NEW PERSPECTIVES IN MESOAMERICAN PRIMATOLOGY: CONSERVATION, BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY |
A. Estrada1; P. Garber2; M. Pavelka3 and L. Luecke4
1UNAM-MEXICO, Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas, Apdo 176, San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz, 97500, Mexico, 2University of Illinois, Urbana, 3University of Calgary, 4University of Texas, Austin |
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| Extending from southern (tropical) Mexico to the Colombian border of Panama, Mesoamerica is the third most biologically diverse region in the world. The region covers only 0.5 percent of the world's land surface but harbors 7-10% of the world's biological diversity. Primate species and their populations stand out among the rich mammalian fauna of the region and they are represented by three species of howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata, A. pigra and A. coibensis), three subspecies of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus, A.g. yucatanensis, A.g. panamensis), one species of capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus) , two subspecies of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri oerstedii oerstedii, S.o. citrinellus), one species of tamarin (Sanguinus geoffroyi) and one species of owl monkey (Aotus lemurinus). The purpose of this symposium is to present a comprehensive overview of recent advances in primate field research in Mesoamerica. The overall goal of each contribution is to identify how our current knowledge of primate behavior and ecology has moved beyond more traditional approaches by incorporating new theoretical perspectives. A major focus of the symposium is to identify geographical regions and species for which we continue to lack sufficient information, action plans for future research, and a long-term commitment to conservation. In spite of many decades of research in specific localities in the region, much is still unknown about population trends and current distribution of populations and about the basic ecology and behavior of the species present. Two major areas of research will be the focus of the symposium: population and conservation and ecology and behavior. |
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