Ape, monkey evolution discoveries in Tanzania

From Big News Network (ANI):

Oldest evidence of split between Old World monkeys and apes uncovered

Thursday 16th May, 2013

Discovery of two fossils from the East African Rift has provided new information about the evolution of primates, according to a study.

The team’s findings document the oldest fossils of two major groups of primates: the group that today includes apes and humans (hominoids), and the group that includes Old World monkeys such as baboons and macaques (cercopithecoids).

Geological analyses of the study site indicate that the finds are 25 million years old, significantly older than fossils previously documented for either of the two groups.

Both primates are new to science, and were collected from a single fossil site in the Rukwa Rift Basin of Tanzania.

Rukwapithecus fleaglei is an early hominoid represented by a mandible preserving several teeth. Nsungwepithecus gunnelli is an early cercopithecoid represented by a tooth and jaw fragment.

The primates lived during the Oligocene epoch, which lasted from 34 to 23 million years ago. For the first time, the study documents that the two lineages were already evolving separately during this geological period.

“The late Oligocene is among the least sampled intervals in primate evolutionary history, and the Rukwa field area provides a first glimpse of the animals that were alive at that time from Africa south of the equator,” said Nancy Stevens, an associate professor of paleontology in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine who leads the paleontological team.

Prior to these finds, the oldest fossil representatives of the hominoid and cercopithecoid lineages were recorded from the early Miocene, at sites dating millions of years younger.

The new discoveries are particularly important for helping to reconcile a long-standing disagreement between divergence time estimates derived from analyses of DNA sequences from living primates and those suggested by the primate fossil record, Stevens said.

Studies of clock-like mutations in primate DNA have indicated that the split between apes and Old World monkeys occurred between 30 million and 25 million years ago.

“Fossils from the Rukwa Rift Basin in southwestern Tanzania provide the first real test of the hypothesis that these groups diverged so early, by revealing a novel glimpse into this late Oligocene terrestrial ecosystem,” Stevens said.

The new fossils are the first primate discoveries from this precise location within the Rukwa deposits, and two of only a handful of known primate species from the entire late Oligocene, globally.

The scientists scanned the specimens in the Ohio University’s MicroCT scanner, allowing them to create detailed 3-dimensional reconstructions of the ancient specimens that were used for comparisons with other fossils.

“This is another great example that underscores how modern imaging and computational approaches allow us to address more refined questions about vertebrate evolutionary history,” said Patrick O’Connor, co-author and professor of anatomy in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The study was published online in Nature this week led by Ohio University scientists.

See also here. And here. And here.

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Lemur babies born

This is a video about ring-tailed lemurs, from the BBC’s “Life” documentary series.

Amersfoort zoo in the Netherlands reports that young ring-tailed lemurs were born there recently.

Also, two young donkeys were born.

And the vultures have eggs in their nests.

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Gorillas and tourism in Rwanda

This video is called Family of Mountain Gorillas – Cousins – BBC.

From The New Times (Kigali, Rwanda):

Rwanda: How Much Do You Know About the Gorilla, the Rose and Its Roots?

By Sam Kebongo, 5 April 2013

There is a South American poem to the effect that the flowers get all the glory and honour and the roots hardly get noticed yet it is the roots that enable the flowers, the stem and the leaves; the plant to stay so luxuriant and alive.

When we think of roses, most of us think of the beauty, the aroma and stuff like that. Very few of us think of all the trouble it takes to get the rose so rosy. This is the mirror image of the relationship between tourism and conservation in Rwanda. You and I are more likely more focused on the tourism figures and frills and I bet you very few of us think about the nature conservation side.

Sample the following:

The Roses: Facts and figures we could gather indicated that the projected revenue from tourism earnings for the year 2012 was US$ 277 million (that is over 180 Billion Rwandan Francs). In 2011 tourism earnings were US$ 251 million in 2011. Much of that money came courtesy of the mountain gorillas which remain one of the major attractions of tourists to Rwanda.

According Rica Rwigamba, head of Tourism and Conservation unit at Rwanda Development Board (RDB); gorilla receipts account for 90% of total national park receipts with the endangered primates attracting some 20,000 visitors in 2011.

