Júlio César Bicca-Marques studies primate conservation for over 35 years
Photo: Matheus Gomes
Primates have a great diversity of species in the world, Brazil being in the lead. However, these close relatives of ours have been facing a set of threats caused by human activities that undermine the survival of the species. Currently, 69% of primate species are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and 94% of populations are decreasing.
An international group of researchers gathered to assess the impact of primate trafficking in conservation. The team was comprised of scientists from various institutions, such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Oxford Brookes University and Indian Institute of Technology. PUCRS participated in this study with professor from the School of Health and Life Sciences and the Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution of Biodiversity, Júlio César Bicca-Marques.
The authors assessed the causes and consequences of the hunting and trapping of primates for use in food, traditional medicine, biomedical research and as pets. In addition to the impact in the survival of the species, these uses facilitate the overflow of infectious agents from animals to humans.
The results of this study were published in Frontiers in Conservation Science. This journal promotes research of high socio-environmental impact for the development of public policies for the conservation of nature. In addition, the publications serve as a platform of global discussion, intensifying international collaboration for scientific progress.
For professor Bicca-Marques, this study serves as a warning for the severity of the risk of extinction of many species of primates around the world due to various human causes at a time in which social media has encouraged the increase in primate trafficking for pets. “Contrary to what the growing numbers of posts featuring primates as pets wearing clothes and diapers in social media, including in Brazil, suggest to the eye to the public, the primates portrayed in these posts are in a permanent state of stress. In addition, the typical ‘smile’ of the animals in these posts is a sign of stress. Primates are social animals that need to be respected and appreciated in the wild, not as prisoners,” says the professor.
