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Population Viability Analysis of Woolly Monkeys in Western Amazonia

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The Woolly Monkey

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR,volume 39))

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Abstract

Colombian woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagothricha lugens) are a critically endangered subspecies with little or no demographic information available to quantitatively assess the impact of various threats (e.g. poaching, disease, and habitat loss) on its population. We use 15 years of published monitoring data on a population of Colombian woolly monkeys in Tinigua National Park, collected between 1987 and 2002, to characterize basic vital rates and population parameters. Our approach uses stage-structured models to estimate population parameters coupled with projections using a state-space model. This coupled approach allows us to take into account population stochasticity and observational uncertainty, the facilitation of incorporation of prior information on population dynamics and on monitoring and simulation processes. Using projection intervals of a year, we found that adult female survival contributes the most to population growth (λ), which is barely increasing for this population (1.009). Hunting of adult females affects population dynamics disproportionately and can lead quickly to population collapse if more than 2 % of females are hunted per year. We also showed that face-whitened disease has a small effect on population growth rate (~ 1 %) but may have a potentially large effect over the long term.

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Acknowledgments

This study was based on data collected within the Colombian–Japanese cooperative research project led by Professors Carlos Mejia and Kosei Izawa between 1986 and 2002. Field work was funded by several grants by Aid for Overseas Scientific Research from the Japan Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and Doshisha Univeristy. The authors acknowledge the invitation to participate in the book and we thank Professor Juan Manuel Cordovez for his comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Investigación en Ecología y Biogeografía (GIEB), Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia

    Diego J. Lizcano

  2. Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, 22202, Arlington, VA, USA

    Jorge A. Ahumada

  3. Doshisha University, 610-0394, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan

    Akisato Nishimura

  4. Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas La Macarena (CIEM), Universidad de Los Andes, Carrera 1 No 18a-10, Bogotá, Colombia

    Akisato Nishimura & Pablo R. Stevenson

  5. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

    Pablo R. Stevenson

Authors
  1. Diego J. Lizcano
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  2. Jorge A. Ahumada
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  3. Akisato Nishimura
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  4. Pablo R. Stevenson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego J. Lizcano .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, CUNDINAMARCA, Colombia

    Thomas R. Defler

  2. Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia

    Pablo R. Stevenson

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Lizcano, D., Ahumada, J., Nishimura, A., Stevenson, P. (2014). Population Viability Analysis of Woolly Monkeys in Western Amazonia. In: Defler, T., Stevenson, P. (eds) The Woolly Monkey. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects, vol 39. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0697-0_15

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