Between 2005 and 2011, 160 gorillas were been born. There are an estimated 480 gorillas living around the Virunga Massif (Volcanoes National Park, Mgahinga in Uganda and Virunga in DR Congo). In fact, due to a booming demand to view these primates, RDB had to raise its fees.

A very rosy picture we have there. I’m sure that the current figures are even rosier; it is unfortunate that RDB does not have them at their finger tips.

The roots: One of the foremost gorilla habitat conservation organisations, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGFI) has been at it since 1967 when its founder, Dian Fossey, moved to the Massif. The current gorilla population of 480 plus doubling of the 1978 figures when there were 250 gorillas in a trend that represented a decline. As a matter of fact, the western gorilla, the Bonobo and the Orang Utang have had their populations decline to a point of extinction.

The Fund’s annual budget is $2 million (1.3 billion francs), all from private donors. About $2 million is invested and we get close to $300 million returns. Of course there are other investments but we cannot deny that this is still good business.

The mere fact that our gorilla populations are growing against a global decline and extinction should make us kiss the boots of conservationists. But before we do that, it is on record that gorilla receipts account for 90% of total national park receipts and Tourism accounts for over 25% of our revenues. What does this mean? In deed the gorilla is Rwanda’s unique selling point in tourism. It must be treated royally at all costs.

The gorilla is our cash cow. Only a fool would leave a cash cow without pasture. As we admire the rose, we should work harder to get it water and weed the flower lest it wilt and we end up killing our goose that lays golden eggs.

There are many efforts to do this and they should be encouraged. The problem is that they are not coordinated and the wider public is not well informed about them. How much do you know about the gorilla, for example? Did you know that to capture a baby gorilla, the poacher would have to kill its parents? They are very protective of their young.

It is with a view of bringing nature conservation partnerships such as these to the fore that DFGFI organised a workshop that brought together the academia, as well as members of the private and public sectors. The lively discussions brought out the fact that a platform is needed to keep nature conservation a key driver of the economy.

There is need for more networking among players in the different sectors. The interdependency and power that comes thereof is enormous. We tend to ‘overspecialise’ to the extent that communication even within same organisation becomes a problem. This has been counterproductive.

Information sharing is still a challenge. People in positions that require that they know facts and figures don’t have the fact at their finger tips. Such sharing is crucial to foster progress and avoid duplication of effort.

Nature conservation is serious business; it is the root of our tourism and related business. We should all sign up.

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Over-hunting endangers rainforest trees

This video is called Tree and plant life in the jungle – David Attenborough – BBC wildlife.

From mongabay.com:

An insidious threat to tropical forests: over-hunting endangers tree species in Asia and Africa

Jeremy Hance

April 04, 2013

A fruit falls to the floor in a rainforest. It waits. And waits. Inside the fruit is a seed, and like most seeds in tropical forests, this one needs an animal—a good-sized animal—to move it to a new place where it can germinate and grow. But it may be waiting in vain. Hunting and poaching has decimated many mammal and bird populations across the tropics, and according to two new studies the loss of these important seed-dispersers are imperiling the very nature of rainforests.

“Animals that eat fruit and disperse seeds are particularly sensitive to hunting. So in hunted forests often you find that there are few animals that can disperse seeds, particularly the largest seeds,” Rhett Harrison with the Chinese Academy of Sciences told mongabay.com. Monitoring a protected forest in Borneo for over 15 years, Harrison and his team have found that over-hunting has led to “pervasive changes” in tree populations “leading to a consistent decline in local tree diversity over time,” according to their study published in Ecology Letters.

Ola Olsson with Lund University found a very similar situation thousands of miles away in Nigeria. Comparing non-hunted sites with hunted sites (where most primates including gorillas had vanished), Olsson and other researchers found that seedling populations—i.e. future trees—were vastly different in a new paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

“The changed composition among seedlings that we see now will lead to a future tree composition which is different from the present, with fewer large-seeded fruiting trees and more wind dispersed species,” Olsson says.

Although conservationists have long warned about the impacts of deforestation and climate change in the tropics, over-hunting also poses another still largely hidden problem. Scientists are still trying to work out the overall ramifications, but ultimately this “empty forest” trend will lead to less biodiversity and drastically different rainforests even in so-called protected areas.

