Young researcher
Hou Rong
College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
International Centre for Biodiversity and Primates Conservation, Dali University, Dali, Yunnan 671003, China
Current affiliations
Rong Hou is an Associate Professor and master supervisor. He earned his Ph.D. from Northwest University, China, in 2018, followed by a Postdoctoral position at McGill University from 2019 to 2020. Since 2021, he has been working at Northwest University, China, focusing on nonhuman primate behavior, nutriology, adaptation ecology, and conservation. His research is centered around a dynamic control model that considers behavior, nutrition, energy, and intestinal microbiota, with a specific focus on the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), the northernmost distributed colobine in the world. These monkeys have developed a unique mechanism to maintain a neutral energy balance in response to low temperatures and food scarcity. This work has led to the publication of over 10 articles in reputable journals such as Innovation, Ecography, Functional Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Zoological Research, and Conservation Biology. Hou also serves as a reviewer for Environment International, American Journal of Primatology, and Primates, and as the young editor of Acta Theriologica Sinica. He is a member of the International Society of Zoological Sciences and the Zoological Sciences in Shaanxi.
Recent publications
Rong Hou, Colin A. Chapman, Ollie Jay, Songtao Guo, Baoguo Li, Raubenheimer David. Cold and hungry: combined effects of low temperature and resource scarcity on an edge-of-range temperate primate, the golden snub-nosed monkey, Ecography, 2020, 43(11): 1672-1682.
Rong Hou, Colin A. Chapman, Jessica M. Rothman, He Zhang, Kang Huang, Songtao Guo, Baoguo Li, David Raubenheimer. The geometry of resource constraint: an empirical study of the golden snub-nosed monkey. Journal of Animal Ecology, 2021, 90(3): 751-765.
Rui Liu, Katherine Amato, Rong Hou, Andres Gomez, Derek W. Dunn, Jun Zhang, Paul A. Garber, Colin A. Chapman, Nicoletta Righini, Gang He, Gu Fang, Yuhang Li, Baoguo Li, Songtao Guo. Specialized digestive adaptations within the hindgut of a colobine monkey. The Innovation, 2022, 3(2): 100207.
Songtao Guo, Rong Hou, Paul A. Garber, David Raubenheimer, Nicoletta Righini, Weihong Ji, Ollie Jay, Shujun He, Fan Wu, Fangfang Li, Baoguo Li. Nutrient-specific compensation for seasonal cold stress in a free-ranging temperate colobine monkey, Functional Ecology, 2018, 32(9): 2170-2180.
Rong Hou, Rafael Reyna-Hurtado, Patrick Omeja, Charles Tumwesigye, Dipto Sarkar, Jan F. Gogarten, Colin A. Chapman. Long-term trends in a forest ungulate community: Park establishment increases numbers, but poaching is a constant threat. Zoological Research. 2021, 42(2): 207-211.