Brown Howler Monkey Alouatta Guariba Research Articles

Prioritizing Areas for Primate Conservation in Argentina

Argentina lies within the southernmost distributional range of five neotropical primates, the brown howler monkey Alouatta guariba, the black-and-gold howler monkey Alouatta caraya, the black-horned capuchin Sapajus nigritus, the Azara’s capuchin Sapajus cay, and the Azara’s owl monkey Aotus azarae; the first three of which are globally threatened. These species occupy different ecoregions: the Alto Paraná Atlantic forest, the Araucaria moist forest, the humid Chaco, the Southern Cone Mesopotamian savanna, the Paraná Ffooded savanna, and the Southern Andean Yungas. The recently approved National Primate Conservation Plan of Argentina calls for identifying priority areas to focus conservation actions for these species. We used species distribution models to estimate species ranges and then used the Zonation software to perform a spatial conservation prioritization analysis based on primate habitat quality and connectivity to identify potential areas of importance at national and ecoregional levels. Only 7.2% (19,500 km2) of the area inhabited by primates in Argentina is under protection. Outside the current protected areas, the top-ranked 1% and 5% priority areas identified in our analysis covered 1894 and 7574 km2, respectively. The top 1% areas were in the Atlantic forest of Misiones province, where S. nigritus, A. guariba, and A. caraya are distributed, and in the humid portion of eastern Chaco and Formosa provinces, where A. azarae and A. caraya are present. The top 5% areas included portions of the Yungas, where S. cay is the only primate present. Priority areas in Chaco and Formosa provinces are particularly relevant because of the paucity of protected areas and the high deforestation rate. The endangered A. guariba population will benefit from the better protection of the priority areas of Misiones. The potential priority areas proposed herein, considered within a context of a broad participatory process involving relevant stakeholders and local people, will help guide new and innovative conservation policies and practices while supporting management objectives.

Attacks of domestic dogs on Common Long‐Nosed Armadillo Dasypusnovemcinctus and Southern Brown Howler Monkey Alouatta guariba in fragmented Atlantic Forest and implications in a region of high priority for biodiversity conservation

AbstractDomestic dogs can negatively impact natural systems, and understanding these dynamics is essential to mitigate their impact. We report two cases of attacks of domestic dogs on native mammals in a fragmented landscape of the Atlantic Forest, southern Brazil. Our records occurred in a region of high priority for the conservation of this biome. We observed two attacks, one on a Common Long‐Nosed Armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus and another on a Southern Brown Howler Monkey Alouatta guariba clamitans. Our records highlight additional threats to the wild and native fauna reinforcing the importance of accounting for the presence of domestic fauna when delineating conservation strategies in highly fragmented environments.