R. & Takeshita, R. S. C. (2023). Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Zoo-housed Northern White-cheeked Gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) During Acclimation to a New Zoo Habitat. Animal Keepers' Forum, 50(7).

Costa, R., Hayashi, M., Huffman, M. A., Kalema-Zikusoka, G., & Tomonaga, M. (2019). Water games by mountain gorillas: implications for behavioral development and flexibility—a case report. Primates, 60(6), 493-498.

Brandão, A., Costa, R., Rodrigues, E., & Vicente, L. (2019). Using behaviour observations to study personality in a group of capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) in captivity. Behaviour, 156(3-4), 203-243.

Costa, R., Sousa, C., & Llorente, M. (2018). Assessment of environmental enrichment for different primate species under low budget: A case study. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 1-15.

Hanya, G., Naito, S., Namioka, E., Ueda, Y., Sato, Y., Pastrana, J. A., He, T., Yan, X., Saito, M., Costa, R., Allanic, M., Honda, T., Kurihara, Y., Yumoto, T. & Hayakawa, T. (2017). Morphometric and genetic determination of age class and sex for fecal pellets of sika deer (Cervus nippon). Mammal Study, 42(4), 239-246.

Costa, R. (2014). Revisão sistemática: Uma ponte entre a aprendizagem social e cultura em primatas não humanos. [Systematic Review: A bridge between social learning and culture in non-human primates]. Cadernos do Geehv, 3(1): 38-52.

🦁 For Zoo & Conservation Partners

Interested in evidence-based strategies to enhance visitor education while supporting animal welfare? We collaborate with zoos to:

Design signage that reduces miscommunication
Train staff in animal behavioral observation and analysis
Help to improve/enhance educational materials for visitors

📩 Reach out to discuss collaboration via the Contact section below.

📬 Contact

Email: pereira.costa.raquel.filomena.z4@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Nagoya University Institute for Advanced Research

Graduate School of Education and Human Development

Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan

Uni page: https://www2.educa.nagoya-u.ac.jp/staff/pereira-costa-raquel-filomena/

T-GEx page: https://www.t-gex.nagoya-u.ac.jp/member/3984-2.html

ResearchMap: https://researchmap.jp/raquelfpcosta

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raquel-Costa