Why Is It Important to Continue Studying the Anatomy, Physiology, Sensory Ecology, and Evolution of Howler Monkeys?

KOWALEWSKI, M MARTIN; GARBER, PAUL A; CORTES-ORTIZ, LILIANA; URBANI, BERNARDO; YOULATOS, DIONISIOS

Howler Monkeys: Adaptive Radiation, Systematics, and Morphology

Springer Press

Lugar: New York; Año: 2015; p. 3 - 17

why is it important to continue studying howlers? As for many other primate species, critical data remain to be collected. We need to promote the development and maintenance of long-term study sites that include populations of the same species living in diverse ecological communities in order to understand the adaptability of the genus Alouatta . In addition, we need to collect data to more clearly define the set of conditions that promote phenotypic variability in howlers. Furthermore, longterm data on a broad set of taxa will facilitate comparative analyses needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of behavioral, ecological, morphological, and genetic variability. New available methodologies are critical for addressing twentyfirst century questions in primatology. These techniques include molecular genetics, 3D geometric morphometrics, GIS technology, portable high-defi nition and highspeed video recording, hormone analyses, nutritional analyses of plant foods, and the use of molecular methods for examination of disease, the gut microbiome, and invertebrate and vertebrate DNA present in primate feces. Although these technologies may increase the cost of research, the information they will provide will surely be of signifi cant value in advancing our understanding of howler monkey behavior, ecology, and evolution. These new studies will require the collaboration of multidisciplinary research teams across countries. Many of the chapters in this volume are the result of such collaboration and an irrefutable proof that we, as primatologists, are heading in the right direction.