Large-scale patterns of species richness and species range size in anthropoid primates

Eeley, Harriet A. C.; Lawes, Michael J.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511542381.013

Cited by 36 publications

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“…All the species in the fragments are extinction-prone. Other workers, using other approaches, have also suggested that all species will go extinct in fragments as small as the majority in which studies of effects of fragmentation are usually conducted [9,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. The fragments are in extinction debt [40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Correlates of Extinction and Persistence of Primates in Small Forest Fragments: A Global Analysis

Gibbons

Harcourt

2009

Tropical Conservation Science

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Habitat loss and fragmentation are two of the main threats facing wildlife. The species at risk in small fragments are not a random subset of the original community. Understanding the biology behind the distinction between species at risk and more persistent species should help inform conservation efforts. We attempted to identify risky traits in a well-known taxon, the primates, by asking which traits distinguished taxa that differed in the size of the smallest fragment in which they were recorded. We assumed that taxa that could persist in smaller fragments were at less risk of extinction than those that needed larger fragments. The traits investigated are indicative of amount of habitat needed, reproductive rate, and specialization. We obtained from the literature information on the presence-absence of 68 primate species of 36 genera in forest fragments of less than 100 km 2 . Association between size of smallest fragment and biology was tested with regressions, Spearman correlations, two-sample t tests, and non-parametric Wilcoxon tests. We found no significant relationships between area of smallest fragment in which species or genera persisted and any of the biological parameters. We suggest that the most likely explanation for this unexpected finding is that the smallest fragments in which primates are currently studied are usually so small that all primate species in them are doomed in the long-term and therefore, no biological traits distinguish taxa at risk. The finding implies that conservation research and efforts should be directed at assessing the efficacy of forest fragments and small biological preserves in conserving primate species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Correlates of Extinction and Persistence of Primates in Small Forest Fragments: A Global Analysis

Gibbons

Harcourt

2009

Tropical Conservation Science

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“…Species-areas relationships have been investigated at various biogeographic levels in primates (Reed and Fleagle, 1995;Jones, 1997;Bates et al, 1998;Eeley and Laws, 1999;Harcourt, 1999;Laws and Eeley, 2000;Lomolino, 2000;Biedermann, 2003;Lehman, 2004;Harcourt and Doherty, 2005). For example, Reed and Fleagle (1995) documented a high correlation (R 2 = 0.87) between the number of primate species and the area of rain forest for major continents (South America, Africa, and SE Asia) and large islands (Madagascar, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java).…”

Section: Comparative-quantitative Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeography and Primates: A Review

Lehman

Fleagle

Primate Biogeography

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In this paper, we present an introduction to primate biogeography at a continental level and then review the literature as it pertains to primate studies. Primate species diversity is highest in the Neotropics and Asia. Most primates range into rain/humid forests in Africa, Asia, and the Neotropics. Asia contains the highest total number of primate species (N = 38) that are considered to require conservation attention, followed closely by the Neotropics (N = 33 species). These biogeographic patterns reflect complex phylogenetic, geologic, and ecological processes. The various biogeographic theories and models used to explain these patterns can be organized into several broad categories (1) descriptive studies, (2) comparative-quantitative approaches, (3) refugia theory, (4) phylogenetic approaches, (5) community ecology, and (6) conservation biology. Descriptive models have been derived from distribution data obtained during collecting expeditions. These models focused on geographic variations in species characteristics and barriers to dispersal (e.g., Gloger's Rule, Bergmann's Rule, Allen's Rule, river barrier hypothesis). With the advent of digitized statistical procedures, these barriers became testable biogeographic hypotheses using comparativequantitative models. Thus, many researchers have noted the importance of rivers as

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“…The life history, dietary, and locomotor characteristics that permitted Old World monkeys to undergo tremendous diversification and range expansion in the Late Miocene continued to work well for the group during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, periods associated with rapidly alternating periods of expansion and contraction of Afromontane, lowland, and subtropical forests (Eeley and Lawes, 1999;Jablonski et al, 2000). Only under the extreme seasonal conditions and dramatically fluctuating climates of the latest Pleistocene were monkey species driven to extinction or into more salubrious forest refugia (Jablonski et al, 2000).…”

Section: Primates and The Environmental Dramas Of The Late Tertiarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate homeland: forests and the evolution of primates during the Tertiary and Quaternary in Asia

Jablonski

2005

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Primates evolved in the tropical forests of the Late Paleocene or Early Eocene. The cognitive, locomotor and life-history characteristics that define primates evolved under the equable and generally non-seasonal conditions that distinguish such forests. All primates since have carried the biological imprint of this original association with tropical forests. In Asia, the persistence of tropical forests in Indonesia from the Eocene onward has permitted tarsiers to endure and evolve, while other Eocene primates became extinct on their home continents. Following a disastrous decline in tropical forest distribution and primate diversity at the Late Eocene/Oligocene boundary, forests and primates rebounded during the Late Oligocene and Miocene. The dominant Old World primates of most of the Neogene were hominoids, which inhabited large tracts of woodlands and forests throughout Africa and Eurasia. These relatively large, frugivorous animals were quadrupedal, but many were capable of undertaking bridging postures that allowed them to stretch between arboreal substrates. Hominoids reached the apex of their evolutionary success in the Middle Miocene, then declined-as a result of the slow disappearance of their forest homes-in the Late Miocene, especially after 10 Ma. The extirpation of apes at this time can be traced to their inability to live in more seasonal and open habitats. Old World monkeys originated in forest biomes, but became the dominant primate of the late Neogene because of their ability to live in environments ranging from closed, non-seasonal rainforests to open savannahs and alpine meadows. This adaptability can be traced to their slightly faster life histories and their ability to thrive on a wide range of both high-and low-quality foods.

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Large-scale patterns of species richness and species range size in anthropoid primates

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Biological Correlates of Extinction and Persistence of Primates in Small Forest Fragments: A Global Analysis

Biological Correlates of Extinction and Persistence of Primates in Small Forest Fragments: A Global Analysis

Biogeography and Primates: A Review

Primate homeland: forests and the evolution of primates during the Tertiary and Quaternary in Asia

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