On today’s post, we continue con our series of publications resulting from our work in Zocay Project study area over the past 21 years. Today’s post is about a collaborative article, my first article, about the taxonomy and conservation status of the Colombian squirrel monkeys when it was still classified as an endemic subspecies (Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena) based on demographic, population and genetics data. This article is based on data collected in the Project Zocay area where Colombian squirrel monkeys had been observed for several years. In this article we suggest that Colombian squirrel monkey’s conservation status was changed from near threatened to vulnerable due to an estimated reduction in their populations and geographic distribution area (A2a, b and B1 a, b (ii,iii and iv)). Additionally, we suggested, based on comparative studies of 1140 base pairs of the cytochrome b mitochondrial gene of 38 Saimiri specimens of nine different taxa, that the Colombian taxa could be considered subspecies of Saimiri cassiquiarensis (not S. sciureus as was believed), all showing similar haplotypes that are different from Saimiri sciureus sciureus of the eastern Amazon. An alternative arrangement could place the three Colombian taxa north of the Río Amazonas — albigena, macrodon, and cassiquiarensis — as full species. This last alternative arrangement had been suggested more recently by other authors (Rylands et al 2024). Although it had been more than a decade since this article was published, it is important to highlight that in areas where habitat is constantly changing due to human activities, conservation status of endemic species and/ or subspecies should be assessed periodically to detect additional threats or the increase of previously detected threats.

This is the reason why from last year, Zocay Project had been doing a more extensive revision of the conservation status and distribution of the endemic Colombian squirrel monkeys, a project supported by Rewild, that is in their final fieldwork season. In highly fragmented areas it is important that we monitor populations of endemic subspecies and/or species before we have to classify them as endangered or critically endangered or even as extinct. Funding to study this species and/or subspecies should not be delayed until the species had reach an Endangered or Critically Endangered status, we should be able to take actions before that, so we can save them from extinction and manage more effectively the cost of conserving them.

Un artículo colaborativo sobre la taxonomía y conservación del mono ardilla colombiano

En este blog, continuamos con nuestra serie de publicaciones resultado de nuestro trabajo en el área de estudio del Proyecto Zocay por los últimos 21 años. El blog de hoy es acerca de un artículo colaborativo, mi primer artículo, sobre la taxonomía y estado de conservación del mono ardilla colombiano cuando era clasificado como una subespecie endémica (Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena) basado en datos demográficos, poblacionales y genéticos. Este artículo se basa en datos colectados en el área de estudio del Proyecto Zocay donde el mono ardilla colombiano ha sido observado por varios años. En este artículo sugerimos que el estado de conservación del mono ardilla colombiano fuera cambiado de casi amenazado a vulnerable debido a una reducción estimada de sus poblaciones y área geográfica de distribución (A2a, b y B1 a, b (ii,iii y iv)). Adicionalmente, sugerimos, basados en estudios comparativos de 1140 pares de bases del gen mitocondrial citocromo b de 38 especímenes de Saimiri de nueve taxa diferentes que el mono ardilla colombiano fuera considerado una subespecie de Saimiri cassiquiarensis (no de S. sciureus como se creía en ese momento), todos mostrando haplotipos similares que son diferentes de los de Saimiri sciureus sciureus del oriente del Amazonas. Un arreglo alternativo puede ser colocar los tres taxa colombianos del norte del Río Amazonas — albigena, macrodon y cassiquiarensis — como especies separadas. Este último arreglo ha sido sugerido más recientemente por otros autores (Rylands et al 2024). Aunque ha pasado más de una década desde que este artículo fue publicado, es importante resaltar que en áreas donde el hábitat es continuamente cambiante debido a actividades humanas, el estado de conservación de las subespecies y/o especies debe ser evaluado periódicamente para detectar amenazas adicionales o el incremento de las amenazas previamente detectadas.

Esta es la razón del porque desde el año pasado el Proyecto Zocay está haciendo una revisión más extensiva del estado de conservación y distribución del mono ardilla colombiano endémico, un proyecto apoyado por Rewild, que está en su fase de campo final. En áreas altamente fragmentadas es importante que monitoreemos las poblaciones de especies y/o subespecies endémicas antes de tener que clasificarlas como en estado de En Peligro o Críticamente Amenazadas o incluso Extintas. La financiación para estudiar estas especies y/o subespecies no debería retrasarse hasta que las especies alcancen el estado de En Peligro o Críticamente Amenazadas, deberíamos ser capaces de tomar acciones antes de eso, de forma que podamos salvarlas de la extinción y manejar más efectivamente el costo de conservarlas.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

In today’s post we are going to celebrate the international wildlife day by talking about our fieldwork and some of the main challenges of the dry season that finally arrive in our study area. This year the dry season takes a bit longer to arrive with rainy days lasting until the beginning of February, by now the streams in the farms on which Zocay Project works are almost completely dried and wildlife, including monkeys, are using small ponds to drink water. Colombian squirrel monkeys continue to have new babies and the forest is drier.

