Foraging strategies can be modeled using different factors, such as the location of sleeping sites and the availability of food. This study characterized the sleeping trees and identified the foraging strategies, based on the MCPF (Multiple Central Place Foraging) and CPF (Central Place Foraging), of a Callicebus coimbrai group in the Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge in Sergipe, Brazil. We calculated the density of food source-bearing fruit and measured the Euclidean distance between feeding and sleeping trees. March and April presented a higher density of food source-bearing fruits, and June and August a lower density. During the high-density period, there was a high rate of re-use of sleeping trees, and distances from the last feeding source and first feeding sources in a subsequent morning were shorter for MCPF than CPF. Conversely, in the low-density period, there was a low frequency of sleeping tree reuse, and the distances from MCPF and CPF were twice as long. Such factors indicated that C. coimbrai employed the MCPF strategy during the high-density period. These findings should support the restoration of degraded areas through the use of identified plant species to facilitate the movement and increase sleeping tree options for this arboreal primate.

The pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor), a species that is emblematic of the Manaus region of Brazil, is threatened by the growth of the city and its peri-urban area. Our study aims to identify priority areas for biodiversity conservation in and around Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon and home to over 2 million people. The geographic range of the pied tamarin, a critically endangered primate that is a symbol of conservation in the region, was used to define the boundaries of the study area. We treated the urban zone separately because of the greater barriers to conservation there and carried out systematic conservation planning for the rural zone. After defining biodiversity targets and variables and weighting for a cost surface (difficulty of protection), the map of priority areas was generated using MARXAN decision support software. Connectivity was strengthened using the LinkageMapper tool. Although protected areas already cover about 20% of the study area, most are in partially protected categories and are still losing vegetation. The results prioritize 56.1% of the pied tamarin distribution area, including urban and rural zones. The analysis of the current scenario causes concern because it shows that much of the effort to create protected areas is not as effective as it could be. The conservation of the pied tamarin, as well as other threatened primates, depends on a better understanding of the need to increase the amount of land set aside for their protection, improving monitoring, and restoring vegetation where possible.

Cebus kaapori (Queiroz 1992) is among the 25 most endangered primates in the world and is endemic to the highly threatened eastern Amazon. We compiled comprehensive occurrence records, including previously unpublished data, to reassess the species' distribution and evaluate its extinction risk under land-use and climate change scenarios. Using climate niche modeling, we projected a severe contraction of climatically suitable habitat under pessimistic deforestation and global warming scenarios, indicating a high risk of extinction in the short term, with a projected loss of 100% of the currently suitable climatic space within its historical distribution. Despite these projections, our analyses suggest that forest remnants are likely to persist in portions of the species' current distribution. Furthermore, recent records demonstrate that C. kaapori occurs in habitats with varying levels of anthropogenic disturbance, challenging the assumption that the species is strictly restricted to well-preserved forests. We identified priority areas for conservation and restoration and proposed the establishment of ecological corridors connecting the main forest remnants to enhance landscape connectivity. Although climate projections indicate a critical future for C. kaapori, the immediate implementation of habitat protection and restoration strategies may still prevent its extinction. Our results highlight the vulnerability of arboreal primates with restricted distribution in the Amazon and provide a spatially explicit framework to guide conservation planning.

The "Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates" list, also known as the Top 25 list, has been published every two years since 2000. Its goal is to boost conservation efforts for these primates. The Top 25 list only includes threatened species according to the IUCN Red List classification and aims for balanced species representation. Analyzing species threats could complement this approach, offering insights to prioritize conservation efforts and identify which primates need urgent attention. We compared the landscape attributes of threatened Brazilian primates that were listed and unlisted in the Top 25 lists from 2000 to 2022 to determine whether listed species face greater anthropogenic threats and to assess trends in their representation. We show that unlisted threatened Brazilian primates are similarly menaced as those listed in the Top 25 list, based on landscape attributes. Their inclusion or removal wasn’t driven by temporal habitat trends (2000-2022), nor by the Atlantic Forest’s modest recovery, nor by habitat loss in the Cerrado and Amazon. Thus, although species already listed in the Top 25 align with the IUCN threat categories, landscape pressures do not suggest these primates face heightened threat exposure. Based on our results, we consider that mapping threats can help identify species inhabiting more anthropized landscapes, potentially pinpointing candidates for inclusion in the Top 25 list.

