Predicting primate local extinctions within “real‐world” forest fragments: A pan‐neotropical analysis

Abstract

Understanding the main drivers of species extinction in human-modified landscapes has gained paramount importance in proposing sound conservation strategies. Primates play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of forest ecosystem functions and represent the best studied order of tropical terrestrial vertebrates, yet primate species diverge widely in their responses to forest habitat disturbance and fragmentation. Here, we present a robust quantitative review on the synergistic effects of habitat fragmentation on Neotropical forest primates to pinpoint the drivers of species extinction across a wide range of forest patches from Mexico to Argentina. Presence-absence data on 19 primate functional groups were compiled from 705 forest patches and 55 adjacent continuous forest sites, which were nested within 61 landscapes investigated by 96 studies. Forest patches were defined in terms of their size, surrounding matrix and level of hunting pressure on primates, and each functional group was classified according to seven life-history traits. Generalized linear mixed models showed that patch size, forest cover, level of hunting pressure, home range size and trophic status were the main predictors of species persistence within forest isolates for all functional groups pooled together. However, patterns of local extinction varied greatly across taxa, with Alouatta and Callicebus moloch showing the highest occupancy rates even within tiny forest patches, whereas Brachyteles and Leontopithecus occupied fewer than 50% of sites, even in relatively large forest tracts. Our results uncover the main predictors of platyrrhine primate species extinction, highlighting the importance of considering the history of anthropogenic disturbances, the structure of landscapes, and species life-history attributes in predicting primate persistence in Neotropical forest patches. We suggest that large-scale conservation planning of fragmented forest landscapes should prioritize and set-aside large, well-connected and strictly protected forest reserves to maximize species persistence across the entire spectrum of primate life-history.

Report on the presence of a group of golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas), an endangered primate species in a rubber plantation in southern Bahia, Brazil

“…The resulting landscape of smaller forest fragments embedded within a generally inhospitable matrix represents particular challenges to animals, especially rendering matrixintolerant species more vulnerable to extinction (Benchimol and Peres, 2014). Matrix permeability critically determines dispersal between fragments, which in turn is essential for maintaining a sufficient level of gene flow and genetic diversity among small fragmented populations (Donald and Evans, 2006).…”

“…Forest-dwelling primates are particularly sensitive to the effects of anthropogenic forest fragmentation, with many species experiencing population decline or extinction (Benchimol and Peres, 2014). Loss of habitat due to agricultural expansion is the principal threat to primate populations worldwide, with livestock farming and ranching constituting the second most important threat in the Neotropics (Estrada et al, 2017).…”

Local vs landscape drivers of primate occupancy in a Brazilian fragmented region

“…Population dynamics in patches depend on landscape context, and responses to habitat loss diverge among species (Sharma et al 2014). Local and landscape history of anthropogenic disturbances and life-history attributes are also related to primate persistence in Neotropical forest patches (Benchimol and Peres 2014).…”

Know Your Monkey: Identifying Primate Conservation Challenges in an Indigenous Kichwa Community Using an Ethnoprimatological Approach

“…In the Neotropics, primates are under pressure from forest clearance and fragmentation [Cristóbal-Azkarate et al, 2005;Benchimol and Peres, 2013], hunting [Peres, 1990[Peres, , 1999aParry et al, 2009], and tourism [de la Torre et al, 2000;Grossberg et al, 2003;Treves and Brandon, 2005;de la Torre, 2014;McKinney et al, 2015]. Studies which attempt to understand these relationships from the perspective of those exploiting and living in tropical forests currently exist for a number of indigenous Amazonian groups [Cormier, 2002;Lizarralde, 2002;Cormier, 2003;da Silva et al, 2005;Parathian and Maldonado, 2010;Papworth et al, 2013] though so far there have been no studies published on the ethnoprimatology of Kichwa communities, despite them accounting for a significant percentage of Amazonia's indigenous population (for example, just over 71% of Ecuador's indigenous population in the 2010 census [INEC, 2012]).…”

“…Recent human population increases and rapid expansion into previously undisturbed forests is consistently augmenting the intensity of interactions and expanding their scale [Fuentes and Hockings, 2010]. The combined threats of hunting and habitat loss have led to widespread primate population declines [Marshall et al, 2010;Wilkie et al, 2011;Benchimol and Peres, 2013], regardless of whether exploitation was on a commercial [Refisch and Koné, 2005;Kümpel et al, 2008] or subsistence scale [reviewed in de Thoisy et al, 2009]. Stemming species losses requires a good understanding of the motives behind interactions as well as their effects.…”