Netzin G. Steklis
- Associate Professor of Practice
- Assistant Director, Stakeholder Relations and External Programs
- (520) 621-5803
- Shantz, Rm. 204
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- nsteklis@arizona.edu
Biography
Dr. Netzin Steklis is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences and the University of Arizona. She is originally from west Texas where she grew-up as a “wild-child” exploring the Rio Grande and living in a Mexican-American household where she experienced a bi-cultural education in El Paso and Juarez. Her higher education reflects her multidisciplinary interests in human and non-human animal behavior: She holds a B.A. in Anthropology (Biology emphasis) from the University of Chicago, an M.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Ethology & Evolutionary Psychology from University of Arizona.
Dr. Steklis has studied a variety of nonhuman primates in captive and wild settings, in particular the ecology, social behavior and conservation of wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda. For more than 10 years she served as the Director of Scientific Information Resources for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, a non-profit organization dedicated to gorilla research and conservation in Africa.
More recently she has expanded her research and academic focus to include the biopsychology of human-animal interrelationships. This growing interest in the field of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI), and the realization of a need for well-controlled research studies, also led to the co-founding and co-directing in 2014 of the Human-Animal Interaction Research Initiative (HAIRI) at the University of Arizona. HAIRI aims to train undergraduate and graduate students to evaluate reported claims in HAI by engaging them in all stages of research on HAI projects.
Dr. Netzin Steklis frequently participates in workshops/committees related to education pedagogy, and even earned a University of Arizona - Graduate Certificate in College Teaching, reflecting her abiding commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching. She co-developed and teaches courses with her husband and colleague, Dr. H. Dieter Steklis, including a large General Education course on Human & Animal Interrelationships (including co-authoring a textbook “Human-Animal Interrelationships”, Kendall-Hunt Publishing), courses on animal ethology and ethics, primate captive management, and a Primate Studied Field School in Rwanda (Summer Study Abroad).
Netzin Steklis shares her life and adventures with her husband, two adult sons (and field assistants), and a variety of animals over her lifetime (dogs, horses, birds, hamsters, mice, chameleons….etc).
Degrees
- Ph.D. Ethology & Evolutionary Psychology
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- CAPTURING ANIMALITY: AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO ANIMAL ATTITUDES
- M.A. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- DEMOGRAPHY OF THE VIRUNGA MOUNTAIN GORILLA (Gorilla gorilla beringei)
- B.A. Anthropology (Biology emphasis)
- University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Work Experience
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2018 - Ongoing)
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2008 - 2018)
- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (1994 - 2005)
Awards
- David E. Cox Faculty Teaching Award
- CALS, Spring 2021
Licensure & Certification
- Certificate in College Teaching, University of Arizona (2016)
- Environmental Education Certification, ProjectWET / ProjectWILD / GLOBE (2013)
- Certificate in ArcView2, Rutgers University (1995)
- ESRI Certificate, ARC/INFO, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (1996)
Interests
Research
• Human-animal interrelationships• Animal personality & life history• Evolution & biopsychology of human-animal interrelationships• Efficacy of animal assisted therapies
Teaching
• Human-animal interrelationships• Human-animal bond• Captive primate management• Animal ethology • Animal welfare
Courses
2024-25 Courses
-
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2025) -
Ethology & Evolution
ACBS 469A (Fall 2024) -
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2024)
2023-24 Courses
-
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Summer I 2024) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Spring 2024) -
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2024) -
ACBS Preceptorship
ACBS 491 (Fall 2023) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Fall 2023) -
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2023)
2022-23 Courses
-
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Summer I 2023) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Spring 2023) -
Honors Thesis
ANTH 498H (Spring 2023) -
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2023) -
ACBS Preceptorship
ACBS 491 (Fall 2022) -
Anml Anatomy+Physiology A
ACBS 400A (Fall 2022) -
Anml Anatomy+Physiology A
ACBS 500A (Fall 2022) -
Dog and Cat Behavior
ACBS 311 (Fall 2022) -
Equine Nutrition+Mgmt
ACBS 431 (Fall 2022) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Fall 2022) -
Honors Thesis
ANTH 498H (Fall 2022) -
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2022) -
Intro Horsemanship Prog
ACBS 272 (Fall 2022)
2021-22 Courses
-
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Summer I 2022) -
Directed Research
ACBS 492 (Spring 2022) -
Honors Independent Study
