Exposure and hormone associations of pesticides and flame retardants among primates in Uganda.

Primates exhibit diverse diets and related dietary adaptations which are expected to play a role in the exposure and toxicity of persistent organic pollutants. In the habitat of four primate species in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we quantified brominated flame retardants and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in air samples (n = 9), dietary plant samples (n = 32), and fecal samples from adult males and juveniles (n = 53). We also measured the fecal hormone metabolites cortisol and estradiol in juveniles (n = 38).

An Automated AI Framework for Quantitative Measurement of Mammalian Behavior.

Despite the large amount of video data captured during ethological studies of wild mammals, there is no widely accepted method available to automatically and quantitatively measure and analyze animal behavior. We developed a framework using facial recognition and deep learning to automatically track, measure, and quantify the behavior of single or multiple individuals from 10 distinct mammalian taxa, including three species of primates, three species of bovids, three species of carnivores, and one species of equid. We used spatiotemporal information based on animal skeleton models to recognize a set of distinct behaviors such as walking, feeding, grooming, and resting, and achieved an accuracy ranging from 0.

Science-based suggestions to save the world's rarest primate species .

Conservation practices for extremely small populations must be grounded in solid science to prevent extinction. Hainan gibbon () is the world's rarest primate species; however, insufficient data on its habitat suitability and genetic status impede evidence-based decisions for habitat restoration. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of Hainan gibbons' energy intake and expenditure, reproductive parameters, and genetic diversity based on field research (March 2021 to December 2022) and long-term historical data (2003 to 2024).

Do boundaries matter so much for societies?

Moffett's definition of society is broadly applicable to all group-living animals from insects to nation states. Presenting examples from primates, I illustrate difficulties in defining boundaries between societies and even what societies defend to demonstrate the complexity of using an understanding of the processes effecting primate societies to understand those effecting human societies. However, finding similarities and differences in processes shaping societies is intriguing and Moffett's definition provides an excellent starting point.

Yaws Circulating in Nonhuman Primates, Uganda and Rwanda.

The bacterium Treponema pallidum pertenue causes yaws in humans and nonhuman primates. We describe 33% T. pallidum pertenue seropositivity in 9 species of nonhuman primates in Uganda and Rwanda, seroconversion during a lethal outbreak and a novel bacterial genomic lineage.

Effects of gastrointestinal parasites on fecal glucocorticoids and behaviour in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus).

Relationships between parasites, host physiology, and behaviours are complex. Parasites can influence host hormonal microenvironment and behaviour through "sickness behaviours" that generally conserve energy. Using a parasite removal experiment, we examined the effects of gastrointestinal parasites on fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGC) and behaviours of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda.

Using traveling festivals to mobilize primate conservation education.

Environmental education aims to foster knowledge, awareness, and appreciation for nature and can encompass various formats, including festivals. The traveling festival "Changos y Monos va a tu comunidad" is inspired by previous initiatives and aims to promote the conservation of primates in southeast Mexico. The festival involved focused activities, mainly for children, such as talks, games, and exhibitions.

Participatory wildlife films for primate conservation education in Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Veracruz, Mexico.

Audiovisual media has become an integral part of conservation education strategies, with the potential not only to communicate information but also to impact on its viewers perceptions and attitudes towards a particular subject. Despite this potential, few studies have evaluated either the use of film for primate conservation initiatives or the wider impact of participatory film production. Our study evaluates the impact of a participatory documentary film about historic human-primate coexistence in the Los Tuxtlas region, Veracruz, Mexico, to improve people's knowledge, perception, and attitudes towards the local primate species, Alouatta palliata and Ateles geoffroyi.

Effects of protected area coverage and research on conservation status of primates globally.

Conducting conservation research and establishing protected areas (PAs) based on research results are critical to biodiversity conservation. However, the effect of research and PAs on conservation of threatened species has rarely been evaluated simultaneously. We collected data on PAs from 2000 for 2021 and determined the number of publications on global primates (published from 1950 to 2021) to assess the effect of PAs, research, and biological and socioeconomic factors on the current International Union for Conservation of Nature endangered status and change in status.

Estimating the impact of the illegal trade of primates in Mexico: a potential threat to wildlife.

The primates of Mexico, Ateles geoffroyi, Alouatta palliata, and Alouatta pigra, are seriously threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and illegal hunting and trade. Very little is known about the extent of illegal trade and its impacts on declining primate populations. Our study proposes a potential method based on estimating the number of individuals that die in the trade before being detected and those that probably cannot be detected.

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa's major land uses.

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.

Small apes adjust rhythms to facilitate song coordination.

Song coordination is a universal characteristic of human music. Many animals also produce well-coordinated duets or choruses that resemble human music. However, the mechanism and evolution of song coordination have only recently been studied in animals.

Lead exposure and its relationship with fecal cortisol levels in black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra).

Efficiently detecting early environmental threats to wildlife is vital for conservation. Beyond obvious dangers like habitat loss or deforestation, our study focuses on one of the most hazardous toxic metals for wildlife: lead (Pb). Pb is a widespread, cumulative, and insidious environmental pollutant that can trigger a wide range of physiological, biochemical, and behavioral disorders.

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities.

Trees structure the Earth's most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge.

Cycles of fusion and fission enabled rapid parallel adaptive radiations in African cichlids.

Although some lineages of animals and plants have made impressive adaptive radiations when provided with ecological opportunity, the propensities to radiate vary profoundly among lineages for unknown reasons. In Africa's Lake Victoria region, one cichlid lineage radiated in every lake, with the largest radiation taking place in a lake less than 16,000 years old. We show that all of its ecological guilds evolved in situ.

Primate population dynamics in Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, over nearly five decades.

Many anthropogenic-driven changes, such as hunting, have clear and immediate negative impacts on wild primate populations, but others, like climate change, may take generations to become evident. Thus, informed conservation plans will require decades of population monitoring. Here, we expand the duration of monitoring of the diurnal primates at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda, from 32.

Vertebrate environmental DNA from leaf swabs.

Terrestrial vertebrates are threatened by anthropogenic activities around the world. The rapid biodiversity loss that ensues is most intense in the tropics and affects ecosystem functions, such as seed dispersal, or may facilitate pathogen transmission. Monitoring vertebrate distributions is essential for understanding changes in biodiversity and ecosystems and also for adaptive management strategies.

Associations between faecal chemical pollutants and hormones in primates inhabiting Kibale National Park, Uganda.

While anthropogenic pollutants are known to be a threat to primates, our understanding of exposure to pollutants and their sub-lethal effects is still limited. We used non-invasive biomonitoring to examine associations between faecal concentrations of 97 chemical pollutants and faecal hormone metabolites of cortisol and oestradiol in four primate species inhabiting Kibale National Park, Uganda (chimpanzees-, olive baboons-, red colobus- and red-tailed monkeys-). Across all species ( = 71 samples), results demonstrated positive associations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) ( = 0.

Trait matching and sampling effort shape the structure of the frugivory network in Afrotropical forests.

Frugivory in tropical forests is a major ecological process as most tree species rely on frugivores to disperse their seeds. However, the underlying mechanisms driving frugivore-plant networks remain understudied. Here, we evaluate the data available on the Afrotropical frugivory network to identify structural properties, as well as assess knowledge gaps.

Factors influencing terrestriality in primates of the Americas and Madagascar.

Among mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods.