Surveys of a High-Diversity Primate Community in a Forestry Concession, Ucayali, Peru

Shanee S.; Fernández-Hidalgo L.; Walford J.; Fernandez-Hilario R.; Alarcon A.; Llaja K.G.S.; Allgas N. · Primate Conservation (2024)

Resumen

The western Amazon has the highest levels of primate sympatry in the Neotropics. These important primate communities are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities of hunting and habitat loss and disturbance. Sustainably managed forestry has been suggested as an economic activity that can generate income for local communities, contribute to national economies, and aid in long-term conservation of wildlife and habitats. At the request of the company LUSH, we carried out two rapid surveys (2019 and 2021) of the primate community at a forestry concession managed by the company in the Ucayali Region, Peru. We also noted threats to primates and habitat in areas surrounding the concession ad libitum. We found 12 primate taxa living in sympatry. They included threatened species such as Cacajao ucayalii, Lagothrix lagothricha, and Ateles chamek. Harvesting of Palo Rosa (Aniba rosaeodora: Lauraceae) in the concession has been suspended since 2016 due to a Peruvian government moratorium on the export of the species. The company has since maintained a skeleton staff to ensure the integrity of the concession. Illegal logging and other prohibited activities are common in the area surrounding the concession, and in downstream communities we found many primates hunted for food and for pets. Within the concession, the habitats are intact, and we found evidence of only historic logging and rare instances of hunting. The high diversity of primates at the site makes the continued implementation of sustainable logging practices of great importance, particularly in view of the current situation in the surrounding area.