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Habitat loss and fragmentation, particularly because of agrarian and urban expansions, are threatening biodiversity worldwide. Paraguay is predicted to lose all its primary moist forests by 2028. The most endangered habitat in Paraguay is the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest (BAAPA), which has been decimated by industrial agriculture in the past 60 years. The hooded capuchin (Sapajus cay) is the best-known Paraguayan primate and the only species mostly restricted to the remaining BAAPA. We used local (defined as people living in Paraguay) knowledge about the known presence of the species in a habitat fragment to assess whether species' presence was associated with forest cover in fragments by using a binomial general linear model (GLM). Using the results of the GLM, we then assessed how forest cover changed through the hooded capuchin range and its predicted range in Paraguay using Global ForestWatch forest cover prediction for 2000 to 2019. The GLM showed that the presence of hooded capuchins required predominance of forest cover with the monkey being 80% likely to be present for 56% cover and 90% for 70% cover. The capuchin has lost 23% of highly suitable habitat across its whole range and 58% in Paraguay. Suitable habitat for hooded capuchin monkeys is, therefore, decreasing across the full extent of the species. In Paraguay, the remaining habitat is being fragmented and degraded and distance between fragments is increasing. Because the situation in Paraguay is critical, we recommend that the capuchin is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List at a national level under criterion B1, b(i), b(ii), and b(iii). Predictions across the species range warrant at least a classification of Near Threatened for the species. These results demonstrate that the conservation situation faced by a primate species can differ greatly depending on local, national, and range wide political and social situations. Therefore, we recommend that national assessments are performed for species that are found in multiple countries in order to gain a true picture of threats a species faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As urbanisation continues to reduce the available habitat for wildlife, some species, including the black-and-gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) in Pilar, southwest Paraguay, are making their homes in anthropogenic environments. Understanding an animal's home range is an important step to understanding its ecological needs, and an essential requirement for the creation of robust conservation plans. In this study, we determined the home ranges and core areas of five groups of urban dwelling A. caraya using Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) Analysis. We used a Spearman's Correlation to explore the relationship between home range size and group size. All five groups had home ranges of less than 10 ha and used core areas of less than 1 ha. Group size had no significant relationship to home range size. We provide the first estimates of home range for A. caraya in an urban environment in Paraguay. Though the home ranges of the urban A. caraya in Pilar, Paraguay fall at the smaller end of the spectrum of range sizes in Alouatta, they are not abnormal for a species in this genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing urbanisation is encroaching into natural habitats and sometimes forcing wildlife into urban centres. Whether or not wildlife can thrive in an urban environment is dependent on many factors, one of which is how the species is perceived by local people. This study focuses on the city of Pilar in south-west Paraguay, which is home to a population of urban-dwelling black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya). Using semi-structured interviews, we assessed peoples' attitudes towards the presence of howlers, whether they perceived the monkeys to cause problems in the city, what they believed were the biggest threats to the monkeys, and whether they felt that the presence of monkeys in the city was compatible with their way of life in the long term. Overall, we found that the majority of interviewees had positive attitudes towards the monkeys, believing that they brought benefits to the city and that they should be protected from potential risks in the urban environment. Our results provide the basis for collaborative, community-based development of management strategies for the long-term survival of these urban monkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine individual Alouatta caraya and Sapajus cay displaying facial malformations were observed across three sites in Paraguay. Six had cleft lip (with or without cleft palate), and three had malformations of the lower lip. This is the first record of cleft lip and/or palate in the genus Alouatta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As urbanisation increases, wild primates are exposed to urban environments which come with a distinct and often novel set of risks. Urban habitats can form a matrix of forest fragments and anthropogenic structures, including buildings, electric cables and roads, which can limit movement and force species to live in hazardous areas. We studied five groups of urban black and gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) in Pilar, Paraguay, to investigate whether the monkeys are aware of anthropogenic risks based on their patterns of self-scratching behaviour, an indicator of stress, and how they used the space available to them. Using a Risk Index created for the study, we ranked the level of risk attributed to different zones of their home range, awarding each zone with a hazard score. Using Quantum GIS and kernel density estimation, we determined the relationship between habitat use and hazard score. Using a Spearman's rank correlation, we found nonsignificant relationships between the hazard score and self-scratching behaviour for four groups, suggesting a lack of awareness. However, there was a significant negative relationship between the hazard score and home range use for four groups, indicating that they spent more time in areas with lower levels of anthropogenic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With just five species, the Paraguayan primate fauna is less diverse than its neighbours and, perhaps as a result of this, few biologists have chosen the country for their primate studies. Consequently, the ecological data available for three