Folia Primatologica最新文献

People's attitude toward wildlife is known to affect the success of conservation programs. Public education can increase support for conservation measures by providing the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions, improve pro-environmental behaviour and potentially enlist participation. To that end, we developed a participatory conservation education program in Nepal with a target audience of secondary school students. Our lessons emphasized ecological balance by highlighting the roles of individual species, including the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). This species presents a challenge for educating the public about maintaining balance in nature, because although an important seed disperser and species of religious significance, macaques are frequently involved in human-wildlife conflict and considered a pest species. We evaluated the impact of our program by surveying students from six socioeconomically similar schools, four that participated in our program and two that had not. Our questionnaire was comprised of knowledge questions about local wildlife and conservation issues, an open-ended listing exercise to determine species preferences, and statements that elicited students' opinions regarding empathy toward animals. Knowledge about and attitude toward wildlife, including M. mulatta, were greater in students that participated in the program. More importantly, these students were more likely to understand the role individual species play in a balanced ecosystem, how human behaviour can negatively impact wildlife, and how they could participate in conservation efforts. Gender was not a factor in any response. We discuss the merits of using a participatory learning platform in a standalone education program that has long-term purpose, funding, and buy-in.

Environmental Education (EE) is key for biodiversity conservation. We aimed to evaluate the effect of an EE activity on students by evaluating their drawings. The EE activity was part of the Blonde Capuchin Project actions, which focuses on the research and conservation of the endangered blonde capuchin monkey, Sapajus flavius. The activity was comprised of four steps and lasted four hours in each school. We analysed 348 drawings made by children from eight schools in rural areas close to forest fragments inhabited by Blonde Capuchins in two municipalities in Northeast Brazil, Igarassu-PE and Mataraca-PB. The children made the drawings during the intervention in each school, specifically in steps 1 and 4 of the activity. We scored the drawings using a rubric to account for the presence of components (biotic and abiotic) and interactions (e.g., human-environment and non-human animal interactions). As an outcome of the EE activity, we found a possible increase in knowledge and awareness through the evaluation of the drawings. Thus, when resources are limited, we encourage the performance of short-term EE activities and the analysis of drawings as a tool to measure their immediate effect.

Education4Conservation evolved from an environmental education program in Balikpapan Bay, Indonesian Borneo, after its critical evaluation. The initial goal of the program was to support the development of future conservation leaders who would join the ongoing efforts to conserve proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) and their coastal forest habitat in Balikpapan Bay. We realized that to achieve this goal, we would need to work with students from the age of 4 years and continue to educate them for many years. We also realized that we needed to focus more on mentoring teachers and incorporating their feedback into the curriculum. The new program, which is in line with the new Indonesian national curriculum (Kurikulum Merdeka), has proved attractive to teachers and has spread from Kalimantan to other Indonesian islands and countries outside Asia. The curriculum continues to improve through regular monthly revisions that incorporate feedback from teachers, while teachers' pedagogical skills have improved through guidance provided by responses to each of their reports. We have been following and supervising participants since the Education4Conservation program began in 2022. Although a preliminary evaluation seems to indicate substantial improvements over the earlier program (in terms of high participation, positive teacher response, improved reporting skills, and increased clarity and applicability of the curriculum), it remains to be seen whether the program ultimately achieves its primary goal to help raise some of the students into conservation leaders.

Panama is a habitat for nine primate species, and most of them are threatened. This has shown a fundamental concern in primate conservation by Panamanian-based conservation projects. Among them is the project Conservación del Mono Cariblanco en Agroecosistemas (COMOCA) which initiated a primate conservation education program in Southwestern Panama in 2022. The first stage of this program consisted of evaluating the perceptions that 102 children aged 8-12 years old have about primate habitat. I analyzed drawings made by these children exploring three different themes: (1) description of primate species, (2) primate habitat, and (3) food related to primates. The results indicate that children are more familiar with the white-faced capuchins and squirrel monkeys. Despite 89.2% of the children drawing trees, most of them painted tree crops. Thus, the top three most mentioned foods eaten by monkeys were mango, plantain/banana, and apple. These findings highlight the importance of addressing the relationship between primates and native trees in the content of the conservation education program. Additionally, the study illustrates how children's depiction of their reality has implications for the management of human-primate interfaces.

Introduced species can negatively impact endemic flora and fauna. Studies have primarily utilized camera trap observations and occupancy modelling to better clarify the presence/absence and temporal overlap of endemic and exotic predators. Longitudinal data from field research sites are important as they can provide a finer understanding of predator dynamics and their effects on endemic species. One such site is the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, in southern Madagascar. Protected since the 1970s, the local human population around Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve has greatly expanded, leading to habitat disturbance in the surrounding forests and increased contact between local wildlife, people and their livestock and dogs. Here we use a combination of scat sampling, field observations of successful and attempted predations, locations of scat samples with identifiable lemur remains, and camera trap data to better assess the predator ecology at Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve. Our results indicate that forest cats (Felis catus), are effective predators of both adult and infant lemurs and appear to be a constant mammalian predator, utilizing mammal prey more than dogs. Dogs are both predators and scavengers of lemurs. Civets focus on small prey, such as insects and rodents as well as plant material. The fosa, Cryptoprocta ferox, are also present but may not hunt in the area continuously. The killing of an adult ring-tailed lemur by two men from outside the area indicate culturally imposed taboos against lemur killing may no longer be effective given that new arrivals may not share the same local cultural restrictions. Scat sampling of exotic predators is one way to expand our understanding of exotic and endemic predator impact on lemur populations, and long-term studies with multiple assessments of predation can provide a clearer understanding of how non-endemic and endemic predators affect endangered species survival.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Senegal may use nocturnality to mitigate hyperthermia risk in semi-arid environments but the degree of nocturnality for such chimpanzees also in sympatry with large carnivores remains uncertain. We compared diel activity among chimpanzees and their potential predators at Assirik in Niokolo-Koba National Park and contextualized these findings relative to other unit-groups in savanna landscapes. From 2015-2018, we generated a predator inventory using multi-modal methods and monitored the diel activity of chimpanzees and predators with camera traps [ N = 2092 camera trap (CT) days]. From 2015-2023, we also surveyed for evidence of predation during recce walks. Six potential nonhuman predators occur at Assirik, including lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus), and rock pythons (Python sebae). We documented one suspected case of a predator killing a chimpanzee. Nocturnality comprised 12.7% of CT events for chimpanzees and these events were more concentrated at twilight. Chimpanzees were more active during the day, predators were more active at night, and there was substantial temporal overlap among chimpanzees and potential predators during twilight intervals. Our findings support the hypothesis that savanna chimpanzees in Senegal are active at night in response to the extremely hot environment. We hypothesize that Assirik chimpanzees experience a tension between decreasing hyperthermia and increasing predation risk during nocturnality.

