All The World's Primates

EDITED BY NOEL ROWE AND MARC MYERS

 

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• Three New Species of the Masked Slow Loris are Newly Recognized

  December 14, 2012

  	Kayan Slow Loris is new to sceince photo courtesy Chien C. Lee, www.wildborneo.com.my

  By R. Munds, S. Ford & K.A.I. Nekaris

  An international team of scientists studying the elusive nocturnal primate the slow loris in the jungles of Borneo have discovered an entirely new species. The team’s analysis of the primate’s distinctive facial fur markings, published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals the existence of one entirely new species, while two of species, previously considered as possible sub-species, are being officially recognized as unique.

  “Technological advances have improved our knowledge about the diversity of several nocturnal mammals,” said Rachel Munds from the University of Missouri Columbia. “Historically many species went unrecognized as they were falsely lumped together as one species. While the number of recognized primate species has doubled in the past 25 years some nocturnal species remain hidden to science.” The slow loris (...

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• Unmanned Drones Used to Count Orangutan Nests

  September 08, 2012

  	Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich with drone photo courtesy conservationdrones

  Note that this post is a departure as the project is not presently supported by Primate Conservation, Inc. (PCI). This technology has potential in conserving primates and so is presented here. Dr. Wich is a contributor to All The World’s Primates for orangutans and Thomas’ Langur. He has also reviewed proposals on PCI’s behalf.

  Adapted from an article by Lian Pin Koh (ETH Zurich) and Serge Wich (Liverpool John Moores University) for the Orangutan Conservancy

  The distribution and density of orangutan nests, critical to conservation efforts, have traditionally been obtained by costly and time consuming ground surveys. High resolution satellite imagery that might serve the same purpose has been too costly or simply unavailable.

  But Researchers Lian Pin Koh and Serge Wich proposed what seemed at first to be a wild idea: conservation drones. The ...

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• Evaluation Begun on the Role Rare and Recently Recognized Gibbons Play in Their Environment

  April 17, 2012

  	The northern buff-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) was first described in 2010. Photo by Jackson Frechette

  Jackson Frechette and Kathryn Sieving

  Since June, I [Jackson] have been working on my dissertation project, “The effects of crested gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) seed dispersal patterns on tree regeneration,” in the Veun Sai–Siem Pang Conservation Area, 55,000 ha managed by Conservation International and the Cambodian Forestry Administration in a remote part of northeastern Cambodia. I have been working with local ethnic minority researchers and one American volunteer (who hopes to go to graduate school) to understand the importance of northern buffed-cheek crested gibbons to trees. This is a new gibbon species that was described in 2010 using acoustic and genetic data. I am looking at seed dispersal patterns of these gibbons and how those patterns may be important for trees to regenerate. To do this, I ...

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• Survey Locates Critically Endangered Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey in Vietnam

  June 01, 2011

  	Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus avunculus)

  Adapted from the report of
  Thach Mai Hoang,
  HUS, Vietnam National University - Hanoi

  Two years of intensive surveys have confirmed the continued existence of one of the world's rarest primates in the forests of the Na Hang Nature Reserve, Vietnam. Once thought extinct, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus Dollman, 1912) was rediscovered in the late 1980's in two adjacent forests about 250 kilometers north of Hanoi. But despite action by the Vietnamese government establishing these forests as nature reserves and conservation efforts by multiple NGOs including Primate Conservation, the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the midst of their range at the beginning of this century appeared to have sealed their fate. Surveys since construction had reported no snub-nosed for several years and many thought them to locally be extinct.

  Outside Na Hang Nature Reserve the world population of the ...

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• Survey of the Habitat of Rare Bolivian Monkeys Aids the Establishment of a Municipal Reserve

  June 01, 2011

  	Heidy Lopez-Strauss and Jesus Martinez at a school teaching a class about environmental conservation. (Photo by WCS)

  Jesus Martinez, Heidy Lopez-Strauss and Robert Wallace

  Between 2004 and 2010, with funding from PCI and the Wildlife Conservation Society, we documented the distribution of the two titi monkeys (Callicebus) in the central and western parts of the Beni Department in Bolivia. Living only in Bolivia, these titis both have extremely restricted ranges. The information was provided to local authorities, helping to establish a Municipal Reserve in the Santa Rosa del Yacuma Municipality. This important conservation initiative protects both titi monkeys, encompassing the majority of their distribution.

  Olalla Brothers’ titi (Callicebus olallae) has the most restricted distribution, limited to the southwestern part of Beni Department with a range of only 5000 hectares. Beni titi monkey (C. modestus) has a slightly larger distribution with an occupancy area of 45,000 hectares. Several research projects have ...

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• World Population of the Endangered Western Hoolock Gibbons Now Less than Previously Thought

  June 01, 2011

  	Eastern hoolock gibbon female (Hoolock leuconedys)

  Rekha Chetry Ph.D and Dilip Chetry,Ph.D

  The endangered western hoolock gibbon's (Hoolock hoolock) world population is now less than previously estimated. This lesser ape and close relative to man, known for its beautiful songs, was thought to be the only gibbon in Assam, India. Assam was thought to be one of the few places where it still had a viable population.