Wild populations across the globe face an escalating risk of decline and potential extinction due to a variety of threats. Key among these are habitat loss and degradation, which results in smaller, isolated populations that are vulnerable to stochastic effects. The Endangered black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) survives in 17 fragments of the Atlantic Forest within the Paranapanema River basin, in southeast Brazil, with an estimated 2,255 individuals. Life history and threat data from the 2005 Population Viability Analysis (PVA) for this species were updated and augmented, including new estimates of environmental resistance factors present in, or projected for, their habitat. Notably, improved estimates of carrying capacity for this species were developed using a plant-based energetic model. Climate change and fire risk data were incorporated to project future carrying capacity, and habitat connectivity supported estimates of black lion tamarin dispersal across this fragmented landscape. The resulting population viability projections using Vortex simulation software identify core subpopulations with low extinction risk and high gene diversity, as well as smaller subpopulations with low long-term viability, highlighting the need for targeted conservation strategies across the fragmented metapopulation.

​​​​​​​The so-called arc of deforestation is a major agricultural and industrial frontier in southern Amazonia and northern Cerrado of Brazil. As arboreal mammals, the primates in this region are therefore threatened by forest loss and fragmentation. At the same time, knowledge about the taxonomic diversity and distribution ranges of these taxa is incomplete, which might hamper efficient conservation measurements. New species have been recently discovered in this region, and their ranges remain imprecise because only a few occurrence records are available for each species. Here we present 192 new records of 22 species and subspecies of Alouatta, Aotus, Ateles, Cebus, Chiropotes, Lagothrix, Leontocebus, Pithecia, Plecturocebus, Saimiri, and Sapajus, collected in 56 different localities during 10 field expeditions across the arc of deforestation between 2015 and 2018. Based on these new records, we extend the ranges of Alouatta puruensis, Ateles chamek, and Saimiri collinsi; identify potential hybridization zones between A. puruensis and A. discolor, and between At. chamek and At. marginatus; redefine the range of Plecturocebus moloch; and clarify the ranges of P. baptista and P. hoffmannsi. Moreover, these results and the dataset are valuable for further research on, for example, species distribution and habitat use modeling, for assessing species extinction risks, and for supporting efforts for the conservation of species increasingly threatened on a global deforestation frontier.

Hunting is an ancient human behavior, which likely became complex and efficient gradually through time. We present data from a bibliographic survey (qualitative) and field sampling (quantitative) of primate hunting in Northeastern Brazil. We evaluated hunting threats faced by 14 primate species native to the States of Bahia and Sergipe (three Critically Endangered, three Endangered, three Vulnerable, two Near Threatened, and three Least Concern). Qualitatively, since 2005, we identified 21 academic studies that contained 47 mentions of all six studied genera known to occur in the study area (Alouatta=4, Brachyteles=2, Callicebus=16, Callithrix=8, Leontopithecus=3, Sapajus=14). Approximately half of the citations were for hunting (55.3%; 88.4% of this for bushmeat) and the other half for trapping (44.7%; 90.4% for pet). Quantitatively, we obtained 834 local experts’ citations of primate hunting and capturing at 348 sites. All experts cited Callithrix, 818 cited Sapajus, and 738 cited Callicebus. We argued 539 about hunting for bushmeat (164 positive; 30.4%) and 636 about trapping for pet (189 positive; 30.9%). Callicebus presented 95 citations as bushmeat (30.1% of 326 queries) and Sapajus presented 80 citations as pet (35.7% of 224). Four informants reported hunting Sapajus for pest control because of crop damage. There was a significant difference (Chi²=33.982; df=2; p<0.0001) comparing hunting for bushmeat and pets, with Callicebus (higher bushmeat) and Sapajus (higher pet) presenting significant differences (both p<0.01). The impact of hunting is associated with biological contexts, besides socioeconomic and political, requiring complex-specific attention and efforts in conservation and management strategies, perhaps innovative, even non-prohibitive.

Brazilian primates differ regarding landscape characteristics within their ranges (e.g. habitat availability) and life-history traits (e.g. body size). These landscape and life history attributes may be related to extinction risk. Here, we verified how such attributes correlate with primate threat categories. We considered 124 Brazilian primates based on the 2014 Brazilian list of threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable) and non-threatened (Least Concern and Near Threatened) species. We then characterized their landscape (i.e. habitat availability, habitat loss and fragmentation, indigenous lands, roads, urban areas, deforestation arch) and life-history attributes (i.e. body weight, gestation length and generation time), which together make up the threat context for each threat category. We compared threat categories to identify differences in such attributes, considering biome (Atlantic Forest, Amazon, Caatinga and Cerrado) as a factor and testing for phylogenetic effect. We investigated the attributes responsible for group characterization for specific threats and binary threatened/non-threatened categories. We show that life history and landscape attributes differ in the biomes. However, only landscape features varied across biomes. In the Amazon, the threatened categories reached the highest level of habitat loss in the last 30 years, while in the Atlantic Forest, the landscape of threatened species had the highest proportions of roads and urban areas. Most threatened species landscapes in the Caatinga and Cerrado were highly fragmented. We found a positive link between human impacts and extinction risk in the Amazon. In the other biomes, anthropogenic landscape characteristics were associated with threatened and non-threatened species. Threatened species tended to have large bodies and a slow life history, regardless of the biome. The more closely related the species, the more similar the traits. We suggest considering biomes and threat categories together with specific landscape and life history attributes to distinguish primate threat context for species conservation priority-setting. Brazilian primates differ regarding landscape characteristics in their range as well as their life history traits. These landscape and life history attributes may be related to extinction risk. Therefore, we verified how such attributes correlate with primate extinction threat categories. Our results show the importance of considering biomes and threat categories together with specific landscape and life history attributes to distinguish primate threat contexts for species conservation priority-setting.image