ACBS 399H (Spring 2022) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Spring 2022) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2022) -
Human and Animal Interrelation
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2022) -
Intro Horsemanship Prog
ACBS 272 (Spring 2022) -
Honors Independent Study
ACBS 399H (Fall 2021) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Fall 2021) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2021) -
Intro to Animal Sci Lab
ACBS 102L (Fall 2021)
2020-21 Courses
-
Animal Behavior Workshop
ACBS 497B (Spring 2021) -
Captive Primate Behav in Pract
ACBS 484 (Spring 2021) -
Directed Research
ACBS 492 (Spring 2021) -
Honors Independent Study
ACBS 399H (Spring 2021) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2021) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2020) -
Intro to Animal Sci Lab
ACBS 102L (Fall 2020) -
Primate Behav & Captive Mgmnt
ACBS 483 (Fall 2020)
2019-20 Courses
-
Captive Primate Behav in Pract
ACBS 484 (Spring 2020) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2020) -
ACBS Preceptorship
ACBS 491 (Fall 2019) -
Directed Research
ACBS 492 (Fall 2019) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Fall 2019) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2019) -
Intro to Animal Sci Lab
ACBS 102L (Fall 2019) -
Primate Behav & Captive Mgmnt
ACBS 483 (Fall 2019)
2018-19 Courses
-
Directed Research
ACBS 492 (Summer I 2019) -
Captive Primate Behav in Pract
ACBS 484 (Spring 2019) -
Honors Thesis
ACBS 498H (Spring 2019) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2019) -
Independent Study
ACBS 599 (Spring 2019) -
Ethology & Evolution
ACBS 469A (Fall 2018) -
Ethology & Evolution
ACBS 569A (Fall 2018) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2018) -
Primate Behav & Captive Mgmnt
ACBS 483 (Fall 2018)
2017-18 Courses
-
Externship in FSHD
FSHD 493E (Summer I 2018) -
Internship
FSHD 693 (Summer I 2018) -
Ethology & Evolution
ACBS 569B (Spring 2018) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Spring 2018) -
Men, Fatherhood & Families
FSHD 150B1 (Spring 2018) -
Nat Hist Closest Relat
ANTV 364 (Spring 2018) -
Preceptorship
FSHD 491 (Spring 2018) -
Ethology & Evolution
ACBS 569A (Fall 2017) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2017) -
Men, Fatherhood & Families
FSHD 150B1 (Fall 2017) -
Nat Hist Closest Relat
ANTV 364 (Fall 2017) -
Preceptorship
FSHD 491 (Fall 2017)
2016-17 Courses
-
Men, Fatherhood & Families
FSHD 150B1 (Summer I 2017) -
Men, Fatherhood & Families
FSHD 150B1 (Spring 2017) -
Nat Hist Closest Relat
ANTV 364 (Spring 2017) -
Preceptorship
FSHD 491 (Spring 2017) -
Hum+Anml Interl Dom-Pres
ACBS 160D1 (Fall 2016) -
Independent Study
ACBS 499 (Fall 2016) -
Independent Study
FSHD 499 (Fall 2016) -
Men, Fatherhood & Families
FSHD 150B1 (Fall 2016) -
Preceptorship
FSHD 491 (Fall 2016)
2015-16 Courses
-
Externship in FSHD
FSHD 493E-SA (Summer I 2016) -
Men, Fatherhood & Families
FSHD 150B1 (Summer I 2016) -
Biosocial Development
FSHD 447C (Spring 2016) -
Honors Independent Study
FSHD 399H (Spring 2016) -
Preceptorship
FSHD 491 (Spring 2016)
Scholarly Contributions
Books
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2020). Human and Animal Interrelationships (2nd Edition). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company.More infoThis book examines the relationships of humans with animals throughout theages. From our evolutionary past through domestication, the relationships of animals with humans throughout Europe and the New World are chronicled. Modern human-animal relationships will also be examined and analyzed and compared to those of ancient and historical times.Throughout, we take takes a science-based, multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the nature, diversity and functions of human-animal relationships that have developed over time, geographic region, and cultural contexts. This approach puts into fresh perspective many present developments, issues and challenges in the human-animal relationship, including the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapies, animal welfare and rights, animal experimentation, trophy hunting, wildlife management and conservation, and meat production industry.
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2020). Human-Animal Interrrelationships (Second Edition). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company.
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2016). Human and Animal Interrelationships (1st Edition). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company.More infoThis book examines the relationships of humans with animals throughout theages. From our evolutionary past through domestication, the relationships of animals with humans throughout Europe and the New World are chronicled. Modern human-animal relationships will also be examined and analyzed and compared to those of ancient and historical times.Throughout, we take takes a science-based, multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the nature, diversity and functions of human-animal relationships that have developed over time, geographic region, and cultural contexts. This approach puts into fresh perspective many present developments, issues and challenges in the human-animal relationship, including the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapies, animal welfare and rights, animal experimentation, trophy hunting, wildlife management and conservation, and meat production industry.