  We surveyed six forest reserves in Sadiya, a part of Tinsukia district on the extreme east boundary of Assam. Instead of the western hoolock, we determined that the gibbon population is the vulnerable eastern gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys). A total of 33 individuals in 10 groups were recorded from direct sighting. We estimate the occurrence of another 16 groups from calls counted. The average group size was 3 with individuals ranging from 1 to 5. Sadly our survey found no gibbons present in 3 ...

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• The First Study of the Bale monkey, a Species Unique to the Central Mountains of Ethiopia

  June 01, 2011

  	Juvenile Bale Monkey

  Addisu Mekonnen and Anagaw Atickem

  Bale monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) is an Old world monkey endemic to the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. Discovered in 1902, little was known about the ecology and distribution of the species. Our PCI funded research aims to provide reliable data on the distribution and basic ecology of the species vital for conservation efforts. We began by using high resolution satellite images to find potential sites for the Bale monkey survey. This lead to the discovery of three new Bale monkey populations.

  The results of our research show that the Bale monkey is found exclusively in the bamboo forest. Bale monkeys feed on 11 plant species but bamboo compromises about 77% of their diet. They consumed mainly bamboo young leaves. Thus, bamboo is a key resource for the species. This is especially surprising given that all of their close ...

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• Conservation Implications of Hybridization Between Two Species of Brown Lemur

  June 01, 2011

  	Kira Delmore with 2 red fronted lemurs she captured and released. (Photo by Margaux Keller)

  Kira Delmore

  Hybridization, interbreeding between individuals from distinct populations or species, can be either a risk or a benefit to the survival of rare animals. Uncommon species may be overwhelmed by the gene flow from a more abundant animal and the offspring of such pairings runs the risk the of sterile children. But hybridization also serves as a conservation opportunity by introducing variation into a rare animal's gene pool. Variation is important for the survival and adaptability. If a species’ environment changes, the possession of variation will enable it to adapt and compete successfully in their new environment.

  We evaluated these two possibilities in a hybrid zone between the red-fronted lemur (Eulemur rufifrons) and the gray headed (E. albocollaris). The red-fronted lemur has a large range; it ...

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• Searching for the Endangered Grizzled Surili in and near Kutai National Park, Indonesia

  June 01, 2011

  	Miller’s Grizzled Surili (Presbytis hosei canicrus)

  Arif Setiwan

  Our survey was conducted in March and April of 2008, just outside of Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan province of Indonesian Borneo. Kutai National Park itself has been devastated by fires and few primates still inhabit what is left of it. Two major rivers, the Karangan and Baai originate from karst mountain to the west. Boat surveys were conducted on the rivers. Along these rivers, vegetation is found only near the water in a 20-30 m (100 feet) wide strip on both sides. Beyond this thin corridor is newly cleared land where oil palm plantations are being planted. During the survey of the Karangan River we heard a group of gibbons (Hylobates muelleri) call, nine groups of Bekantan or Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus), two groups of Lutung or silvered leaf monkeys. ...

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• Learning Politics to To Preserve the Forests of Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar

  June 01, 2011

  	Mitch Irwin (middle) with his colleagues from Tsinjoarivo project. (Photo by Mitch Irwin)

  Mitch Irwin

  Primate conservationists face a myriad of challenges and unpredictable twists of fate. I have academic training in things like censusing, ecology and animal behavior, so the challenges of the human side of conservation are the hardest part of the job. As a PhD student beginning field research in Madagascar ten years ago, I decided to established my own field site in Madagascar, at a poorly-known high-altitude forest site called Tsinjoarivo. It was exciting to start from the ground up, observe new primate species, and have the chance to make a conservation impact in a region that was unprotected. But it was daunting, and progress was excruciatingly slow at times in the early years as I trained guides, got to know the landscape, mapped trails, and studied the lemurs–all partially supported by ...

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Citation: Noel Rowe, Marc Myers, eds. All the World’s Primates, www.alltheworldsprimates.org. Primate Conservation Inc., Charlestown RI.

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What contributors say about primates:

• Jane Goodall
  Foreword
    It has been 50 years since I started my study of the chimpanzees of Gombe in 1960. All that was known about primates was based on only a few species that had been studied for a few months each...
  
• Richard Leakey
  Conservation
  ...It is rarely recognised beyond scientific circles that most of these primates now face a very uncertain future. A republication of a revised edition in 15 years hence will have fewer, perhaps significantly fewer species to depict. This is a tragedy and public awareness is an essential component of any conservation strategy....
  
• Colin Groves
  Taxonomy
    Taxonomy is classification, as well as the how-to of classification, and its rationale. That is to say, it is the study of why we classify organisms, and how best to do it. ...
  
• John Fleagle
  Primate Evolution
    The order Primates is a quite diverse and successful group of mammals. However, the 400 or so living primates are just the present expression of an evolutionary radiation that dates back over 50 million years.....
  
• Todd Disotell
  Molecular Taxonomy
  Taxonomies have always been fluid and contentious, in part because of a paucity of data, and in part because of the inherently subjective nature of classification decisions....
  
• Russell A. Mittermeier
  Introduction to All The World's Primates
    It is hard to believe that 16 years have passed since the first edition of The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates, and yet, in all that time, nothing has been published that can compare with that landmark publication......
  

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