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Department of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Phone number: +44 (0)1865 484938
Email: m.svensson@brookes.ac.uk
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I have been the Lab Technician for the Primate Conservation MSc since 2010. I am an active research member of the Nocturnal Primate Research Group and the Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group, both based here at Oxford Brookes University. My research mainly focuses on the nocturnal primates of Africa and the Neotropics. I am also interested in wildlife trade research, including monitoring the illegal trade in ivory and pangolins but also in primates.
Vocalizations are a vital form of communication. Call structure and use may change depending on emotional arousal, behavioral context, sex, or social complexity. Pithecia chrysocephala (golden-faced sakis) are a little-studied Neotropical species. We aimed to determine the vocal repertoire of P. chrysocephala and the influence of context on call structure. We collected data June–August 2018 in an urban secondary forest fragment in Manaus, Amazonian Brazil. We took continuous vocal recordings in 10-min blocks with 5-min breaks during daily follows of two groups. We recorded scan samples of group behavior at the start and end of blocks and used ad libitum behavioral recording during blocks. We collected 70 h of data and analyzed 1500 calls. Lowest frequencies ranged 690.1–5879 Hz in adults/subadults and 5393.6–9497.8Hz in the only juvenile sampled. We identified eight calls, three of which were juvenile specific. We found that, while repertoire size was similar to that of other New World monkeys of similar group size and structure, it also resembled those with larger group sizes and different social structures. The durations of Chuck calls were shorter for feeding contexts compared to hostile, but frequencies were higher than predicted if call structure reflects motivation. This finding may be due to the higher arousal involved in hostile situations, or because P. chrysocephala use Chuck calls in appeasement, similar to behavior seen in other primates. Call structures did not differ between sexes, potentially linked to the limited size dimorphism in this species. Our findings provide a foundation for further investigation of Pithecia vocal behavior and phylogeny, as well as applications for both captive welfare (stress relief) and field research (playbacks for surveys).
Stone tools in the prehistoric record are the most abundant source of evidence for understanding early hominin technological and cultural variation. The field of primate archaeology is well placed to improve our scientific knowledge by using the tool behaviours of living primates as models to test hypotheses related to the adoption of tools by early stone-age hominins. Previously we have shown that diversity in stone tool behaviour between neighbouring groups of long-tailed macaques (Macaca-fascicularis) could be explained by ecological and environmental circumstances (Luncz et al., 2017b). Here however, we report archaeological evidence, which shows that the selection and reuse of tools cannot entirely be explained by ecological diversity. These results suggest that tool-use may develop differently within species of old-world monkeys, and that the evidence of material culture can differ within the same timeframe at local geographic scales and in spite of shared environmental and ecological settings.
Like other nocturnal primates, many species of galago (Galagidae) are phenotypically cryptic, making their taxonomic status difficult to resolve. Recent taxonomic work has disentangled some of the confusion. This has resulted in an increase in the number of recognised galago species. The most widespread galago species, and indeed the most widespread nocturnal primate, is the northern lesser galago (Galago senegalensis) whose geographic range stretches >7,000 km across Africa. Based on morphology, 4 subspecies are currently recognised: G. s. senegalensis, G. s. braccatus, G. s. sotikae and G. s. dunni. We explore geographic and subspecific acoustic variation in G. senegalensis, testing three hypotheses: isolation by distance, genetic basis, and isolation by barrier. There is statistical support for isolation by distance for 2 of 4 call parameters (fundamental frequency and unit length). Geographic distance explains a moderate amount of the acoustic variation. Discriminant function analysis provides some degree of separation of geographic regions and subspecies, but the percentage of misdesignation is high. Despite having (putative) parapatric geographic ranges, the most pronounced acoustic differences are between G. s. senegalensis and G. s. dunni. The findings suggest that the Eastern Rift Valley and Niger River are significant barriers for G. senegalensis. The acoustic structures of the loud calls of 121 individuals from 28 widespread sites are not significantly different. Although this makes it unlikely that additional unrecognised species occur within G. senegalensis at the sites sampled, vast areas of the geographic range remain unsampled. We show that wide-ranging species do not necessarily exhibit large amounts of variation in their vocal repertoire. This pattern may also be present in nocturnal primates with smaller geographic ranges.
