Pablo Puertas

Conservation of a high diversity primate assemblage

The species richness and conservation status of primates in the Reserva Comunal Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo, northeastern Peru, located between the Yavari and Amazon rivers is reported. Two sites within a continuous forest were studied in the 322 500 ha reserve. Primate densities were estimated from censuses of 290 km of line transects using Fourier series expansion. Fourteen species of anthropoid primates have been confirmed to occur sympatrically in the Reserva Comunal Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo which is the greatest species richness of primates reported to date within a Peruvian conservation unit. Hunting by local inhabitants has decreased the densities and biomasses of Cebids in the reserve, but not Callitrichids. A management plan for hunting in the Reserva Comunal Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo has been developed to better conserve primates and other mammalian species.

Peruvian Red Uakari Monkeys (Cacajao Calvus Ucayalii) in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve — A Range Extension Across a Major River Barrier

2005. Foraging ecology of jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) in hunted and non-hunted sites within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala.covery of a new sub-population of the black lion tama-rins (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) at Serra de Paranapia-caba, São Paulo, Brazil, Neotrop. Primates, 11(2): 75–76. Röhe, F. 2007. Mamíferos de médio e grande porte do médio Rio Madeira. (Puma yagouaroundi) food habits in mosaic of Atlantic Rainforest and eucalypt plantations of southeastern Brazil. Braz. Notas sobre félidos neotropicales VIII: Observaciones sobre el contenido estomacal y el compor-tamiento alimentar de diversas especies de felinos. Rev. According to Hershkovitz (1987) Cacajao calvus ucayalii, listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, (Veiga & Bowler, 2008) is distributed from the east bank of the Rio Ucayali in an easterly direction to the Rio Yavarí and from the Rio Amazonas in the north to the Rio Urubamba in the south. Hershkovitz (1987) also includes the east bank of the lower Yavarí in Brazil, but its presence there has not been confirmed and it is possible that museum specimens marked as collected on the Brazilian bank of the Yavarí actually came from the Peruvian side where this primate is locally abundant. Surveys conducted between 1979 and 1986 (Aquino 1988) showed that the range was much reduced, hunting having exterminated the species in several areas. Aquino (1988) suggested that the southern limit is now probably the Rio Sheshea and that populations close to the Rios Ucayali and Amazonas have also been reduced and in some areas populations have been exterminated (Fig. 1). Populations of Cacajao calvus observed by Peres (1997) on the upper Rio Juruá and unconfirmed reports by Fernandes (1990) in the Brazilian state of Acre on the upper Juruá and Purus are either of Cacajao calvus novaesi or Cacajao calvus ucayalii, which would extend the known ranges of either of these subspecies. The Rio Ucayali is the largest tributary of the Rio Amazo-nas and at 400–1,200m wide presents a significant barrier to primate populations. However, the constantly-changing course of the river means that very large islands of forest

Sharing of sleeping sites betweenAotus vociferans with other mammals in the Peruvian Amazon

In studies performed during 1986, 1987, 1990, and 1991, in the seasonally flooded forest of the Napo and Nanay river basin, we recorded seven instances of cohabitation in night monkeys,Aotus vociferans. Cohabitation refers to the sharing of a sleeping site of one species of animal with other different species of animals (Aquino & Encarnacion, 1986). We also recorded two instances of cooccupation of night monkeys with other species of nocturnal mammals. Cooccupation refers to the independent use of different sleeping sites within the same tree by two or more species of animals. This study is the first report of cooccupation within the generaAotus. Forty-five sleeping trees with entrance holes were used by the night monkeys. In addition, one sleeping site was observed in a small concavity of the foliar sheath on aMauritia flexuosa palm.

Effects of selective logging on large mammal populations in a remote indigenous territory in the northern Peruvian Amazon

We examined the effects of selective timber logging carried out by local indigenous people in remote areas within indigenous territories on the mammal populations of the Yavari-Mirin River basin on the Peru-Brazil border. Recent findings show that habitat change in the study area is minimal, and any effect of logging activities on large mammal populations is highly likely to be the result of hunting associated with logging operations. We used hunting registers to estimate the monthly and yearly biomass extracted during timber operations and to calculate the catch per unit effort (CPUE) in subsistence hunting in the community of Esperanza 2 to 5 years before logging activities started and 4 to 7 years after logging began. We also used line transects and the distance method to estimate animal densities before and after logging. We found that 1389 hunted animals and 27,459 kg of mammal biomass were extracted per year from logging concessions. CPUE for ungulates declined; however, it increased for other mammal orders, such as rodents and primates, indicating a shift to alternative prey items. Although collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) and tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) may also have declined in numbers, this shift may have been caused by a possibly natural population crash in white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) that coincided with the logging periods. We found no evidence that populations of primates were reduced by the logging activities. Because primates are sensitive to hunting, and their populations were of principal concern as logging commenced, this indicates that these forests remain of high conservation value. The unusual socioeconomic situation of these remote territories may mean that they are compatible with wildlife conservation in the Yavari-Mirin basin.

Major shifts in Amazon wildlife populations from recent intensification of floods and drought

In the western Amazon Basin, recent intensification of river-level cycles has increased flooding during the wet seasons and decreased precipitation during the dry season. Greater than normal floods occurred in 2009 and in all years from 2011 to 2015 during high-water seasons, and a drought occurred during the 2010 low-water season. During these years, we surveyed populations of terrestrial, arboreal, and aquatic wildlife in a seasonally flooded Amazonian forest in the Loreto region of Peru (99,780 km2 ) to study the effects of intensification of natural climatic fluctuations on wildlife populations and in turn effects on resource use by local people. Shifts in fish and terrestrial mammal populations occurred during consecutive years of high floods and the drought of 2010. As floods intensified, terrestrial mammal populations decreased by 95%. Fish, waterfowl, and otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) abundances increased during years of intensive floods, whereas river dolphin and caiman populations had stable abundances. Arboreal species, including, macaws, game birds, primates, felids, and other arboreal mammals had stable populations and were not affected directly by high floods. The drought of 2010 had the opposite effect: fish, waterfowl, and dolphin populations decreased, and populations of terrestrial and arboreal species remained stable. Ungulates and large rodents are important sources of food and income for local people, and large declines in these animals has shifted resource use of people living in the flooded forests away from hunting to a greater reliance on fish.