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2014). Men, Fatherhood and Families: A Biocultural Perspective, revised 1st edition. Cognella Academic Publishing.More infoThis is an edited work with authors' Introduction. This 1st edition is a revision of the "preliminary edition" published the previous year.
Chapters
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2021). An HAI Love Story: A couple collaborates as teachers and researchers exploring our connection to animals. In Career Paths in Human-Animal Interaction for Social and Behavioral Scientists. Routledge.
Journals/Publications
- Steklis, H. D., Steklis, N. G., Peñaherrera-Aguirre, M., & Figueredo, A. J. (2023).
Human-animal interactions from an evolutionary perspective: Symbioses as extended ultrasociality
. Human-Animal Interactions. doi:10.1079/hai.2023.0028 - Aragonés, J. I., Araya, S. F., Armenta, M. F., Chaves, M. G., Fernandes, H. B., Figueredo, A. J., Peñaherrera-Aguirre, M., Pérez-Ramos, M., Salmon, C., Sevillano, V., Steklis, N. G., Verdugo, V. C., & de, T. C. (2022).
The influence of individual differences and local ecological conditions on emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, and harm avoidance towards nonhuman animals
. Human-Animal Interactions, 2022. doi:10.1079/hai.2022.0021 - Steklis, N. G. (2021). Lower emotional awareness is associated with greater early adversity and faster life history strategy. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences.
- Smith, R., Steklis, H. D., Steklis, N. G., Weihs, K. L., & Lane, R. D. (2020). The evolution and development of the uniquely human capacity for emotional awareness: A synthesis of comparative anatomical, cognitive, neurocomputational, and evolutionary psychological perspectives. Biological psychology, 154, 107925.More infoWe offer an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the expanded capacity for emotional awareness (EA) in humans relative to other animals, synthesizing work within computational neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and comparative anatomy. We argue that disproportionate cortical expansion during human evolution reflects additional hierarchical levels of computational processing, allowing representation of multimodal regularities over longer timescales - affording abstract concept learning, internal simulation of distal future outcomes, and expanded working memory capacity. This allows for the ability to simulate emotions, learn emotion concepts, and manipulate them in working memory when deciding how to act. We also draw on the construct of life history strategy within evolutionary psychology to argue that individual differences in EA within humans can be understood as the result of tuning particular computational parameters to the predictability of long timescale socioemotional regularities of the local environment. We conclude by discussing the implications and testable hypotheses offered by our proposed framework.
- Cronk, L., Steklis, H. D., Steklis, N. G., van den Akker, O., & Aktipis, A. (2018). Kin terms and fitness interdependence. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40, 218-291. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.12.004More infoAlthough genetic relatedness has been shown to be an important determinant of helping and other forms ofcooperation among kin, it does not correspond well to the different types of kin designated by the kin terminologiesused in human societies. This mismatch between genetic relatedness and kin terms has led someanthropologists to reject the idea that kin terms have anything to do with genetic relatedness or anything elsebiological. The evolutionary and cultural anthropological approaches can be reconciled through an appreciationof the concept of fitness interdependence, defined as the degree to which two or more organisms positively ornegatively influence each other's success in replicating their genes. Fitness interdependence may arise for avariety of reasons, including not only genetic relatedness but also mating and marriage, risk-pooling, mutual aid,and common group membership. The major kin term systems correspond to cross-culturally variable but recurrentpatterns of fitness interdependence among different types of kin. In addition, changes from one kin termsystem to another are associated with corresponding changes in recurrent patterns of fitness interdependenceamong kin, and kin terms are often used metaphorically in situations in which fitness interdependence has arisenamong non-kin.
- Cronk, L., Steklis, H. D., Steklis, N. G., van den Akker, O., & Aktipis, A. (2019). Kin terms and fitness interdependence. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40, 218-291. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.12.004More infoAlthough genetic relatedness has been shown to be an important determinant of helping and other forms of cooperation among kin, it does not correspond well to the different types of kin designated by the kin terminologies used in human societies. This mismatch between genetic relatedness and kin terms has led some anthropologists to reject the idea that kin terms have anything to do with genetic relatedness or anything else biological. The evolutionary and cultural anthropological approaches can be reconciled through an appreciation of the concept of fitness interdependence, defined as the degree to which two or more organisms positively or negatively influence each other's success in replicating their genes. Fitness interdependence may arise for a variety of reasons, including not only genetic relatedness but also mating and marriage, risk-pooling, mutual aid, and common group membership. The major kin term systems correspond to cross-culturally variable but recurrent patterns of fitness interdependence among different types of kin. In addition, changes from one kin term system to another are associated with corresponding changes in recurrent patterns of fitness interdependence among kin, and kin terms are often used metaphorically in situations in which fitness interdependence has arisen among non-kin.
