Dados do Trabalho

Título

FIVE YEARS OF NON-INVASIVE RESEARCH OF NORTHERN MURIQUIS AT CAPARAO NATIONAL PARK: LESSONS FOR MONITORING AND CONSERVATION OF UNHABITUATED PRIMATES

Resumo

The northern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) is a critically endangered primate and a key species for the maintenance of ecosystem services of the Atlantic Forest hotspot. Yet, muriquis research and conservation have been addressed to few field sites, especially to those where the implementability of demographic monitoring are feasible. The Caparaó National Park (PNC), located on the border of the Brazilian states of MG and ES, is one of the four priority areas for muriquis conservation in long-term and stressed by the highest altitutinal range of the species. Despite its importance, the knowledge on muriqui population at PNC have been characterized by huge data gaps. Here we focus on the history and the outcomes of a non-invasive research and conservation efforts that have been ongoing at PNC. By using traditional surveys combined with arboreal camera traps, passive acoustic devices, and non-invasive genetic tools, we advanced the research on unhabituated muriquis in difficult-to-acces areas. We confirmed the occurrence of muriquis at the four sites previously reported in the literature, and increased the distribution of the species to new three localities within PNC, including the first record of muriquis to the west area of the park. Currently, seven muriquis groups inhabit the PNC resulting in a population size of >200 individuals. While non-invasive technologies allowed to collect data 24 hr/day, efforts have also been allocated to build local capacity of undergraduate students on the primate research and on the use of non-invasive technologies, and to conduct public awareness and educational campaigns to local communities surrounding the park. Given the plight of endangered primates, our five years outcomes demonstrate the efficiency to adopt non-invasive technologies to overcome the frontiers of monitoring unhabituated primates, as well as suggest integrate the local communities whose support is crucial to conservation of remnant primate populations and its habitat in long term.

Financiamento

ICMBio - Parque Nacional do Caparaó; Conservation Leadership Programme, Mohammed bin Zayed Conservation Fund, Idea Wild, UEMG - unidade Carangola; University of Salford - Manchester; Programa de Conservação Muriquis de Minas (Fund. Grupo Boticário)

Palavras-chave

Brachyteles hypoxanthus; biomonitoring; conservation program