Comparing the cost-effectiveness of methods for estimating population density for primates in the Amazon rainforest Peru

With increasingly extreme fluctuations in flood levels in the Amazon basin (Malhi et al. 2008, Marengo et al. 2012, Bodmer et al. 2014) the future of its' fauna is becoming more uncertain. It is essential therefore that effective monitoring is in place in order to detect drops in population before irreversible damage is done. In developing countries such as the ones situated in the Amazon basin funding for conservation is very limited (Danielsen et al. 2003), it is therefore vital that cost effective methods of monitoring the wildlife of the Amazon are found. Three surveying techniques for monitoring primates are compared in this thesis to find the most cost effective method of estimating population densities of primate species local to the Amazon basin; these are terrestrial transects, aquatic transects and audio-playback point counts. Data was collected in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve using these methods over a period of four months, from January to May 2014. For both terrestrial and aquatic transects, transect lines were traversed and data was recorded every time an individual or group of the 7 primates species were spotted. Audio-playback point counts were used to record data for red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus)and brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). This was done by mimicking primate vocalisations at a point and recording any resultant responses or sightings of the species under observation. Each survey technique was compared with regards to three qualities; precision, ability to react to change and cost. On average over all 7 species of primate aquatic transects produced the most precise estimations of population density with a mean estimation CV% (percentage coefficient of variance) of 36.35% in comparison the 47.3% averaged by terrestrial transects. Both methods failed to produce precise results for the two rarest species present, the monk saki monkey (Pithecia monachus) and the white fronted capuchin monkey (Cebus albifrons). Aquatic transects were also shown to react to sudden change in population levels. For the two species Alouatta seniculus and Cebus apella aquatic transects once again on average gained the most precise results with a mean estimation CV% value of 20.05% in comparison to the 31.08% of terrestrial transects and 36.35% for audio-playback point counts. The estimates created using audio-playback point counts used considerably less time and resources than the other two methods for single species and was also shown to be the quickest to react to immediate changes in population densities. Thus it was concluded that audio-playback point counts can produce relatively precise estimates that react to population changes at low cost. However only one species can be observed at a time using audio-playback point counts; when observing multiple species at one time it was concluded that aquatic transects are by far the cheapest survey technique and the method that produces precise estimates more consistently. I would therefore recommend for a monitoring effort of several primate species at one given time in the Amazon basin, that aquatic transects be used as it is the most cost-effective overall. However if a single species is a monitoring target, perhaps to be used as an indicator species or because the primate is of most concern, then audio-playback point counts be used as it is possible to gain relatively precise results at a minimal cost. I would also like to suggest that the use of audio-playback point counts be tested on rarer primate species in future as neither terrestrial transects nor aquatic transects could produce a useful estimate in a combined effort of 104 half days. If audio-playback point counts could be used to get good estimates for rare primate species then monitoring strategies could be developed combining the use of audio- playback point counts and aquatic transects to gain precise density estimates for all primate species in an area whilst keeping costs low. A generic decision tree is presented at the end of this thesis as a guideline to cost-effective primate monitoring for any seasonally flooding rainforest study site

Translocal imagination of Hong Kong connections: the shifting of Chow Yun-Fat's star image since 1997

Anyone who is interested in Hong Kong cinema must be familiar with one name: Chow Yun-fat (b. 1955). He rose to film stardom in the 1980s when Hong Kong cinema started to attract global attention beyond East Asia. During his early screen career, Chow established a star image as an urban citizen of modern Hong Kong through films such as A Better Tomorrow/Yingxiong bense (John Woo, 1986), City on Fire/Longhu fengyun (Ringo Lam, 1987), All About Ah-Long/A Lang de gushi (Johnnie To, 1989), God of Gamblers/Du shen (Wong Jing, 1989), and Hard Boiled/Lashou shentan (John Woo, 1992)

State Variables of the Arm May Be Encoded by Single Neuron Activity in the Monkey Motor Cortex

