What types of primates are most prone to extinction in small forest fragments?

About | Contact | Mongabay on Facebook | Mongabay on Twitter | Free newsletter

SHARE:

What types of primates are most prone to extinction in small forest fragments?
mongabay.com
December 06, 2009

According to the most recent IUCN assessment, 48 percent of primates are threatened with extinction. Major threats to primates include habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting, and the wildlife trade.

A new paper published in Tropical Conservation Science looked at ones of these threats — fragmentation — in an effort to determine what traits put primates at highest risk of extinction in forest fragments. Traits investigated all related to various aspects of primate biology, including: the amount of habitat needed, reproductive rate, and types of specialization.

Propithecus verreauxi was one of the species examined.

Surprisingly the authors, Matthew A. Gibbons and Alexander H. Harcourt of the University of California at Davis, found no significant relationship between extinction risk and any of the biological parameters. The authors say the findings may show that "the forest 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 can distinguish at-risk species."

The authors conclude that "conservation research and efforts should be directed at assessing the efficacy of forest fragments and small biological preserves in conserving primate species in the long-term."

CITATION: Gibbons,M. A. and Harcourt, A. H. 2009. Biological correlates of extinction and persistence of primates in small forest fragments: a global analysis Full Text PDF. Tropical Conservation Science Vol.2(4):388-403.

CITATION:
mongabay.com (December 06, 2009). What types of primates are most prone to extinction in small forest fragments?. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1207-primates_fragmentation_tcs.html

Tags:
primates extinction Fragmentation endangered species biodiversity animals wildlife mammals conservation ecology forests rainforests green environment tcs tropical conservation science

print

Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home

Advertisements:

Mongabay Store
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt		Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog		Licking this frog may make you crazy

DON'T LIKE ADS? Become a mongabay supporter

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

RECENT FEATURES

		As Amazon deforestation falls, food production rises
		Biggest environmental news stories of 2011
		The year in review for rainforests
		Our top nature pictures of 2011

Photos

Brazil	China	Colombia
Costa Rica	Deforestation	Gabon
India	Indonesia	Kenya
Madagascar	Peru	Rainforest

ABOUT
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)

Help support mongabay.com when you buy from Amazon.com

CALENDARS

BOOKS BY MONGABAY AUTHORS

Conservation in an age of mass extinction

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS

Copyright mongabay 2010

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from mongabay.com operations (server, data transfer, travel) are mitigated through an association with Anthrotect,
an organization working with Afro-indigenous and Embera communities to protect forests in Colombia's Darien region.
Anthrotect is protecting the habitat of mongabay's mascot: the scale-crested pygmy tyrant.