- Kogan, L., Germone, M., Steklis, H. D., Steklis, N. G., LaFollette, M. R., & Erdman, P. (2018). Guide to Human-Animal Interaction Education. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 6, 37-46.More infoPursuing a career in human-animal interaction (HAI) may feel daunting, as this field is quickly growing and changing, and offers a wide array of career possibilities with pathways and educational programs. Yet, it is this broad scope of possibilities that can make navigating the field challenging. The purpose of this article is to help guide individuals who are interested in exploring a career with animals and humans. Our specific aims are to (a) describe and define the current field of HAI, (b) synthesize possible human-animal studies programs as provided by the Animals and Society website, and (c) offer guidance for those interested in exploring HAI careers. This paper, is designed as a practical guide to help students and their mentors navigate the HAI field.
- Steklis, N. G., Eckardt, W., Fletcher, A. W., Steklis, H. D., Stoinski, T. S., & Weiss, A. (2015).
Personality dimensions and their behavioral correlates in wild Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).
. Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983), 129(1), 26-41. doi:10.1037/a0038370More infoStudies of animal personality improve our understanding of individual variation in measures of life history and fitness, such as health and reproductive success. Using a 54 trait personality questionnaire developed for studying great apes and other nonhuman primates, we obtained ratings on 116 wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda. There were 8 raters who each had more than 1.5 years of working experience with the subjects. Principal component analyses identified 4 personality dimensions with high interrater reliabilities-Dominance, Openness, Sociability, and Proto-Agreeableness-that reflected personality features unique to gorillas and personality features shared with other hominoids. We next examined the associations of these dimensions with independently collected behavioral measures derived from long-term records. Predicted correlations were found between the personality dimensions and corresponding behaviors. For example, Dominance, Openness, Sociability, and Proto-Agreeableness were related to gorilla dominance strength, time spent playing, rates of approaches, and rates of interventions in intragroup conflicts, respectively. These findings enrich the comparative-evolutionary study of personality and provide insights into how species differences in personality are related to ecology, social systems, and life history. - Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2011).
Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs for Training Students in Human Behavior, Evolution, and Development
. Human Ethology, 26(1). doi:10.22330/001c.89870 - Bradley, B. J., Robbins, M. M., Williamson, E. A., Steklis, H. D., Steklis, N. G., Eckhardt, N., Boesch, C., & Vigilant, L. (2005).
Mountain gorilla tug-of-war: silverbacks have limited control over reproduction in multimale groups.
. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(26), 9418-23. doi:10.1073/pnas.0502019102More infoTo determine who fathers the offspring in wild mountain gorilla groups containing more than one adult male silverback, we genotyped nearly one-fourth (n = 92) of the mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) living in the Virunga Volcanoes region of Africa. Paternity analysis of 48 offspring born into four groups between 1985 and 1999 revealed that, although all infants were sired by within-group males, the socially dominant silverback did not always monopolize reproduction within his group. Instead, the second-ranking male sired an average of 15% of group offspring. This result, in combination with previous findings that second-ranking males fare best by not leaving the group but by staying and waiting to assume dominance even if no reproduction is possible while waiting, is not consistent with expectations from a reproductive skew model in which the silverback concedes controllable reproduction to the second-ranking male. Instead, the data suggest a "tug-of-war" scenario in which neither the dominant nor the second-ranking male has full control over his relative reproductive share. The two top-ranked males were typically unrelated and this, in combination with the mixed paternity of group offspring, means that multimale gorilla groups do not approximate family groups. Instead, as long-term assemblages of related and unrelated individuals, gorilla groups are similar to chimpanzee groups and so offer interesting possibilities for kin-biased interactions among individuals.
Presentations
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2016, June). Animality: How human-animal relationships have changed human nature. Seminar for faculty and students of the Clever Dog Laboratory, Univ. Vienna. University of Vienna, Austria: University of Vienna.More infoInvited presentation.
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2016, November). The University of Arizona's Human-Animal Interaction Initiative. Purdue University Centers for the human-animal bond conference. Purdue University, Indiana: Purdue University Centers For the Human-Animal Bond (CHAB).More infoInvited to participate in this two-day conference.
- Steklis, H. D., & Steklis, N. G. (2015, October). Animality and Human-Animal Kinship. Conference on "Kinship, Conflict and Cooperation: Reconceptualizing kinship for the 21st century". Berlin, Germany: Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (WIKO).