unexpected demography in the recovery of an endangered primate population意想不到的人口在人口濒危灵长类动物的恢复.pdfVIP

Unexpected Demography in the Recovery of an Endangered Primate Population 1 2 Karen B. Strier *, Anthony R. Ives 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America, 2 Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America Abstract Assessments of the status of endangered species have focused on population sizes, often without knowledge of demographic and behavioral processes underlying population recovery. We analyzed demographic data from a 28-year study of a critically endangered primate, the northern muriqui, to investigate possible changes in demographic rates as this population recovered from near extirpation. As the population increased from 60 to nearly 300 individuals, its growth rate declined due to increased mortality and male-biased birth sex ratios; the increased mortality was not uniform across ages and sexes, and there has been a recent increase in mortality of prime-aged males. If not for a concurrent increase in fertility rates, the population would have stabilized at 200 individuals instead of continuing to grow. The unexpected increase in fertility rates and in adult male mortality can be attributed to the muriquis’ expansion of their habitat by spending more time on the ground. The demographic consequences of this behavioral shift must be incorporated into management tactics for this population and emphasize the importance of understanding demographic rates in the recovery of endangered species. Citation: Strier KB, Ives AR (2012) Unexpected Demography in the Recovery of an Endangered Primate Population. PLoS ONE 7(9): e44407. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0044407