The long article, with many photos, continues here.

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From prehistoric hominids to modern humans, video

The California Academy of Sciences in the USA writes about this video:

March 29, 2013

One of the oldest fossils ever discovered dated at 3.2 million years old, “Lucy” (Australopithecus afarensis) provided scientists evidence of bipedal, upright walking by human ancestors. In this animation, see what similarities Lucy shares with modern humans.

Trace the milestones of our species’ fascinating history in a dramatic addition to Tusher African Hall.

For more information visit http://www.calacademy.org/human-odyssey/.

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New mouse lemur species discoveries in Madagascar

From Wildlife Extra:

2 new species of mouse lemur identified in Madagascar

DNA says lemur lookalikes are 2 new species

March 2013. Scientists have identified two new species of mouse lemur, the saucer-eyed, teacup-sized primates native to the African island of Madagascar.

20 Mouse lemurs recognised

The new study brings the number of recognized mouse lemur species to 20, making them the most diverse group of lemurs known. But because these shy, nocturnal primates look so much alike, it’s only possible to tell them apart with genetic sequencing.

Weigh just 2.5 – 3 ounces

The new mouse lemurs weigh 2.5 to 3 ounces (about 65 to 85 grams) and have grey-brown fur. “You can’t really tell them apart just looking at them through binoculars in the rainforest,” said senior author Peter Kappeler of the German Primate Center in Goettingen, who earned his PhD at Duke in 1992.

Close neighbours

The researchers named one of the new species the Anosy mouse lemur, or Microcebus tanosi. Anosy mouse lemurs are close neighbours with grey mouse lemurs and grey-brown mouse lemurs, but the genetic data indicate they don’t interbreed.

The researchers named the other new species the Marohita mouse lemur, or Microcebus marohita, after the forest where it was found. In Malagasy, the word “marohita” means “many views.”

First caught in 2003 – 2007

The two new species were first captured by co-author Rodin Rasoloarison of the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar during trips to the eastern part of the country in 2003 and 2007. Rasoloarison weighed and measured them and took tiny skin samples for genetic analysis in the lab.

Co-authors Anne Yoder and Dave Weisrock, both at Duke University at the time, analysed two mitochondrial and four nuclear DNA genes to figure out where the animals fit into the lemur family tree. Their genetic analyses were published in 2010, but this is the first time the species have been formally named and described.

Funded by a grant from the German Research Foundation, the study is published in the March 26 online issue of the International Journal of Primatology.

During a 2012 return trip to the forest where the Marohita mouse lemur lives, Rasoloarison discovered that much of the lemur’s forest home had been cleared since his first visit in 2003. The state of the lemur’s habitat prompted the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to classify the new species as “endangered” even before it was formally described.

“This species is a prime example of the current state of many other lemur species,” Kappeler said. Mouse lemurs have lived in Madagascar for 7 to 10 million years. But since humans arrived on the island some 2,500 years ago, logging and slash and burn agriculture have taken their toll on the forests where these tree-dwelling primates live.

Only 10 percent of Madagascar’s original forests remain today, which makes lemurs the most endangered mammals in the world according to the IUCN.

“Knowing exactly how many species we have is essential for determining which areas to target for conservation,” Kappeler said.

A better understanding of mouse lemur diversity could help humans too. Mouse lemurs are a closer genetic match to humans than mice and rats, the most common lab animals. At least one species — the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) — develops a neurological disease that is strikingly similar to human Alzheimer’s, so the animals are considered important models for understanding the aging brain.

“But before we can say whether a particular genetic variant in mouse lemurs is associated with Alzheimer’s, we need to know whether that variant is specific to all mouse lemurs or just select species,” said Lemur Center Director Anne Yoder.

“Every new mouse lemur species that we sample in the wild will help researchers put the genetic diversity we see in grey mouse lemurs in a broader context,” she said.

CITATION: Rasoloarison, R., et al. (2013). “Two new species of mouse lemurs (Cheirogaleidae: Microcebus) from eastern Madagascar.” International Journal of Primatology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10764-013-9672-1

See also here.

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Madagascar aye-ayes in danger

This is an aye-aye video.

