Primate Community Recovery Following Historical Hunting Pressure at Los Amigos Biological Station, Peru

Pottie S.; Tapara G.; Groves E.M.R.; Forsyth A. · Primate Conservation (2025)

Resumen

Intensive hunting has long been one of the primary drivers of decline among large primates in Amazonian forests, often altering primate community structure, with changes that typically involve shifts in species composition and relative abundance. The extent to which primate assemblages can recover once protection is established remains, however, poorly documented. Here, we assessed the diurnal primate community at Los Amigos Biological Station in southeastern Peru, more than two decades after hunting ceased. Using standardized line-transect surveys (about 101 km across five transects) conducted between April and August 2025, we recorded 260 individuals representing nine diurnal primate species. Compared with previous published surveys conducted over a decade earlier, encounter rates increased markedly for the two largest species, the black-faced spider monkey (Ateles chamek) and the Bolivian red howler monkey (Alouatta sara), rising sixfold and fivefold, respectively. Medium-sized and small primates, including capuchins (Sapajus macrocephalus and Cebus cuscinus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis), showed corresponding declines, likely reflecting density compensation as the larger species recovered. Although overall abundance remained similar (25.9 vs. 24.9 individuals per 10 km), community composition shifted strongly toward the large taxa. These results indicate a substantial recovery of hunting-sensitive primates and a reorganization of the primate guild toward a more balanced, pre-disturbance structure. They underscore the potential conservation value of research stations for hunting-sensitive primates, acting as refuges and recolonization nodes in broader ecological corridors.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco