Preliminary approach of the

community of primates in
the protected area of Oglán
Alto, Arajuno-Pastaza,
Ecuador

G.A. Carrillo-B, J. J. Bravo,

©G. Carrillo-B.
S. Martin, M-C. Huynen
 Introduction
 Causes of primate
extinction
– Habitat destruction
 13 million ha
– 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
 Primate
Cebidae  The management
Cebus albifrons plan results
Saimiri sciureus were mostly taken
Lagothrix lagotricha from interviews
with
Pithecia monachus the community
Ateles belzebuth  Lack of studies in
Alouatta seniculus the Amazonian
Callitrichidae site of Oglan Alto
Saguinus sp
Saguinus fuscicollis
Cebuella pigmea
 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)

 Theintensive phase of field research

began in March 2007
TWO COMPONENTS
Non-human Primate
Component

Human Component
 Primate Component
Data Collection
 Time distribution
– 2 research groups:
1 researcher + 1 assistant
– Seven 45-day fieldtrips a year (rainy
season and dry season)
– 20 days to census primates
– 20 days to look for primates and
habituation
 Census of primates
– Direct Observation:
 Location
 Number of individuals
 Group Composition
– Indirect Observation
 Auditory Record: Vocalizations
 Faeces
 Food Consumption traces
 Monitoring

– 4 transects of 4 km each
– Transects are marked and mapped
every 25 m
– 6h00-11h00 and 13h00-18h00
 Home Range:
– location of primates is registered every
20 min starting at 6h00
 Phenological sampling
– 3 phenological transects
– Trees DBH>10 cm  marked and
mapped
– fruit abundance : Direct observation and
fruit traps
 Behavior

– Focal: Every min for a 20 min period

– Scan Group: every 5 min
– Codes
 Foraging
 Food Consumption
 Movement
 Rest
 Social
 Active (Out of sight)
 Inactive (Out of sight)
 Human Component
 Training
– Seminars: Field Reports
– Field training: “Para-Biologos”
 Environmental Education
– Schools and High Schools
– Informal
 Themes
– Environment
– Conservation
– Sustainability
 Results
A 10 000 meters long system of
trails and transects has been
established across 358 ha
Results and Discussion

Saguinus fuscicollis

Lagothrix Lagotricha

Alouatta seniculus
 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