From Wildlife Extra:

Isolated Aye-aye populations endangered by lack of genetic diversity

Endangered Aye-ayes‘ complete genomes are sequenced and analysed for conservation efforts

March 2013. For the first time, the complete genomes of three separate populations of aye-ayes, a very rare type of lemur, have been sequenced and analysed in an effort to help guide conservation efforts.

The aye-aye, a lemur that is found only on the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, was recently re-classified as “Endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. “The aye-aye is one of the world’s most unusual and fascinating animals,” said George H. Perry, an assistant professor of anthropology and biology at Penn State University. “Aye-ayes use continuously growing incisors to gnaw through the bark of dead trees and then a long, thin, and flexible middle finger to extract insect larvae, filling the ecological niche of a woodpecker. Aye-ayes are nocturnal, solitary, and have very low population densities, making them difficult to study and sample in the wild.”

Habitat fragmentation

Perry added that he and other scientists are concerned about the long-term viability of aye-ayes as a species, given the loss and fragmentation of natural forest habitats in Madagascar. “Aye-aye population densities are very low, and individual aye-ayes have huge home-range requirements,” said Perry. “As forest patches become smaller, there is a particular risk that there won’t be sufficient numbers of individual aye-ayes in a given area to maintain a population over multiple generations. We were looking to make use of new genomic-sequencing technologies to characterize patterns of genetic diversity among some of the surviving aye-aye populations, with an eye towards the prioritization of conservation efforts.”

Louis, with his team at Omaha‘s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, worked to locate aye-ayes and collect DNA samples from three separate regions of Madagascar: the northern, eastern, and western regions. To discover the extent of the genetic diversity in present-day aye-ayes, the researchers generated the complete genome sequences of 12 individual aye-ayes. They then analysed and compared the genomes of the three populations. They found that, while eastern and western aye-ayes are somewhat genetically distinct, aye-ayes in the northern part of the island and those in the east show a much more significant amount of genetic distance, suggesting an extensive period of time during which interbreeding has not occurred between the populations in these regions.

“Our next step was to compare aye-aye genetic diversity to present-day human genetic diversity,” explained Miller. “This analysis can help us to gauge how long the aye-aye populations have been geographically separated and unable to interbreed.” To make the comparison, the team gathered 12 complete human DNA sequences, the same number as the individual aye-aye sequences generated, from publicly available databases for three distinct human populations: African agriculturalists, individuals of European descent, and Southeast Asian individuals. Using Galaxy, an open-source, web-based computer platform designed at Penn State for data-intensive biomedical and genetic research, the team developed software to compare the two species’ genetic distances. They found that present-day African and European human populations have a smaller amount of genetic distance than that found to exist between northern and eastern aye-aye populations, suggesting that the aye-aye populations were separated for an especially lengthy period of time by geographic barriers.

Isolated population

“We believe that northern aye-ayes have not been able to interbreed with other populations for some time; Although they are separated by a distance of only about 160 miles, high and extensive plateaus and major rivers may have made intermingling relatively infrequent,” explained Miller. He added that the results of the team’s data further suggest that the separation of the two aye-aye populations stretches back much longer than 2,300 years, which is when human settlers first arrived on the island and started burning the aye-ayes’ forest habitat and hunting lemurs.

The team members hope that their findings will help to guide future conservation efforts for the species. “This work highlights an important region of aye-aye biodiversity in northern Madagascar, and this unique biodiversity is not preserved anywhere except in the wild,” said Louis. “There is tremendous historical loss of habitat in northern Madagascar that is continuing at an unsustainable rate today. This study is an excellent example of how a comprehensive and coordinated effort in the field and laboratory can identify previously unknown patterns of biodiversity for an endangered species, which then can be used by conservation organizations to base their management strategies.”

The authors added that, in future research, they would like to sequence the genomes of other lemur species, over 70 percent of which are considered endangered or critically endangered, as well as aye-ayes from the southern reaches of the island of Madagascar.

In addition to Perry, Miller, and Louis, other scientists who contributed to this research include Stephan C. Schuster, Aakrosh Ratan, Oscar C. Bedoya-Reina, and Richard Burhans from Penn State; Runhua Lei from the Center for Conservation and Research at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium; and Steig E. Johnson from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

Funding for aye-aye sample collection was provided by Conservation International, the Primate Action Fund, and the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, along with logistical support from the Ahmanson Foundation and the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation. Additional support comes from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State University.