One of the main challenges during the dry season in the area is fire. Some of the traditional practices in the area during the dry season is to burn pastures so new pastures sprouts can feed cows during the dry season when pastures are dry and the pastures are dry and with less nutrition. However, sometimes these fires can get out of control if precautions are not taken, especially because the wind during the dry season can be strong and spread the fire farther. Additionally, during dry season the soil and small streams dried out making the soil at the edge more prone to get fire if ditches are not done a few meters from the edge to protect the forest fragments from these intentional fires used in traditional practices. Fortunately, there is more research now on how to handle these fires in the Orinoquia region of Colombia and hopefully less damage from these traditional practices will reach the already highly fragmented areas of this region, if people are aware of their impact and follow established fire protocols.

Despite this, dry season also brings more wildlife sightings as animals concentrate in areas where water is available. During our samplings this month we were able to see new Colombian squirrel monkey babies as well as black capped capuchin babies. The scarlet ibis are everywhere with their radiant red plumages and deer are easier to detect at the forest edges resting during the hot midday hours. Fruits are available and life continues even in the hottest days…

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

On today’s post, we continue con our series of publications resulting from our work in Zocay Project study area over the past 21 years. Today’s post is about a chapter aimed at evaluating the conservation status of the Colombian squirrel monkey when it was still classified as an endemic subspecies (Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena) based on habitat availability, ecological and population information from several areas of their distribution area. This taxonomy is still in revision, and some authors classified them as a subspecies (Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena) or as species (Saimiri albigena). Although this taxonomic revision needs more genetic studies, in this blog recently we start using the taxonomy that classified them as a species based on their differential color pattern of gray arms and legs with or without yellowish hands, however genetic studies comparing this and the other two subspecies/ species of squirrel monkeys in Colombia still need to be done.

The results of this chapter showed that Colombian squirrel monkeys distribution area were reduced in almost half due to palm oil plantations in the Colombian Llanos and its use as a pet. It also showed variable densities (7,69 – 167.62 ind/ km2), with low census numbers (191 in 532.78 km2). This study also showed that isolation and fragment size are some of the variables affecting the long-term permanence of groups in the highly disturbed area of the Colombian squirrel monkey’s distribution. We suggested a change in its conservation status from Near Threatened to Vulnerable under IUCN criteria A2 (a, b) and B1 (a, b (ii, iii and iv)) and suggested the use of fence rows of different heights and covertures, education programs, and joint work with livestock farmers and palm oil plantations as management strategies that could reduce the isolation, disturbance and local extinction of this Colombian endemic subspecies/ species.

Español: Un capítulo colaborativo sobre el estado de conservación del mono fraile o ardilla colombiano (Saimiri albigena)

En este blog, continuamos con nuestra serie de publicaciones resultado de nuestro trabajo en el área de estudio del Proyecto Zocay por los últimos 21 años. El blog de hoy es acerca de un capítulo colaborativo con el objetivo de evaluar el estado de conservación del mono fraile colombiano cuando aún era clasificado como una subespecie endémica (Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena) basados en la disponibilidad del hábitat e información ecológica y poblacional de varias áreas dentro de su área de distribución. Está taxonomía está aún en revisión y algunos autores los clasifican como una subespecie (Saimiri cassiquiarensis albigena) o como especie (Saimiri albigena). Aunque esta revisión taxonómica necesita más estudios genéticos, en este blog recientemente empezamos a usar la taxonomía que los clasifica como especie basados en su patrón de color diferencial de brazos y piernas grises con o sin manos más amarilla, sin embargo, estudios genéticos comparando esta con las otras dos subespecies/ especies de monos frailes o ardilla en Colombia aún necesita hacerse.

