In primates, mixed species associations are not common occurrences, and have been linked to both ecological and anthropogenic factors. We present camera-trapping records of a mixed association between two primates, the Hatinh langur () and red-shanked douc () and discuss possible hypotheses for this occurrence. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of such an association in the wild of these two threatened primates, and thus contributes to our limited ecological knowledge of the species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present evidence of scent marking in the large-antlered muntjac (). Given the importance of scent marking in individual recognition among ungulates, this behavior may serve to communicate the fitness cost of antagonistic interactions among rival males and could serve as a mechanism for mate assessment among females.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human-driven loss of biodiversity has numerous ecological, social, and economic impacts at the local and global levels, threatening important ecological functions and jeopardizing human well-being. In this perspective, we present an overview of how tropical defaunation-defined as the disappearance of fauna as a result of anthropogenic drivers such as hunting and habitat alteration in tropical forest ecosystems-is interlinked with four selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We discuss tropical defaunation related to nutrition and zero hunger (SDG 2), good health and well-being (SDG 3), climate action (SDG 13), and life on land (SDG 15).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn an age of mass extinctions, confirming the survival of lost species provides rare second chances for biodiversity conservation. The silver-backed chevrotain Tragulus versicolor, a diminutive species of ungulate known only from Vietnam, has been lost to science for almost three decades. Here, we provide evidence that the silver-backed chevrotain still exists and the first photographs of the species in the wild, and urge immediate conservation actions to ensure its survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHabitat degradation and hunting have caused the widespread loss of larger vertebrate species (defaunation) from tropical biodiversity hotspots. However, these defaunation drivers impact vertebrate biodiversity in different ways and, therefore, require different conservation interventions. We conducted landscape-scale camera-trap surveys across six study sites in Southeast Asia to assess how moderate degradation and intensive, indiscriminate hunting differentially impact tropical terrestrial mammals and birds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become an applicable noninvasive tool with which to obtain information about biodiversity. A subdiscipline of eDNA is iDNA (invertebrate-derived DNA), where genetic material ingested by invertebrates is used to characterize the biodiversity of the species that served as hosts. While promising, these techniques are still in their infancy, as they have only been explored on limited numbers of samples from only a single or a few different locations.
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