The results of the genome-sequence analyses will be published in an early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online during the week of 25 March 2013. The team of scientists is led by George H. Perry, an assistant professor of anthropology and biology at Penn State University; Webb Miller, a professor of biology and of computer science and engineering at Penn State; and Edward Louis, Director of Conservation Genetics at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and Director of the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, NGO.

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Colombian graffiti art helps monkeys

From the Conservation International Blog:

On Streets of Bogotá, Graffiti Art Raises Environmental Awareness

David Suarez

Last year, CI’s visual storytelling team traveled to Colombia to document graffiti artists in Bogotá. Street art is a popular and powerful mode of expression in the Colombian capital; recently, prominent street artists partnered with CI and the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation to raise awareness about environmental issues while trying to steer young people away from drugs and crime. Today on the blog, one of them shares his most recent conservation-themed mural with us.

David “Wap” Suarez (top right) poses with his mural-painting team. (photo courtesy of David Suarez)

My name is David Suarez, and I am 29 years old. I have spent 13 of those years painting art on the streets of Bogotá under the pseudonym “Wap.”

I started drawing during childhood; probably due to the amount of anime and cartoons that I watched and collected, I started to lean toward illustration and art. I saw graffiti in videos and movies that I watched at that time (1997-98), and I was struck by the letters, colors, culture — and above all, the fact that it could be painted on the street where everyone could see it.

Some time went by before I got access to my first spray-paint cans to make my first piece, which was a total disaster. But I kept trying, learning from various painting and drawing techniques, color theory, etc. Finally in 2004, I and another street artist founded a group called “dot exe crew” — one of the most important in the history of graffiti in Bogotá.

David “Wap” Suarez working on a mural in Bogotá. (photo courtesy of David Suarez)

We started painting murals not only thinking about the stylistic letters and use of color, but we also began to experiment with illustration of narrative and story, taking our graffiti concepts to a more professional and artistic level. This technique became popular among other taggers/artists during that time. This is how I came to paint the first mural on biodiversity, as well as work for corporate brands.

Parallel to this, in the eastern hills of Bogotá’s Chapinero neighborhood where I live, I helped to found Artes Urbanas (Urban Arts) with friends and local school districts that were involved in various manifestations of hip-hop culture. Artes Urbanas was a youth club that provided young people with a space to be creative and avoid getting involved in drugs and crime. There, I taught screening, airbrushing and drawing.

This project was very successful, and we were immediately exposed to many institutions and foundations that wanted to support us — including CI, with whom we began painting murals under the water ecosystem restoration project in Chapinero. These themes began to interest me more and more, so I started to do murals on these subjects independently.

After seven years of work with Artes Urbanas, due to some differences with members of the youth club, I left and the project died. It left me with great experiences and precedents, as art is my life. I continued painting murals on wildlife trafficking, on the Amazon, on the eastern hills of Bogotá, and other issues that don’t have anything to do with the environment but are part of the reality of my city.

Recently, I received the news that CI wanted to provide a grant to Artes Urbanas to paint a mural on the primates of Colombia. As Artes Urbanas was no longer, the solution was to divide the grant between two people for the preparation of two murals on endemic species of primates.

David “Wap” Suarez and his team working on a mural depicting the primates of Colombia in Bogotá. (photo courtesy of David Suarez)

For issues of conflicting interests and limited time and budget, I was not able to go to the Amazon to meet my primate brothers in person. However, I received my half of the grant and did my best to maximize the resources I had to paint the mural. I researched everything about Colombia’s primates on the Internet. CI provided me with a copy of their scientific book “Primates of Colombia” and other sources of information. And so I painted a huge mural of nearly 10 feet in height and about 100 feet in length in a busy area of Bogotá. My team and I are very grateful to CI for believing in and supporting our art.

The completed primate mural, which includes depictions of spider, howler and saki monkeys. Click here to zoom in. (photo courtesy of David Suarez)

My newest project, called “Factory of Ideas” has to do with restoring public spaces and taking up some of the projects developed with Artes Urbanas. I’m painting murals continuously; since the primates of Colombia mural, I have made two more and I hope to continue painting for much longer.

