New model maps monkey habitats to aid conservation efforts

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A monkey mapping study could boost conservation of animal species that share their habitats with humans.

With an estimated 75% of Earth's land surface already altered by humans, many animals must live alongside us to survive.

Existing survey techniques can struggle to capture the complexity of habitats, animal behavior and human threats.

The new study—led by the University of Exeter and Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Areas (IBAP) of Guinea-Bissau—developed a model for monitoring social wildlife and tested it with a heavily hunted species: the Campbell's monkey.

The paper, published in the journal Ecography, is titled "Joint spatial modeling of cluster size and density for a heavily hunted primate persisting in a heterogeneous landscape." The research team included the University of Edinburgh.

"Working with our local collaborators, we were able to predict and map the density of Campbell's monkeys across a diverse landscape of agricultural land and forest in Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau," said Andrew Houldcroft, who started the study during an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity at Exeter's Center for Ecology and Conservation.

"The map we created is vital for evidence-based conservation in Cantanhez.

"It will enable IBAP to focus its limited resources on priority areas for activities such as preserving and restoring habitat, limiting the risk of road collisions, and monitoring illegal hunting activities.

"This is also vital for socially just conservation by allowing IBAP to strike a balance between conservation and human food production."

The model is based on observations of Campbell's monkeys from "transects"—a simple technique where an observer walks a straight line and records animal sightings.

Once analyzed by the new mathematical model, the results show where—and in what numbers—the animals can be found.

"Our method can be widely applied to other social wildlife species around the world, providing information vital to conservation at a critical moment for nature," Houldcroft said.

"As it's based on simple observations, existing data can be used to generate maps via our model—showing fine-scale information on important areas of habitat for a species."

The analysis in Cantanhez National Park showed Campbell's monkeys are most abundant in areas with dense, healthy vegetation and close to mangroves.

Group size varied significantly across the park, suggesting the monkeys gather more densely in some areas due to environmental factors such as the availability of food.

More information: Andrew Houldcroft et al, Joint spatial modeling of cluster size and density for a heavily hunted primate persisting in a heterogeneous landscape, Ecography (2024). DOI: 10.1111/ecog.07399

Journal information: Ecography

Provided by University of Exeter