MSGID: 1:317/3 63e476ea   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Roads, pet dogs and more may pose hidden threat to Africa's primates   
      
      
     Date:   
         February 8, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Colorado at Boulder   
     Summary:   
         Simple solutions, such as not leaving out food at night, could   
         help to protect non-human primates in Sub-Saharan Africa -- some   
         of which are already struggling because of threats like climate   
         change and habitat loss.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Many of the hallmarks of human civilization -- from roads and power   
   lines to pet dogs -- are taking a larger-than-expected toll on non-human   
   primates living in Africa, according to two recent studies.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The findings result from a collaboration between the University of   
   Colorado Boulder and three South Africa-based institutions: the University   
   of Venda, Lajuma Research Centre and the conservation organization the   
   Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). They take an almost forensic look at   
   what is killing wild animals in South Africa. The country is home to five   
   species of non-human primates, including greater (Otolemur crassicaudatus)   
   and southern lesser (Galago moholis) bushbabies. These primates spend   
   most of their lives in trees, and some are so small they can fit in the   
   palm of your hand.   
      
   In one study, scientists led by Birthe Linden at Lajuma analyzed hundreds   
   of cases in which non-human primates had been killed on roads or around   
   power lines across the country. In a companion paper, the researchers   
   explored the growing risks that domestic dogs pose to the animals.   
      
   The research shows that the threats facing the world's monkeys, apes   
   and other non-human primates aren't always easy to see, particularly   
   for lesser-studied animals like bushbabies.   
      
   "Bushbabies, especially, are an example of species that may be having   
   problems, but we don't know what they are until we go looking,"   
   said Michelle Sauther, co-author of the two studies and professor of   
   anthropology at CU Boulder.   
      
   For her, the results border on personal.   
      
   In the process of studying bushbabies in South Africa for more than a   
   decade, Sauther and her colleagues got to know one male, in particular --   
   a greater bushbaby with one eye who the team nicknamed Bruiser because   
   he reminded them of an old prize fighter.   
      
   Then in 2019 Bruiser, who had bad and missing teeth, tried to move on   
   the ground to reach a fig tree with easy-to-grab fruit. A pet dog found   
   and killed him.   
      
   "These are small stories," Sauther said. "They're not the big stories   
   of conservation, but they really do matter, especially as we have no   
   good data on bushbaby mortality and thus cannot easily judge their   
   conservation status."  They're also small stories that likely touch   
   almost all non-human primate species, not just in South Africa but across   
   the continent.   
      
   "We found that all South African non-human primates are in one way or   
   the other impacted by human linear infrastructure, such as power lines   
   or roads," Linden said.   
      
   Roadkill on the rise Linden, a primatologist from South Africa, first   
   became interested in the hidden dangers facing primates on her almost   
   daily drives to the University of Venda in South Africa's Soutpansberg   
   Mountains.   
      
   She kept seeing samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis) run over   
   on the side of the road. These monkeys are listed in the "Red List of   
   Mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho" as "vulnerable," one step   
   up from "endangered."  "It's one stretch where the road is quite close   
   to indigenous forest, which is where samango monkeys typically live,"   
   Linden said.   
      
   She wondered if a lot more non-human primates could be dying as roadkill   
   than researchers suspected. South Africa is home to more than 675,000   
   miles (1,090,000 kilometers) of roads and power lines -- and the number   
   keeps climbing.   
      
   To explore this pervasive threat, Linden and her colleagues drew from a   
   wide range of data sources. They include Road Watch, a citizen science   
   app released by the EWT that allows anyone in South Africa to upload   
   reports of roadkill. In all, the team gathered 483 examples of primates   
   killed on roads or around power lines, some dating back to the late   
   1990s. Species included the two bushbabies, samango monkeys, chacma   
   baboons (Papio ursinus) and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus).   
      
   Next up, Frank Cuozzo of the Lajuma Research Centre and a research fellow   
   at the University of Pretoria's Mammal Research Institute led the group   
   in exploring a different kind of peril: domestic dogs. The researchers   
   tracked down 13 reports of greater bushbabies like Bruiser killed by dogs   
   in South Africa since 2014. In one case, humans intentionally released   
   dogs to hunt down a bushbaby that had gotten too close to town.   
      
   "These reports are clearly a sliver of what's actually happening,"   
   said Cuozzo who earned his doctorate in biological anthropology from CU   
   Boulder in 2000.   
      
   "It's happening in the towns and suburban areas, in the rural areas,   
   the reserve areas, and it's happening far more than anyone would think."   
   Why did the monkey cross the road?  The researchers aren't sure how big   
   of a dent roads, power lines and domestic dogs are making in non-human   
   primate numbers in South Africa or surrounding nations. But they argue   
   that these deaths are important to follow -- especially for animals   
   already struggling to survive amid climate change and habitat loss.   
      
   Wendy Collinson-Jonker, co-author of the infrastructure study and a   
   researcher at the EWT, noted that these problems are widespread, but   
   the fixes may be surprisingly simple.   
      
   Studies have shown, for example, that monkeys and other forest critters   
   can hop across roads safely on "canopy bridges," such as a rope bridge   
   hanging between trees.   
      
   Humans can also keep dogs away from primates by being careful to not   
   leave food out, especially at night.   
      
   "We know the solutions," Collinson-Jonker said. "It's a case of now   
   getting them implemented."  As for Bruiser the bushbaby, Sauther noted   
   that his story ended with a small bit of consolation. The team was able to   
   recover his body and collected X-rays that helped reveal a deeper picture   
   of his more than a decade of life -- down to the arthritis building up   
   between his joints that likely led him to climb down to the ground.   
      
   "We were able to document his whole life story," Sauther said. "We knew   
   him right to the end."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Monkeys # Dogs # Endangered_Animals # Nature   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Geography # Rainforests # Drought_Research #   
                   Biodiversity   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Primate o Global_warming_controversy o Human_biology   
             o Consensus_of_scientists_regarding_global_warming   
             o Global_warming o Kyoto_Protocol o   
             Attribution_of_recent_climate_change o Climate_change_mitigation   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_Colorado_at_Boulder. Original written by Daniel   
   Strain. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230208191724.htm   
      
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