Diversity and genetic structure of white faced spider monkeys (Ateles marginatus) populations in urban forest fragments in Sinop, Mato Grosso

• Grant number: 23/00130-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Patrícia Domingues de Freitas
• Grantee: Théo de Freitas Neto
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The white faced spider monkey (Ateles marginatus) is the species with the smallest territorial range within its genus, which is composed of large-bodied primates, considered ecologically specialized and charismatic and popularly known as spider monkeys. Unfortunately, these species present a range of degrees of threat, from the status of Vulnerable (VU) to Critically Endangered (CR). Chief among the threats to the conservation of A. marginatus is deforestation. The expansion of the agricultural frontier in the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, an area commonly known as the Arc of Deforestation, has caused the selective extraction of trees and a series of environmental and ecological disturbances, which promote the loss and fragmentation of habitats and, consequently, a greater influence of anthropic effects related to the increase of roadkill, poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking. The fragmentation of habitats is a particularly important research subject, given the particularities of fragmentation, which include the size and composition of the fragment and of the surrounding matrix, which can influence the potential for conservation of the species. In this context, the fragmentation of areas with urban influence, although a lesser studied subject for its effects on A. marginatus, has been a subject of rising interest, due chiefly to the above national average rise in urban area and population in the area of distribution of this species, which ranges in the area of Cerrado-Amazon transition of the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Understanding the effects of urban forest fragmentation on the viability of populations - including reduction in living area, smaller group sizes, higher population densities, disturbances to genetic diversity and structure and increased endogamy as a result of interrupted gene flows - becomes relevant to aid in the creation of urban planning strategies that minimize the negative impacts of such effects on these populations. Considering this context, thee current project has as its main objective to produce reference data relative to the genetic diversity and population structure of A. marginatus in the urban area of Sinop (MT), where this species occurs, with the aim of understanding the effects of fragmentation in an urban environment and to generate data that both aids in the conservation of this species and serves as a model for the study of similar municipalities in the Arc of Deforestation.