Jean P Boubli

University of Salford · School of Environment and Life Sciences

Titi monkeys, subfamily Callicebinae, are a diverse, species-rich group of Neotropical primates with an extensive range across South America. Their distribution in space and time makes them an interesting primate model for addressing questions of Neotropical historical biogeography. Our aim was to reconstruct the biogeographic history of Callicebin...

The pygmy marmoset, Cebuella pygmaea, the smallest of the New World monkeys, has one of the largest geographical distributions of the Amazonian primates. Two forms have been recognized: Cebuella pygmaea pygmaea (Spix, 1823), and C. p. niveiventrisLönnberg, 1940. In this study, we investigated if the separation of pygmy marmosets into these two clad...

Background: Titi monkeys, Callicebus, comprise the most species-rich primate genus—34 species are currently recognised, five of them described since 2005. The lack of molecular data for titi monkeys has meant that little is known of their phylogenetic relationships and divergence times. To clarify their evolutionary history, we assembled a large mo...

Although the Amazon has the greatest diversity of primates, there are still taxonomic uncertainties for many taxa, such as the species of the Saguinus mystax group. The most geographically broadly distributed and phenotypically diverse species in this group is S. mystax, and its phenotypic diversity has been recognized as three subspecies—S. mystax...

There have been multiple published phylogenetic analyses of platyrrhine primates (New World monkeys) using both morphological and molecular data, but relatively few that have integrated both types of data into a total evidence approach. Here, we present phylogenetic analyses of recent and fossil platyrrhines, based on a total evidence data set of 4...

The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on Earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scattered across the published, peer-reviewed, and gray literature and in unpublished raw data. Camera traps are an effective non-invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and...

Mico schneideri was recently described by scientists, and currently there is no information on habitat availability and population sizes. Given high deforestation rates across its range, it is suspected that this marmoset's extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) are both undergoing ongoing decline. From 2001 to 2020, the Mato Grosso...

Plecturocebus vieirai is endemic from the top global deforestation frontier, the Amazonian arc of deforestation, in the States of Mato Grosso and Pará. Based on new occurrence data, and models of species occurrence and of future deforestation in Amazonia, this species already lost 56% of its area of habitat only 14% of the species area of habitat w...

Over a century after Wallace's proposition of the riverine barrier hypothesis, the role of rivers in the diversification of species remains a matter of interest in Amazon biogeography. Amazonian rivers, in particular those large and fast flowing rivers, are widely recognized to act as barriers to the dispersal of some organisms. However, the extent...

Traditionally, Saguinus has been organized into six taxonomic groups: bicolor, inustus, midas, mystax, nigricollis, and oedipus. After recent revisions, taxonomic reclassifications were proposed, including (1) the recognition of Leontocebus as a new genus, and (2) the subdivision of Saguinus into three subgenera. Nonetheless, the contradictory natu...

The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scattered across the published, peer‐reviewed and grey literature and in unpublished raw data. Camera traps are an effective non‐invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and s...

Bald uakaris, genus Cacajao, are Amazonian primates currently classified as one species and four subspecies based on the patterns of pelage coloration. In this study, we test if their current taxonomy is represented by the phylogenetic relationship of the main lineages retrieved from molecular data. We included, for the first time, all bald uakari...

Mitochondrial DNA remains a cornerstone for molecular ecology, especially for study species from which high‐quality tissue samples cannot be easily obtained. Methods using mitochondrial markers are usually reliant on reference databases, but these are often incomplete. Furthermore, available mitochondrial genomes often lack crucial metadata, such a...

Night monkeys (Aotus, Cebidae) are a widely distributed genus of Neotropical primates with a poorly understood taxonomy and biogeography. The number of species in the genus varies from one to nine, depending on the author, and there are at least 18 known karyotypes, varying from 2n = 46 to 2n = 58. Historically, night monkeys are divided into two s...

Platyrrhine primate taxonomy is a rapidly evolving area of research. The recent description of the Parecis titi monkey, Plecturocebus parecis, has raised substantial questions regarding the taxonomy, distribution, and evolutionary history of titi taxa from south-central Amazonia. There is only a single documented record of P. parecis, which is the...

Interactions between hosts and their resident microbial communities are a fundamental component of fitness for both agents. Though recent research has highlighted the importance of interactions between animals and their bacterial communities, comparative evidence for fungi is lacking, especially in natural populations. Using data from 49 species, w...