Abstract Conservation funding is currently limited; cost‐effective conservation solutions are essential. We suggest that the thousands of field stations worldwide can play key roles at the frontline of biodiversity conservation and have high intrinsic value. We assessed field stations’ conservation return on investment and explored the impact of COVID‐19. We surveyed leaders of field stations across tropical regions that host primate research; 157 field stations in 56 countries responded. Respondents reported improved habitat quality and reduced hunting rates at over 80% of field stations and lower operational costs per km2 than protected areas, yet half of those surveyed have less funding now than in 2019. Spatial analyses support field station presence as reducing deforestation. These “earth observatories” provide a high return on investment; we advocate for increased support of field station programs and for governments to support their vital conservation efforts by investing accordingly.

Ensuring the demographic and genetic viability of small populations of threatened primates requires a range of management approaches. Here we describe a novel mixed in situ and ex situ management project that was developed to restore a population of the Critically Endangered northern muriqui Brachyteles hypoxanthus. This isolated population, located in Ibitipoca, Lima Duarte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, had declined to two adult males and would have gone extinct without intervention. A first attempt at in situ management in 2017 involved the translocation of a solitary female from another region, but this female did not associate or interact with the males and disappeared after 9 months. We thus initiated a second and ongoing ex situ management project that involved constructing a complex consisting of a large, open-air enclosure abutting a small patch of forest surrounded by an open area in the process of restoration, all of which is protected by electric fencing. The entire area within the fencing is called Muriqui House. The two Ibitipoca males and two solitary, wild females from another location were captured and released into the enclosed part of Muriqui House between March 2019 and January 2020 and into the forested part of Muriqui House in February 2020. The birth of an infant in this group in November 2020 and the acceptance by the group of a third female translocated from another area in January 2021 demonstrate the potential of this approach for the recovery of this isolated population, with positive implications for the conservation of the species.

The brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina, threatened by extinction due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and hunting. Its reduced and isolated populations dramatically decreased and suffered local extinctions after recent yellow fever outbreaks, recommending the species risk uplist from Vulnerable to Endangered. In Brazil, the species occurs along eight states in sparse populations, including some large protected areas, and is being uplisted to Endangered. Following the National Action Plan for Conservation of the Atlantic Forest Primates and the Maned-sloth, and applying the Guidelines for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations (IUCN/CTSG), the Ex Situ Guidelines (IUCN/CPSG) and the One Plan Approach (IUCN/CPSG), a workshop was held on August 2021 to evaluate the need, requisites and roles of an integrated Population Management Program for A. guariba. Such program was developed in June 2022 defining the objectives of (i) restore in situ populations from ex situ populations, prioritizing populations in higher risk to prevent local extinctions, and (ii) establish an ex situ insurance population. This in situ – ex situ integrated management program was approved by ICMBio in February 2023, with actions recommended for all states along the species distribution. In Argentina, the species is Critically Endangered, with a remaining population of 20-50 individuals. Following the National Plan for Primate Conservation in Argentina, in a process similar to that in Brazil, two workshops were held in 2022/2023 to evaluate and define management actions for the long-term recovery of A. guariba. The priorities indicated were (i) reintroduction in ten potential areas in Misiones – due to a lower risk when compared to reinforcement of remaining populations, and (ii) establishing an ex situ management program in Argentina – still non-existent. The progressive collaboration between the initiatives of both countries is promoting the exchange of experiences and the integration of strategies. Here we summarize the planning and management carried out in Brazil and Argentina, highlighting the need for integrated measures. We debate on the progress and challenges, proposing next steps for developing and implementing a binational population management program for the conservation of the brown howler monkey.