As for people who took the time to read this humble street story, my message to you is to care for the environment and support the arts — if not financially, then at least by respecting their importance. We should focus on making our environment something positive for everyone, just as I’ve been trying to do all this time.

David “Wap” Suarez is a street artist in Bogotá, Colombia.

Read a version of this post in Spanish here (scroll down).

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Mexican howler monkeys in trouble

This video is called Wild Howler Monkeys at Iberostar Tucan Quetzal Mexico.

From Wildlife Extra:

Howler monkeys increasingly stressed by human disturbance

New research shows that disturbed habitats are resulting in increasingly poor diets for monkeys, and that the additional time and energy required to find food is causing concerning levels of stress in already critically endangered primates.

January 2013. Endangered Mexican howler monkeys are consuming more leaves and less fruit as a result of habitat disturbance by humans which is forcing them to invest much more time foraging for sustenance and leading to increased ‘stress’ levels, as detected through hormone analysis.

The research took place in the tropical rainforests of the Mexican state of Veracruz, which are being deforested and fragmented by human activity – primarily the clearing of forest for cattle raising. It shows that increases in howler monkey ‘travel time’ – the amount of time needed to find requisite nourishment – are leading to increases in levels of stress hormones called glucocorticoids. These hormones are not only indicators of stress, but are also known to relate to diminished reproductive success and lower survival rates.

Researchers believe the study could serve as a model for behavioural change and resulting health implications more generally in primates living in habitats disturbed by human activities, such as deforestation.

Dr Jacob Dunn from Cambridge’s Department of Biological Anthropology, who carried out the research, said “Howlers are arboreal primates, that is to say they spend their wholes lives in the trees. As forests are fragmented, the howlers become cut off, isolated on forest ‘islands’ that increasingly lack the fruit which provide an important component of their natural diet. This has led to the monkeys expending ever more time and effort foraging for food, often increasing leaf consumption when their search is, quite literally, fruitless.”

Fruit cycle

Fruit occurs in natural cycles, and the monkeys will naturally revert to ‘fallback’ foods, including leaves, when fruit is scarce. But as habitats shrink, and fruit is harder to find, leaves from second-choice plants, such as lianas, have increased in the Mexican howlers’ diet.

While leaves may sound like a plentiful resource in a rainforest, many leaves are difficult to digest and can be filled with toxins – a natural defence mechanism in most trees and plants – so the monkeys are actually forced to spend more time seeking out the right foliage to eat, such as new shoots which are generally less toxic.

Fruit is vital to monkey diet

Dunn added “The traditional view was that the leaves exploited by howler monkeys were an abundant food source – but this is not the case. The monkeys rely much more heavily on fruit than previously believed, and when turning to foliage for food – as they are increasingly forced to do – they have to be highly selective in the leaves they consume, visiting lots of different trees. This leads to the increased ‘travel time’ and consequent high levels of stress we are seeing in these primates as their habitats disintegrate.”

Faeces analysed

As trying to catch the howlers to examine them would in itself be highly stressful for the animal, the best way of evaluating stress levels in wild primates is by analysing their faeces for glucocorticoid stress hormones, which are general to all vertebrates. Through statistical modelling, the researchers were able to determine that it is the ‘travel time’ – rather than the increased foliage intake – causing high levels of stress.

“Monkeys in disturbed habitats suffering high levels of stress is in itself unsurprising perhaps, but now we think we know why, the root cause from the primates perspective. Our results also highlight the importance of preserving and planting fruit trees – particularly those species such as figs that can produce fruit during periods of general fruit scarcity – for the conservation of howler monkeys¨ said Dr Jurgi Cristóbal-Azkarate, also from Cambridge, who led the research in collaboration with Dr Joaquim Vea from the University of Barcelona.

The authors say that further studies are required to fully understand the significance of increases in stress in howler monkeys living in disturbed habitats. “Determining the full relevance of our results for the conservation of primates living in forest fragments will require long-term studies of stress hormones and survival”, said Dunn.

The research was published in the International Journal of Primatology.

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Baby primate born in Dutch zoo

In Amersfoort zoo in the Netherlands, a rare primate baby was born.

It is a pygmy slow loris.

This video was recorded in the night animals house of the zoo.

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