Los resultados de este capítulo mostraron que el área de distribución de los monos frailes o ardilla colombianos se redujo en casi la mitad debido a las plantaciones de palma africana en los Llanos Colombianos y a su uso como mascotas. También mostró densidades variables (7,69 – 167.62 ind/ km2), con bajos números censales (191 en 532.78 km2). Este studio también mostró que el aislamiento y el tamaño del fragmento son algunas de las variables que afectan la permanencia en el largo plazo de los grupos en estas zonas de alta perturbación del área de distribución de la especie. Sugerimos un cambio en su estado de conservación de Casi Amenazado (NT en inglés) a Vulnerable Bajo el criterio de la UICN A2 (a, b) y B1 (a, b (ii, iii and iv)) y sugerimos el uso de cercas vivas de diferentes alturas y coberturas, programas de educación y un trabajo conjunto con ganaderos y plantaciones de palma africana como estrategias de manejo que pueden reducir el aislamiento, perturbación y extinción local de esta subespecie/ especie endémica colombiana.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

Today’s post is a personal reflection on an information shared in X from an article published in Nature in which a scientist mention that he “rarely get outside” despite of been working in an ecological question. For me as a biologist who had worked in the field for several decades and who had also incorporated technological tools and software in my work, reading the article make me think about how disconnected the new generation of ecologist and biologist seems to be of the organisms and ecosystems that they are studying and how that could impact our future results.

In my work, especially in the last 10 years, I learned and implemented the use of GIS and remote sensing information and software on answering the questions about geographic distribution and effects of fragmentation and habitat loss on primate species at Zocay Project study area. However, for me personally, going to the field and corroborating what satellite images and maps show me are an important and mostly fun part of my work. There isnothing more relaxing and clarifying that a walk in the forest when the sun is raising up…

May be because for me, primate sighting is an important part of what I do or because I started my career by doing behavioral and ecological research, not going to the field is just not an option. Even when funding is difficult to get and sometimes when no funding is available, not going to the field is simply not an option and I always find a way to go and spend time observing the monkeys. May be is also because, for me, going to the field constitute part of my process to generate questions and to understand what my data is saying.

I understand the importance of including new technologies and data from different sources, however the connection between data and real-world process is something that, for me, requires direct observation in the field. Animals don’t behave in a simplistic way and there are always multiple factors affecting and influencing how an animal behaves when a threat or a new process is close to them. Also, technology can help to collect data and analyze it faster but not to do everything. So, I still believe that one of the main factors that make research based on field data so important and strong is because people who work on it, like me, take the time to go and verify in the field what is happening on the ground and carefully observe how animals respond.

Hopefully, this connection with nature in ecology and biology is something that future generations of biologists and ecologists will consider incorporating it in their studies as that is what makes our work so important and realistic.

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com

In our last post of the year, we will share some of our plans for the next year. The new year starts with our yearly baby season, that time of the year when we count babies from Colombian squirrel monkeys (Saimiri albigena) and ornate titi monkeys (Plecturocebus ornatus) mainly in San Martin and Villavicencio, and sometimes in Villanueva. Monkeys live long lives like us, which means that to know if a population is growing or stable, we need data form several years to see if babies reach adulthood and if they reproduce themselves.

Although we had been looking at San Martín groups for two decades, we not always had resources to monitor those groups constantly over those years, so we still have information gaps that we are trying to fill up. Additional field trips during the year will help us to monitor new babies for the other monkey species in the study area, red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus), Brumback night monkeys (Aotus brumbacki) and black-capped capuchins (Sapajus apella).

We also will continue with the Colombian squirrel monkey distribution project as we still have two additional areas to survey and we will continue with our education tent, which we plan this year to take it to more towns if possible. This tent is a collaboration with another primatologist, Dr. Monica Ramirez who also had work in San Martin area for a couple of years. During this new year, we also have plans to focus on the three endemic monkey species in the piedmont of Colombian Llanos as those are species that still lack basic information on their ecology.

As usual with a long-term project like this, looking for financial support for all these activities will continue so we can carry out these activities. If you want to volunteer or donate, please send a message to xcarretero@gmail.com

Happy New Year 2025 and Best Wishes for 2026!

If you want to support our activities, please visit https://fineartamerica.com/art/xyomara+carretero or get in contact with us at xcarretero@gmail.com if you want to collaborate, donate or volunteer in our activities. You can also support our activities by buying our ornate titi monkeys stuff dolls https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctm_sEORvk8/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and our new journals in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/X-Carretero/dp/B0CWD1DBJM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?© Copyright Disclaimer. All pictures used on this web page are protected with copyrights to Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón. If you want to use any of these pictures, please leave a message on the website or contact xcarretero@gmail.com