The spatial distribution of votes for the 2022’s presidential election in Brazil overlaid with the range of the Brazilian biomes indicated a political division within these ecoregions. A high number of supporters to the far-right concentrated in the southern Amazon, while a concentration of votes for the center-left wing was observed in the most pristine region of the Brazilian Amazon and also in the Caatinga biome. In the Legal Amazon, there was a strong positive relation between the proportion of votes per municipality for the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro and the total forest loss accumulated in the last 36 years prior to this election (1985-2021) in each municipality. This region with a historical high rate of deforestation also concentrates various crimes and practices that drive environmental and social impacts, such as land grabbing in public land, mining in indigenous territories, illegal logging in protected areas, expulsion of traditional populations and increased use of agro-chemicals and gun permits. The strengthening and continued convergence of these policies and practices may lead the Amazon to a tipping point, which prevents the recovery and maintenance of its ecosystem services, triggering irreversible environmental, social and economic impacts. Reversing this trend depends on measures and actions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, in all three spheres (municipal, state and federal), and involves the election of local and regional political forces that represent counterpoints to the anti-socio-environmental agendas that are being strengthened in the current context.

The brown howler, Alouatta guariba, endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and Argentina, is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting, and its susceptibility to yellow fever. Two subspecies have been recognized, but their names, validity, and geographic ranges have been controversial. We obtained samples covering the species' entire distribution in Brazil and Argentina to clarify these issues by investigating their genetic diversity and structure and assessing their evolutionary history. We analyzed, for the first time, a set of ten microsatellite markers (N = 153), plus mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) segments of the control region (N = 207) and cytochrome b gene (N = 116). The microsatellite data support two to three genetic clusters with biological significance. The southern populations (Argentina, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul) presented a homogeneous genetic component, and populations from São Paulo (SP) to the north presented another component, although most presented ∼20% of the southern component. With K = 3, SP emerged as a third component while sharing some ancestry with Rio de Janeiro and Argentina. The mtDNA phylogenies revealed three main clades that diverged almost simultaneously around 250 thousand years ago (kya). Clades A and B are from central SP to the north and east, while clade C is from SP to the south and southwest. Samples from SP presented haplotypes in all three clades, sometimes in the same population. The demographic history of the species estimated with the Bayesian skyline plot of the mtDNA showed a strong expansion ∼40–20 kya and a strong reduction over the last ∼4–2 kya. Although the genetic clusters identified here deserve appropriate management strategies as conservation units, the absence of (i) concordance between the mtDNA and microsatellite data, (ii) reciprocal monophyly in the mtDNA, and (iii) clear-cut non-genetic diagnostic characters advises against considering them as different taxonomic entities. None of the previous taxonomic proposals were corroborated by our data. Our results elucidate the taxonomy of the Atlantic Forest brown howler, indicating it should be considered a monotypic species, A. guariba. We also clarify the evolutionary history of the species regarding its intraspecific genetic diversity, which is crucial information for its conservation and population management.

The arc of deforestation, located between the southern Amazonia and the northern Cerrado of Brazil, is a top deforestation frontier worldwide. The high deforestation rates in this region are caused by human activities and threatens a rich diversity of primates that are still poorly-known and therefore investments into taxonomy and distribution research are urgent to support science-driven conservation of primates of this region. Here we present a dataset of 192 new occurrence records for 22 species of primates of the genera Alouatta, Aotus, Ateles, Cebus, Chiropotes, Lagothrix, Leontocebus, Pithecia, Plecturocebus, Saimiri , and Sapajus , collected during 10 field expeditions carried out across the arc of deforestation between 2015–2018. Based on these occurrence records we extend the ranges of Saimiri collinsi, Sapajus apella , and Alouatta puruensis , identify a potential hybridization zone between A. puruensis and Alouatta discolor , and redefine the range of Plecturocebus moloch . Moreover, this dataset is a useful source of information otherwise scarce for further researches on species distributions and habitat use patterns, on the effect of environmental variables on such patterns, for estimating population sizes, evaluating habitat suitability, for predicting effects of climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation on populations, and for assessing species extinction risks. The ranges of primates endemic to the arc of deforestation, with a few exceptions, are fragile hypotheses, which hampers the establishment of effective conservation efforts for species increasingly threatened on a global deforestation frontier.

