Preliminary approach of the community of primates in

the protected area of Oglán Alto, Arajuno-Pastaza,

Ecuador

G.A. Carrillo-B, J. J. Bravo, S. Martin, M-C. Huynen©G. Carrillo-B.

Introduction• Causes of primate extinction

o Habitat destruction 13 million ha

o Hunting Bushmeat Pets

© Helene Palomino

© Helene Palomino

Biodiversity in Ecuador

• Ecuador: number 4 on the list of countries having more species per sq. km

• 40 % of primate species are from the Neotropical Region

• Number of primate species in Ecuador: 19• Number of primate species in the

Amazonian Ecuador: 15

Study Site

• Protected Area Oglan Alto 01°19’27.5’’|S, 77°41’20.1’’|W

• 3 344 ha• 25 % of Ecuador’s mammal species and

49 % of the Amazonian region’s • Two identified types of forest: Lowland

Rain Forest and Piedmont Forest

• The management plan results were mostly taken from interviews with the community

• Lack of studies in the Amazonian

site of Oglan Alto

Primate

Cebidae

Cebus albifrons

Saimiri sciureus

Lagothrix lagotricha

Pithecia monachus

Ateles belzebuth

Alouatta seniculus

Callitrichidae

Saguinus sp

• The aim of this study was to obtain preliminary results on the presence of primates in the Oglan Alto Reserve, with the participation of the community

Methods

• Four explorative trips have been made (June 2006 - January 2007)

• The intensive phase of field research began in March 2007

TWO COMPONENTS

Non-human Primate Component

Human Component

Primate ComponentData Collection

• Time distributiono 2 research groups:

1 researcher + 1 assistanto Seven 45-day fieldtrips a year (rainy season

and dry season)o 20 days to census primateso 20 days to look for primates and habituation

• Census of primateso Direct Observation:

Location Number of individuals Group Composition

o Indirect Observation Auditory Record: Vocalizations Faeces Food Consumption traces

• Monitoringo 4 transects of 4 km eacho Transects are marked and mapped every 25 mo 6h00-11h00 and 13h00-18h00

• Home Range: o location of primates is registered every 20 min

starting at 6h00

• Phenological samplingo 3 phenological transectso Trees DBH>10 cm marked and mappedo fruit abundance : Direct observation and fruit

traps

• BehavioroFocal: Every min for a 20 min periodoScan Group: every 5 minoCodes

ForagingFood ConsumptionMovementRestSocialActive (Out of sight) Inactive (Out of sight)

Human Component

• Trainingo Seminars: Field Reportso Field training: “Para-Biologos”

• Environmental Educationo Schools and High Schoolso Informal

• Themeso Environmento Conservationo Sustainability

Results

• A 10 000 meters long system of trails and transects has been established across 358 ha

Results and Discussion

Alouatta seniculus

Lagothrix Lagotricha

Saguinus fuscicollis

• We already have 6 plant species from their diet, that are being identified

• We can find al least 90 trees per 1000 m2 with DBH>10 cm

• 2 seminars have been made• We have trained 3 futur “para-biólogos”

Conclusions

• This project is just beginning • We would like to finish the elaboration of

transect before the end of the year• We’re going to continue with the

monitoring and the habituation process• The next step will be to collect ethological

and ecological data