Amazonia has the richest primate fauna in the world. Nonetheless, the diversity and distribution of Amazonian primates remain little known and the scarcity of baseline data challenges their conservation. These challenges are especially acute in the Amazonian arc of deforestation, the 2500 km long southern edge of the Amazonian biome that is rapidly...

An understanding of a species' geographic distribution is essential to assess, plan, and develop strategies for its conservation. The geographic distribution of the bald uakari, Cacajao calvus, and its component subspecies has been poorly investigated, with disjunct distributions being reported in Brazil and Peru. In this study, we reveal new recor...

Aggressive behaviors are widespread among territorial species and asymmetrical aggressiveness may imply differential access to resources. At a larger scale, such asymmetry may also drive shifts in geographic distributions. The pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) is an endangered Amazonian primate species with a small natural range. In recent decades fu...

Ateles chamek is listed as Endangered as the species is estimated to have declined by at least 50% over the past 45 years (three generations) primarily due to hunting and habitat loss. The forests in the southern part of its range, particularly in the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso (Brazil), are devastated along the agricultural frontier/arc of...

The current capacity of environmental DNA (eDNA) to provide accurate insights into the biodiversity of megadiverse regions (e.g., the Neotropics) requires further evaluation to ensure its reliability for long-term monitoring. In this study, we first evaluated the taxonomic resolution capabilities of a short fragment from the 12S rRNA gene widely us...

Natural Sapajus libidinosus populations are in continuous decline due to fragmentation, habitat loss and the illegal pet trade. They live in Caatinga scrub forests, which already lost over 50% of their original cover. The lack of studies on S. libidinosus population genetics means that we do not know how they are being affected by this striking hab...

The current capacity of environmental DNA (eDNA) to provide accurate insights into the biodiversity of megadiverse regions (e.g., the Neotropics) requires further evaluation to ensure its reliability for long-term monitoring. In this study, we first evaluated the taxonomic resolution capabilities of a short fragment from the 12S rRNA gene widely us...

Evaluation of the conservation status of Ateles belzebuth

Boubli et al. (2019) estimated a loss of 42% of habitat (forest, excluding savannas) within the species range to date, or 39% of the species’ total range (forest and savannas). Using predictive models, the species’ habitat loss over the next 24 years will amount to 50% under the “governance” scenario and to 86% under the “business as usual” scenari...

IUCN Red List for Ateles chame

Despite its large range, occurrence in numerous nature reserves in several countries, and apparent adaptation to modified habitats, Alouatta caraya is considered Near Threatened due to a suspected population reduction of 25-30% over 36 years (three generations; 2004-2040) due to ongoing loss of suitable habitat, hunting pressure, and the susceptibi...

Brazil has a high diversity of primates, but increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change could influence forest cover in the country and cause future changes in the distribution of primate populations. Here we aim to assess the long-term suitability of habitats for the conservation of three threatened Brazilian primates (Alouatta belzebul...

The collared titi, Cheracebus torquatus, is paradoxically the least well-defined of the so-called "torquatus group" of Neotropical titi monkeys. Since its description by Hoffmannsegg in 1807, it has been re-characterized numerous times. In this study, the true identity of Cheracebus torquatus is assessed based on a review of its taxonomic history a...

Interactions between hosts and their resident microbial communities are a fundamental component of fitness for both agents. Though recent research has highlighted the importance of interactions between animals and their bacterial communities, comparative evidence for fungi is lacking, especially in natural populations. Using data from 49 species, w...

The Roosevelt–Rondon Expedition marmoset Mico marcai was first collected in 1914 and all information on this primate previously came from three skins brought back by this expedition. As a result, M. marcai is categorized as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. As the presumed range of M. marcai lies on the path of the advancing arc of deforestation...

Cheracebus is a new genus of New World primate of the family Pitheciidae, subfamily Callicebinae. Until recently, Cheracebus was classified as the torquatus species group of the genus Callicebus . The genus Cheracebus has six species: C. lucifer, C. lugens, C. regulus, C. medemi, C. torquatus , and C. purinus , which are all endemic to the Amazon b...

We identify key interdisciplinary questions and approaches to understanding the paleogeographic and biotic history of Amazonia. We discuss the importance of comparing evolutionary taxonomic units across groups and considering their particular environmental affinities as a framework for a mechanistic understanding of how the diversity of Amazonia wa...

Primates constitute one of the main sources of animal protein for the Yanomami people of Brazil and Venezuela. Monkeys are also important in Yanomami mythology, technology, and body adornment. Ten primate species are found in the Yanomami territory: Ateles belzebuth, Alouatta macconnelli, Cheracebus lugens, Saimiri cassiquiarensis, Aotus trivirgatu...

