Epidemiologic profile and histopathological findings in Neotropical Primates during and after the yellow fever outbreak in Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Yellow fever (YF) is a viral disease whose transmission involves non-human primates (NHP), mosquitoes, and humans. Between 2016 and 2018 occurred the largest YF outbreak in the last 100 years in Brazil. We analyzed epidemiologic profile and geographic distribution of epizootics and described most frequent histopathological findings in NHP that died during YF outbreak in the state of Espírito Santo. We consider 487 epizootics notifications registered at the State Health Department from January 2017 to July 2020. Throughout the state, 51 (65.4%) municipalities reported epizootics, with more cases in central and metropolitan areas. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were laboratory tests performed for diagnosis of yellow fever, with 160 (32.9%) positive results, 314 (64.5%) negative and 13 (2.7%) inconclusive. Histopathological findings were compared statistically between positive and negative animals for YF. The liver was the most affected organ. Hemorrhage, hepatocyte necrosis, steatosis, cholestasis and eosinophilic degeneration were statistically more frequent in positive animals. Tubular necrosis, nephritis, congestion and lymphoid hypoplasia on spleen were statistically correlated to positive animals. Knowledge of pathogenic aspect of YF is necessary to guarantee that samples from Neotropical primates are properly used for YF surveillance purposes, to ensure appropriate diagnoses and subsequent public health responses.

Corrigendum: A Severe Lack of Evidence Limits Effective Conservation of the World's Primates.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa082.].

A Severe Lack of Evidence Limits Effective Conservation of the World's Primates.

Threats to biodiversity are well documented. However, to effectively conserve species and their habitats, we need to know which conservation interventions do (or do not) work. Evidence-based conservation evaluates interventions within a scientific framework. The Conservation Evidence project has summarized thousands of studies testing conservation interventions and compiled these as synopses for various habitats and taxa. In the present article, we analyzed the interventions assessed in the primate synopsis and compared these with other taxa. We found that despite intensive efforts to study primates and the extensive threats they face, less than 1% of primate studies evaluated conservation effectiveness. The studies often lacked quantitative data, failed to undertake postimplementation monitoring of populations or individuals, or implemented several interventions at once. Furthermore, the studies were biased toward specific taxa, geographic regions, and interventions. We describe barriers for testing primate conservation interventions and propose actions to improve the conservation evidence base to protect this endangered and globally important taxon.

Eco-Epidemiological Profile and Molecular Characterization of Simian Foamy Virus in a Recently-Captured Invasive Population of Leontopithecus chrysomelas (Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Simian foamy viruses (SFV) infect a wide range of Old World and Neotropical primates (NP). Unlike Old World primates, little is known about the diversity and prevalence of SFV in NP, mainly from a free-living population. Phylogenetic analyses have shown that SFV coevolved with their hosts. However, viral strains infecting Leontopithecus chrysomelas did not behave as expected for this hypothesis. The purpose of this study was to determine the eco-epidemiological profile and molecular characterization of SFV in a recently captured invasive population of L. chrysomelas located in Niteroi/RJ using buccal swab as an alternative collection method. A prevalence of 34.8% (32/92) and a mean viral load of 4.7 log copies of SFV/106 cells were observed. With respect to time since capture, SFV prevalence was significantly higher in the group of animals sampled over 6 months after capture (55.2%) than in those more recently captured (25.4%) (p = 0.005). Infected solitary animals can contribute to SFV transmission between different groups in the population. SFV strains formed two distinct clades within the SFV infecting the Cebidae family. This is the first study to use buccal swabs as a tool to study SFV diversity and prevalence in a recently free-living NP population upon recent capture.

Spontaneous meningoencephalitis by Staphylococcus aureus in an infant golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas).

Non-human primates are susceptible to many bacteria, some of which bear zoonotic potential. We report the pathologic features of spontaneous fulminating meningoencephalitis by Staphylococcus aureus in a captive infant golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) from Brazil.

Hunting, pet trade, and forest size effects on population viability of a critically endangered Neotropical primate, Sapajus xanthosternos (Wied-Neuwied, 1826).

The yellow-breasted capuchin monkey (Sapajus xanthosternos) is one of the seven Brazilian primates that are currently threatened with extinction. Although the species is known to be threatened by habitat loss, hunting, and illegal pet trade, few data exist on how these threats influence its long-term population persistence. We conducted population viability analyses (PVAs) to estimate minimum viable populations of S. xanthosternos under 10 threat scenarios (i.e., varying hunting pressure and varying number of infants captured for the pet trade) for five forest fragments with different estimated carrying capacities (K). We also estimated the minimum forest fragment size required to sustain viable populations living under the same 10 threat scenarios, based on critical numbers of K obtained in sensitivity tests, below which the population would be unviable. Our PVAs suggests that hunting has a higher impact on population viability in comparison to threats from the pet trade. Annual losses of adult and young females from hunting had the most detrimental effect on population persistence under all forest fragment sizes. Such hunting pressure is not sustainable for populations living in areas ≤3,460 ha, since these areas may not support populations of ≥84 individuals. The seven largest of the 13 protected areas currently harboring capuchins should be effective at maintaining viable populations in the long term even under the greatest threat scenarios we modeled. Other large forest patches, mainly in the western part of the species distribution, are recommended as priority areas for protection to increase the chances of capuchins' survival for the long term. In addition, forest fragments of ≤782.8 ha cannot maintain viable populations, even when there are no threats from hunting or from captures for the pet trade. Increased law enforcement is necessary to prevent the hunting and capture of capuchins, especially within larger forest fragments. Am. J. Primatol. 78:950-960, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pervasive defaunation of forest remnants in a tropical biodiversity hotspot.

Tropical deforestation and forest fragmentation are among the most important biodiversity conservation issues worldwide, yet local extinctions of millions of animal and plant populations stranded in unprotected forest remnants remain poorly explained. Here, we report unprecedented rates of local extinctions of medium to large-bodied mammals in one of the world's most important tropical biodiversity hotspots. We scrutinized 8,846 person-years of local knowledge to derive patch occupancy data for 18 mammal species within 196 forest patches across a 252,669-km(2) study region of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We uncovered a staggering rate of local extinctions in the mammal fauna, with only 767 from a possible 3,528 populations still persisting. On average, forest patches retained 3.9 out of 18 potential species occupancies, and geographic ranges had contracted to 0-14.4% of their former distributions, including five large-bodied species that had been extirpated at a regional scale. Forest fragments were highly accessible to hunters and exposed to edge effects and fires, thereby severely diminishing the predictive power of species-area relationships, with the power model explaining only ~9% of the variation in species richness per patch. Hence, conventional species-area curves provided over-optimistic estimates of species persistence in that most forest fragments had lost species at a much faster rate than predicted by habitat loss alone.