Ecological determinants of parasitism in howler monkeys

MARTINEZ-MOTA, RODOLFO; KOWALEWSKI, M MARTIN; GILLESPIE, THOMAS R

Howler Monkeys: Examining the Biology, Adaptive Radiation, and Behavioral Ecology of the Most Widely Distributed Genus of Neotropical Primate

Springer Press

Año: 2012; p. 1 - 52

Infectious diseases caused by pathogens are now recognized as one of the most importantthreats for primate conservation. The fact that howler monkeys (Alouatta spp.) are widelydistributed from Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina, inhabit a diverse array ofhabitats, and are considered “pioneers", particularly adapted to exploit marginal habitats,provides an opportunity to explore general trends of parasitism and evaluate the dynamicsof infectious diseases in this Genus. We take a meta-analysis approach to examine theeffect of ecological and environmental variables on parasitic infection using data from eighthowler monkey species at more than 35 sites throughout their distribution. We found thatdifferent factors including precipitation, latitude, altitude, and human proximity mayinfluence parasite infection according to parasite type. We also found that parasitesinfecting howler monkeys followed a right-skewed distribution suggesting that only fewindividuals harbor infections. This highlights the importance of collecting large samplesizes when developing these studies. We suggest that future studies should focus to obtainfine-grained estimations of ecological and microclimate change to provide better insightsinto the proximate factors that promote parasitism.