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. Our study took place in six rural localities, in four of which a participatory film-making process was undertaken, involving production workshops and public screenings; two localities were intentionally left out as control groups. People's knowledge, perception, and attitudes towards primates were assessed through randomized sampling using a questionnaire prior (n = 419) and following (n = 223) the presentation of the documentary. Results indicate a minimal but positive shift in participant's attitudes and perceptions, with statistically significant increases in primate knowledge scores. While the participatory approach offers promise, further exploration and refinement are essential for effective conservation education. The study highlights the need for diverse and locally based perspectives in developing conservation education materials and programs to foster meaningful engagement and drive primate conservation efforts forward.

We aimed to improve knowledge among high school students on local environmental issues, with emphasis on the ecology and threats to primates in the Alto Mayo Valley of San Martin Region, Peru. The Alto Mayo Valley is home to at least 8 species of primate, including the endemic and Critically Endangered San Martín titi monkey (Plecturocebus oenanthe). San Martin is also the most deforested region of Peru. We used two participatory teaching methods: Experiential learning and inquiry-based education. The learning experiences were activities that guided students to look for solutions to real-life situations. The project consisted of 8 lessons co-designed by us and the participating school teachers, and implemented by the same teachers with our guidance. Lesson 5 was a field trip to a local community conservation area to apply primatological field techniques and gather scientific data. The students' final product was a video presentation and a poster of their results. One hundred percent of students acknowledged they learned something new about their local environment, primates, conservation, and research. Experiential learning techniques are effective in developing awareness, knowledge and self-advocacy amongst school students. Our inquiry-based method placed students and teachers closer to scientists, helping them to see the role of science in their neighbourhood. This method can be easily adapted to other regions in Peru and globally.

Geophagy, the deliberate consumption of earth materials, is widely observed in animals. While anecdotal evidence exists of bonobos (Pan paniscus) consuming soil from Cubitermes termite mounds, the functions of their geophagic behavior remains unexplored. This study aims to examine a preliminary hypothesis that termite mound geophagy of free-ranging bonobos at Wamba are helpful for iron supplementation. Here, we tested the following three predictions: (1) the soil of Cubitermes termite mounds at Wamba would have high iron content, (2) bonobos would engage in termite mound geophagy regularly across all seasons, and (3) termite mound soil would be more often consumed by (a) females than males, (b) pregnant than non-pregnant females, and (c) adolescents than adults. As predicted, soil samples collected from the pointy protrusions on the caps of the mushroom-shaped mounds, the part typically consumed by bonobos, had a much higher iron content than other food items for them. In addition, geophagic behavior was noted on 48 out of 116 days (41.3%) with full-day focal animal sampling, and was observed throughout the entire study duration without any bias in frequency toward a certain period. However, contrary to our prediction, there was no significant variation in the frequency of geophagic behavior by sex nor by pregnancy status, although it occurred more frequently among adolescents than adults. Our findings partially support the Iron Supplementation Hypothesis, suggesting that Cubitermes termite mound soils could offer a readily accessible source of iron for bonobos. However, we cannot draw definitive conclusions on the function of their geophagic behavior from our findings without in vitro studies examining whether the ingested iron is bioavailable and whether the soil does not have properties inhibiting iron absorption. Nonetheless, this study is a first step to explore the health implications of geophagy in bonobos, extending our knowledge of this behavior in primates.

Adequate knowledge and learning about local biodiversity are a prerequisite for effective attitudinal changes in favour of species protection. Outreach activities are considered a useful tool for sharing information with local stakeholders who play a crucial role in conserving wildlife. We conducted two outreach campaigns focused on schoolchildren in two villages to share information on the natural history of the Bolivian endemic titi monkeys, Plecturocebus olallae and Plecturocebus modestus, to promote their conservation. We assessed the students' ability to retain new information and their understanding of biodiversity through pre- and post-questionnaires, finding an improvement in the knowledge about these two endemic primates from pre- to post-talk assessments, as well as an increase in their awareness about local efforts to preserve biodiversity between outreach campaigns. We also found signals of appropriate experiential learning on wildlife value and its relationship with human activities. Additional outreach work across two decades resulted in important achievements that reflect positive attitudinal changes in favour of the endemic primates and biodiversity, with a remarkable involvement of local people. In this way, we show how outreach work can promote important local support for biodiversity conservation, how primates can act as flagship species, and the need to reinforce knowledge acquisition and learning processes to consolidate conservation actions in the long-term.