Study links protecting Indigenous peoples' lands to greater nonhuman primate biodiversity
10-AUG-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, NEWS BUREAU
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By comparing geographic patterns of nonhuman primate biodiversity and human land-use, researchers discovered that areas managed or controlled by Indigenous peoples tend to have significantly more primate biodiversity than nearby regions. They also found that lorises, tarsiers, monkeys and apes whose territories overlap with Indigenous areas are less likely to be classified as vulnerable, threatened or endangered than those living fully outside Indigenous lands.
The findings are reported in the journal Science Advances.
“There is an impending extinction crisis among the world’s 521 primate species,” said Paul A. Garber, a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who led the research with Alejandro Estrada, a professor in the Institute of Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “We know that 68% of these species are vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered and many of them may not survive to the end of the century. Worldwide, 93% of primate populations are declining.”
Understanding the conditions that allow primate populations to survive and even thrive is critical to preventing their extinction and preserving their special contributions to healthy forest ecosystems, Garber said.
“Most primates exploit forests, where they serve as agents of pollination and seed dispersal,” he said. “They’re involved in important predator-prey relationships. They consume insects and small vertebrates. They play a very important role in the regeneration of forests.”
More:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/961098