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While primate populations in wild areas are facing intensive decline due to habitat loss and removal for illegal trade, the number of individuals kept in ex situ settings is sharply increasing. With limited facilities and relocation programs, rescue centers in Latin American countries are frequently overcrowded and rarely meet basic welfare conditions. In this chapter we provide an outlook of primate-human co-existence in Latin America and give an overview of the number of primates and how they are kept in zoos and rescue centers in Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay. Impact on wild populations, recurrent diseases, and management strategies are presented as examples of the difficulties of caring for primates ex situ in developing countries. Legal protection and rules for trade in all Latin American countries are reviewed and suggestions for improvement are discussed. This chapter concludes with a call for more rehabilitation and releases of fauna in well-designed landscape restoration programs.

Callithrix aurita é um pequeno primata endêmico da Mata Atlântica brasileira e considerado “em perigo” de extinção (EN) devido à perda e fragmentação de seus habitat e à competição e hibridação com congêneres invasores. Nesse contexto, identificar fragmentos florestais habitados por Callithrix spp. é uma das estratégias prioritárias para a sua conservação. Como as populações de C. aurita podem estar subamostradas pelas diversas técnicas de detecção, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficiência do playback como método auxiliar à busca ativa de Callithrix spp. em fragmentos da microrregião de Viçosa. Para tal, considerou-se a taxa de resposta de Callithrix spp. em relação ao tamanho do fragmento e o horário do dia. Quinze fragmentos foram vistoriados, com 88 pontos de playback. Não houve registro de C. aurita, mas houve resposta de Callithrix spp. em 5,68% das execuções. As respostas foram obtidas entre 07h - 08h ou entre 16 - 17h. As maiores taxas de resposta de Callithrix spp. ocorreram em fragmentos maiores que 100ha, seguido por fragmentos entre 50ha e 100ha, e por fragmentos menores que 50ha. O horário do dia está intimamente ligado à temperatura; portanto, os horários de maior responsividade ao playback são corroborados pelo fato de haver perdas abaixo do esperado na propagação do som. Não houve interferência significativa da área do fragmento e do horário nas respostas de Callithrix spp. Assim, a técnica de playback demonstrou-se útil para levantamentos de Callithrix, independentemente de seu tamanho, em especial quando executado no início do dia ou fim da tarde.

Terrestrial mammals face a severe crisis of habitat loss worldwide. Therefore, assessing information on habitat loss throughout different time periods is crucial for assessing species' conservation statuses based on the IUCN Red List system. To support the national extinction risk assessment in Brazil (2016-2022), we developed a script that uses the MapBiomas Project 6.0 data source of land cover and land use (annual maps at 30 m scale) within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to calculate habitat loss. We defined suitable habitats from the MapBiomas Project land cover classification for 190 mammalian taxa, according to each species range map and ecological characteristics. We considered a period of three generation lengths to assess habitat loss in accordance with the Red List assessment criteria. We used the script to estimate changes in available habitat throughout the analyzed period within the species' known ranges. The results indicated that habitat loss occurred within 94.3% of the analyzed taxa range, with the Carnivora order suffering the greatest habitat loss, followed by the Cingulata order. These analyses may be decisive for applying criteria, defining categories during the assessment of at least 17 species (9%), enriching discussions, and raising new questions for several other species. We considered the outcome of estimating habitat loss for various taxa when applying criterion A, which refers to population reduction, thus supporting more accurate inferences about past population declines.

Caracterizar a estrutura do habitat, identificando a funcionalidade de espécies arbóreas, é uma estratégia importante para auxiliar programas de manejo. Este estudo objetivou caracterizar a estrutura do habitat, identificar a composição ecológica e o tipo de síndrome de dispersão das árvores em fragmentos habitados pelo ameaçado de extinção Callicebus coimbrai, Mata Atlântica em Sergipe. Foram percorridos oito transectos pelo método do quadrante errante, com 780 pontos registrados em 3.166,71m percorridos. Em cada ponto, coletamos o DAP, altura, distância entre dois pontos (árvores), além da identificação da espécie de árvore. Analisamos abundância, densidade, frequência, dominância basal, índice de valor de importância, além do cálculo do índice de diversidade e equitabilidade de Pielou. A distância média entre as árvores foi de 4,05±2,75m, a altura média foi de 11,69±3,10m, e o DAP médio foi de 25,75±13,53cm, com poucas diferenças significativas entre os fragmentos. Em geral, as estruturas são pobres e a composição das árvores é formada principalmente por espécies pioneiras e secundárias iniciais, e espécies com síndrome de dispersão zoocórica. Esses locais apresentam uma estrutura instável para os macacos guigós habitarem. Além disso, estão distantes de outros locais, dificultando a movimentação dos indivíduos. Esses resultados mostram a importância de caracterizar a estrutura, utilizar os traços ecológicos das árvores como medida da qualidade do habitat, auxiliando programas de manejo que visem a preservação e conservação de espécies ameaçadas e seus habitat.