of the five species that occur in the country is scant, and most of what we know about the other two is based on studies carried out in other countries. This paper collates specimen and literature data about this group to serve as a basis to encourage future research and to correct persistent errors and contradictions. Primate specimens in all the major Paraguayan collections and all significant specimens in international collections were examined. Specimen data were collated and supplemented with literature and photographic data. Distribution data is provided according to a hierarchy of record reliability of examined specimens, specimens that we have not examined, literature records, photographic records and reliable sightings in the wild. Five species have been confirmed to be present in Paraguay, with an additional species (Callithrix jacchus) that is feral/introduced, and four species cited in the literature in error. Relevant discussion and distribution maps are provided for each species. The vast majority of primate specimens were collected at least 35 years ago, and the specimen record may no longer represent current distributions given the rapidly changing landscape in the country. We conclude that the available data on the distributions of Paraguayan primates are highly biased towards two species (Alouatta caraya and Sapajus cay), yet even these are poorly known, and despite most primatological studies to date being focused on the Chaco region (where diversity is greatest), we still lack basic occurrence data or an understanding of the ecological requirements and seasonal movements of most species. However, primatological research in Paraguay has experienced a renaissance in the past five years, and a brief rundown of projects that are currently underway is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bertiella sp., a cestode known to infect a variety of hosts, including nonhuman primates and humans, was identified in Paraguay as early as 1895, but no systematic analysis of wild primates' gastrointestinal parasites has ever been carried out in Paraguay. Increased urbanization in southwest Paraguay has pushed the Paraguayan howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) into anthropogenic habitats, particularly in the city of Pilar (Ñeembucú department), giving rise to greater potential for zoonotic transmission between wild primates and humans. From July to December 2018, fecal samples were noninvasively collected from 48 howlers inside Pilar (urban environment), the Pilar Military Base (intermediate environment), and a ranch 27 km outside Pilar in the humid Chaco (natural environment) and analyzed for Bertiella eggs and proglottids using macro‐analysis and formol‐ether sedimentation. Howlers living in the urban environment had the highest rates of Bertiella infection (50% prevalence), with considerably lower infection rates in the intermediate environment (6.25% prevalence) and natural habitats (0% prevalence). A χ2 goodness‐of‐fit test indicated a significant difference between the three habitat types (p =.007, χ2 = 10.005, df = 2). While the habitat seems to impact the frequency of infection, Bertiella was not observed to select for other factors such as age or sex of the primate host. Here we identified a significant increase in the frequency of Bertiella infection in an urban environment, which can then be further transmitted to new hosts with more direct primate contact. Bertiella infection has already been documented in humans in Paraguay, all of which were associated with close primate contact. As howlers move into more urban habitats due to urbanization and habitat fragmentation, Bertiella could be introduced into this new ecosystem and has the potential to cause further infections in humans. Research Highlights: Infections of the cestode Bertiella sp. are found in significantly higher percentages in Paraguayan howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) living in an urban habitat compared to their natural habitat.The chance of Bertiella infection was not affected by age or sex of the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infanticide is the killing of infants by conspecifics, and may be direct or indirect; and parental or non‐parental. Explanations for such behaviours range from forcing females with young back into heat, resource recycling in times of shortage and elimination of competitors. Though moderately well understood in some mammal groups, reports of infanticide in hystricomorph rodents are often contradictory and invariably based on captive observations, raising questions about the naturality of the behaviour and the conclusions derived from them. Here, we report the first wild observation of direct infanticide and cannibalism of two juvenile Azara's Agoutis Dasyptocta azarae by a group of adults in Paraguay, confirming that such behaviours also occur under natural conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 91% of the Paraguayan Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest has been cleared and the Gran Chaco is the fastest disappearing habitat on the continent. One of the compounding issues for conservation in Paraguay is the lack of knowledge of the importance of nature amongst the population. Fundación Para La Tierra (PLT) began the country's first Eco-Club program, "Voces de la Naturaleza" (Voices of Nature), in 2016. Three of the curriculums participatory lessons focus on primate conservation. These lessons formed the basis of PLT's Atlantic Forest education programme in 2018 when the team began visiting 22 schools around San Rafael (Tekoha Guasu). To date 26 schools (1,500+ children) across two political departments and four districts have participated in this programme which is now entering its 6th year. The biggest challenges have included the COVID-19 pandemic and the logistics and costs involved in reaching rural and remote schools. Though it is too soon to record observable behavioural change ongoing monitoring over the six year period indicates that children remember the information gained through the participatory methods for several years. We believe that the main reasons for the success of this programme are the collaborations that we have built with the teachers of the schools based on open communication and mutual respect. Though costs can be an issue when beginning, or running, a long-term project we recommend that potential educators not be put off trying and that a lot of good can be achieved with a small amount of funding.