The application of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding as a biomonitoring tool has greatly increased, but studies have focused on temperate aquatic macro‐organisms. We apply eDNA metabarcoding to detecting the mammalian community in two high‐biodiversity regions of Brazil: the Amazon and Atlantic Forests. We identified Critically Endangered and...

The application of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding as a biomonitoring tool has greatly increased in the last decade. However, most studies have focused on aquatic macro-organisms in temperate areas (e.g., fishes). We apply eDNA metabarcoding to detect the mammalian community in two high-biodiversity regions of Brazil, the Amazon and Atlantic...

Although the Atlantic Forest marmosets (Callithrix spp.) are among the best studied Neotropical primates, the Amazonian marmosets (Callibella humilis, Cebuella spp. and Mico spp.) are much less well-known. Even species diversity and distributions are yet to be properly determined because field data and materials currently available in scientific co...

The taxonomy of the titi monkeys (Callicebinae) has recently received considerable attention. It is now recognised that this subfamily is composed of three genera with 33 species, seven of them described since 2002. Here, we describe a new species of titi, Plecturocebus, from the municipality of Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. We adopt an integ...

The rate of deforestation in the Amazon is increasing. Predictive models estimate that as a result of agricultural expansion 40% of these forests will be lost by 2050. As a consequence the habitat of forest-dwelling species such as the Endangered black-faced black spider monkey Ateles chamek is being lost, particularly along the arc of deforestatio...

The criteria to classify the diversity of Neotropical Primates have recently taken the discussion boards due to the reappraisal on the phylogenetic relationship of some groups. Such controversial and arbitrary decisions, however, can hamper conservation actions in as much as it becomes difficult to prioritise and set meaningful targets. It is the c...

New World primates feature a complex colour vision system. Most species have polymorphic colour vision where males have a dichromatic colour perception and females can be either dichromatic or trichromatic. The adaptive value of high allelic diversity of opsins, a light sensitive protein, found in primates’ eyes remains unknown. Studies revealing t...

Our aim was to examine gracile capuchin (Cebus) and robust capuchin monkey (Sapajus) diversification, with a focus on recent Sapajus expansion within Amazonia. We wanted to reconstruct the biogeographical history of the clade using statistical methods that model lineages’ occupation of different regions over time in order to evaluate recently propo...

Callicebus is a Neotropical primate genus of the family Pitheciidae, which currently comprises 34 recognized species. Based on their morphological traits and geographic distribution, these species are currently assigned to five groups: the C. moloch, C. cupreus, C. donacophilus, C. torquatus, and C. personatus groups, although in the past, alternat...

Twelve generic names have been ascribed to the New World tamarins but all are currently placed in just one: Saguinus Hoffmannsegg, 1807. Based on geographical distributions, morphology, and pelage patterns and coloration, they have been divided into six species groups: (1) nigricollis, (2) mystax, (3) midas, (4) inustus, (5) bicolor and (6) oedipus...

The factors responsible for the formation of Amazonian primate communities are not well understood. Here we investigated the influence of interspecific competition in the assembly of these communities, specifically whether they follow an assembly rule known as "favored states". According to this rule, interspecific competition influences final spec...

Juruá River's potential species pool. Primate species with potential occurrence in 17 localities along the Juruá River. (DOCX)

Negro River's potential species pool. Primate species with potential occurrence in 22 localities along the Negro River. (DOCX)

Although the brown howler monkey (Alouatta clamitans) is a relatively well-studied Neotropical primate, its behavioral and dietary flexibility at the intra-population level remains poorly documented. This study presents data collected on the behavior and ecology of two closely located groups of brown howlers during the same period at the RPPN Felic...

Pitheciids are known for their frugivorous diets, but there has been no broad-scale comparison of fruit genera used by these primates that range across five geographic regions in South America. We compiled 31 fruit lists from data collected from 18 species (three Cacajao, six Callicebus, five Chiropotes, and four Pithecia) at 26 study sites in six...

The squirrel monkey, Saimiri, is a pan-Amazonian Pleistocene radiation. We use statistical phylogeographic methods to create a mitochondrial DNA-based timetree for 118 squirrel monkey samples across 68 localities spanning all Amazonian centers of endemism, with the aim of better understanding (1) the effects of rivers as barriers to dispersal and d...

Although well documented in matrilocal primate species, group fission is still a poorly known phenomenon among patrilocal primates. In this paper we describe in detail a group fission event in the population of northern muriquis at the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural-Feliciano Miguel Abdala in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, using Social...