Revealing the type of information encoded by neurons activity in the motor cortex is essential not only for understanding the mechanism of motion control but also for developing a brain-machine interface. Thus far, the concept of preferred direction vector (PD) has dominated the discussion regarding how neural activity encodes information; however, a unified view of exactly what information is encoded has not yet been established. In the present study, a model was constructed to describe temporal neuron activity by a dot product of the PD and the movement variables vector consisting of joint torque and angular velocity. The plausibility of this model was tested by comparing estimated neural activity with that recorded from the monkey motor cortex, and it was found that this model was able to explain the temporal pattern of neuron activity irrespective of its passive responsiveness. The mean determination coefficients of neurons that responded to proprioceptive stimuli and that responded to visual stimuli were relatively high values of 0.57 and 0.58, respectively. These results suggest that neurons in the monkey motor cortex encode state variables of the arm in a framework of modern control theory and that this information could be decoded for controlling a brain-machine interface

Getting into the Game: The Trickster in American Ethnic Fiction

Trickster novels, especially those by Gerald Vizenor and Maxine Hong Kingston, can be used to destabilize and undermine ethnic stereotypes. As many studies show, the trickster him/herself cannot be stable and thus resists the limitations of definition as the embodiment of ambiguity. Both insider and outsider, s/he plays with the whole concept of sides so as to erase the distinction between them. The trickster plays the game, including the game of language, in order to break and exploit its rules and thus destabilizes linguistic markers. Kingston and Vizenor use their novels to subvert the rules of the linguistic game and free perception from stereotypic rigidity. Perceptions of race and ethnicity are frequently codified in the form of stereotypes with which we are all familiar. Once established, they, of course, prove remarkably difficult to dismantle however false or misleading they might be with regard to the race or ethnicity in question; and thus they continue to exacerbate the social tensions with which we are equally familiar. Ethnic American literature has frequently addressed this issue; in this essay I intend to look at one narrative strategy which is specifically designed to question, challenge, exploit, and even manipulate perception

Nutritional and health status of woolly monkeys

Woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha and L. flavicauda) are threatened species in the wild and in captivity. Numerous zoological institutions have historically kept Lagothrix lagotricha spp., but only a few of them have succeeded in breeding populations. Therefore the majority of institutions that formerly kept Lagothrix lagotricha are no longer able or willing to do so. Captive populations of the species have frequent health problems, most significantly hypertension and related disorders. Researchers have conducted free-ranging dietary and behavior studies with respect to woolly monkeys, but have established no concrete link between diet or nutrients and captive health problems. The available literature we discuss indicates that researchers need to examine the link further. In addition, it is critical to the survival of the primates to be able to keep breeding populations in captivity owing to increasing natural pressures such as deforestation and hunting. Therefore, better understanding of the captive and free-ranging behavior and health parameters of the species is vital to ensure their survival and to maintain forest health and diversity. Researchers need to conduct large-scale research studies comparing the health and complete diet of individuals in the wild and captivity to resolve health problems facing the species in captivity

Essays on Monkey: A Classic Chinese Novel

Monkey is one of the masterpieces in the genre of the classic Chinese novel. It has been immensely popular with the general reading public of China since the sixteenth century. Abridged and translated into English in 1943 by Arthur Waley, it has made its way onto the college campuses in the United States, and has been well appreciated. There is a recent complete and unabridged translation by Anthony Yu, with the title Journey to the West. In this thesis, I offer a series of critical essays on Monkey. The first essay locates the work in the genre. It traces its heritage in style and content to the story-telling tradition of China and contrasts Monkey to the most distinguished pieces in the genre. The next four essays focus on the individual characters of importance in the work. The sixth essay offers my interpretation of the view of Wu Ch’eng-en, its author, on what truth is and how a person may achieve his own truth. The final essay offers a reflection speculating on Wu’s processes and their connection to concepts in the literature on critical and creative thinking. It ends with a metacognitive description of my own processes in writing these essays