Comparative behavioural research reveals both intra- and inter-species diversity among primates. Few long-term behavioural studies have been conducted on African nocturnal primates. Here we describe and compare behavioural and ecological observations on two species of pottos (Perodicticus ibeanus and P. edwardsi) across ten sites. We observed a total of 51 P. edwardsi and 28 P. ibeanus. We recorded all 21 postures within an established lorisid ethogram, as well as 42 of 50 behaviours. Eating, locomotion, freezing, resting and sniffing were the most common behaviours. We recorded behaviours not previously described for perodicticines, including bark chewing and unique vocalisations. Three species of pottos are now recognised, with potentially more species to be revealed within this cryptic and nocturnal genus. Although there are similarities among potto species, we show that unique ecological adaptations and behaviours may further elucidate their diversity.
Studies on the behaviour of the African lorisiforms are scarce, but there are clear morphological, ecological and behavioural differences between the robust pottos (Perodicticus spp.) and the smaller, gracile angwantibos (Arctocebus spp.). Pottos have a wide distribution across the African rainforest zone, while angwantibos are restricted to the forests of western equatorial Africa. African lorisiforms are not as obviously gregarious as some of their diurnal primate relatives and have thus often been described as solitary animals. This description does not mean these animals do not exhibit any social behaviour – as Charles-Dominique (1977a) wrote, solitary is not the opposite of social, but of gregarious. Indeed, increased research attention and improved methods have slowly revealed an extensive repertoire of nocturnal primate social behaviour. In this chapter, we review existing research on social behaviour, mating and parental care, feeding and food acquisition, as well as positional and defensive behaviour in pottos and angwantibos. We also highlight their major differences and recommend areas for future research.
Scientific investigations on the mammals of Angola started over 150 years ago, but information remains scarce and scattered, with only one recent published account. Here we provide a synthesis of the mammals of Angola based on a thorough survey of primary and grey literature, as well as recent unpublished records. We present a short history of mammal research, and provide brief information on each species known to occur in the country. Particular attention is given to endemic and near endemic species. We also provide a zoogeographic outline and information on the conservation of Angolan mammals. We found confirmed records for 291 native species, most of which from the orders Rodentia (85), Chiroptera (73), Carnivora (39), and Cetartiodactyla (33). There is a large number of endemic and near endemic species, most of which are rodents or bats. The large diversity of species is favoured by the wide range of habitats with contrasting environmental conditions, while endemism tends to be associated with unique physiographic settings such as the Angolan Escarpment. The mammal fauna of Angola includes 2 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, 11 Vulnerable, and 14 Near-Threatened species at the global scale. There are also 12 data deficient species, most of which are endemics or near endemics to the country.
Despite a large geographic distribution, the African nocturnal perodicticines, pottos (Perodicticus) and angwantibos (Arctocebus ) remain amongst the least studied primate taxa. Only two one-year field studies have been conducted on pottos, with only circumstantial data onangwantibos, coming from field data on shot animals. Through a meta-analysis, based on published literature and unpublished reports, we here review recent skeletal and genetic evidence that point to five species, and indicate far more diversity: Perodicticus potto, P. Ibeanus, P. edwardsi, Arctocebus aureus, A. calabarensis. Pelage colour, dorsal markings and tail characteristics (for pottos) supplement the genetic data that suggest these comprise distinct taxa. Arctocebus ranges from Nigeria and Cameroon in the north to Gabon and Congo in the south, whilst Perodicticus is more widespread, having a combined distribution that encompasses a large portion of central and western Africa. Despite this large range, only nine surveys with any substantial effort have been published in the last twenty years from only five range countries; two re-ported new taxa (P. p. stockleyi and P. p. juju). Although not included in abundance counts,pottos frequently appear in bushmeat reports throughout their range, suggesting this is a realthreat to this cryptic, easy-to-catch primate. Despite an almost complete dearth of knowledgeabout these taxa, all perodicticine taxa are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern, with, contradictorily, only the reasonably studied P. p. stockleyi as Data Deficient. The situation of these primates is mirrored in zoos. No Arctocebus are kept in European zoos, with only 17 Perodicticus in ISIS institutions. Their taxonomy is uncertain, breeding rates are poor and infant mortality is high. Clearly the perodictines offer an open frontier for both in situ and ex situ studies. We certainly do not have the data to assess their conservation status yet.
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