New insights into the distribution and conservation status of the Golden-White Tassel-Ear Marmoset Mico chrysoleucos (Primates, Callitrichidae)

Among the 13 Mico species recognized by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, six are listed as "Data Deficient". The geographic range of most of the Mico species has been estimated from only a few records. We report new localities and the geographic extension of Mico chrysoleucos. In addition, we confirmed the presence of the species in two distinct protected areas. We modeled the habitat suitability of M. chrysoleucos using the maximum entropy method and including new records obtained by the authors in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. From the total area of occurrence calculated for the species, 22.8% is covered by protected areas and indigenous lands. The annual mean deforestation rate estimated between 2000 and 2015 was 2.95%, and the total area deforested by 2015 was 3354 km2 or 8.6% of the total distribution limits of the species. The habitat lost between 2000 and 2015 was 3.2% (1131 km2 ) of the total potential distribution, while the habitat loss area legally protected was 31 km2, and the habitat loss in settlements was equal to 691 km2. Our results extend the geographic distribution of the species about 100 km farther south, with the Maracanã River being a possible geographic barrier for the species. The significantly low rate of habitat loss inside protected areas and indigenous land, when compared to unprotected areas, points out the importance of these areas to M. chrysoleucos conservation. The species is relatively wide-ranging, legally protected, and resilient to regional anthropic threats. However, the hydroelectric schemes and the improvement of the road system in southern Amazonia pose an imminent threat to the species

Merozoite surface protein-1 genetic diversity in Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium brasilianum from Brazil

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud The merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) gene encodes the major surface antigen of invasive forms of the Plasmodium erythrocytic stages and is considered a candidate vaccine antigen against malaria. Due to its polymorphisms, MSP1 is also useful for strain discrimination and consists of a good genetic marker. Sequence diversity in MSP1 has been analyzed in field isolates of three human parasites: P. falciparum, P. vivax, and P. ovale. However, the extent of variation in another human parasite, P. malariae, remains unknown. This parasite shows widespread, uneven distribution in tropical and subtropical regions throughout South America, Asia, and Africa. Interestingly, it is genetically indistinguishable from P. brasilianum, a parasite known to infect New World monkeys in Central and South America.\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud Specific fragments (1 to 5) covering 60 % of the MSP1 gene (mainly the putatively polymorphic regions), were amplified by PCR in isolates of P. malariae and P. brasilianum from different geographic origin and hosts. Sequencing of the PCR-amplified products or cloned PCR fragments was performed and the sequences were used to construct a phylogenetic tree by the maximum likelihood method. Data were computed to give insights into the evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships of these parasites.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Except for fragment 4, sequences from all other fragments consisted of unpublished sequences. The most polymorphic gene region was fragment 2, and in samples where this region lacks polymorphism, all other regions are also identical. The low variability of the P. malariae msp1 sequences of these isolates and the identification of the same haplotype in those collected many years apart at different locations is compatible with a low transmission rate. We also found greater diversity among P. brasilianum isolates compared with P. malariae ones. Lastly, the sequences were segregated according to their geographic origins and hosts, showing a strong genetic and geographic structure.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud Our data show that there is a low level of sequence diversity and a possible absence of allelic dimorphism of MSP1 in these parasites as opposed to other Plasmodium species. P. brasilianum strains apparently show greater divergence in comparison to P. malariae, thus P. malariae could derive from P. brasilianum, as it has been proposed.We are grateful to Profª Luzia Helena Carvalho (Laboratório de Malária,\ud Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou – FIOCRUZ) for provision of P. brasilianum\ud sample (Peruvian III strain). We are also grateful to Prof Luis Fabio Silveira\ud (Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo) for the provision of P169\ud sample and Dra. Sandra do Lago Moraes (Instituto de Medicina Tropical de\ud São Paulo da Universidade de São Paulo) for the provision of 23PA, 50PA,\ud 66PA samples. This research was funded by CNPq (475727/2007-0 - Edital\ud Universal) and FAPESP to Karin Kirchgatter. Lilian de Oliveira Guimarães has a\ud CAPES scholarship, and J.M.P. Alves is supported by grant #2013/14622-3,\ud São Paulo Research Foundation

(Natural History Museum in Lima) and Dr. Dekker and

is different on several points. With this publication, illustrated with new drawings by Stephen Nash that match the colors of the lectotypes and of animals in the wild, we hope to lessen some of the confusion involved in titi monkey identification (Figs. 1 and 2). Acknowledgements I first want to thank Stephen D. Nash, who has kindly produced new drawings of both species. His work is indispensable for the publication and interpretation of taxonomic knowledge. I also thank Dr. Barbara Herzig (Natural Histor

Impact of Quaternary Amazonian river dynamics on the diversification of uakari monkeys (genus Cacajao)

Abstract Aim The central and western Amazonia underwent several landscape changes during the Quaternary. Whereas the Riverine Barrier Hypothesis is traditionally used to explain the influence of rivers on speciation, processes such as river rearrangements have been overlooked to explain the geographic distribution and evolutionary history of Amazonia biota. Here, we tested how river rearrangements influenced the evolutionary history of uakari monkeys, genus Cacajao ,a primate genus primarily associated with seasonally flooded forests in central and western Amazonia. Location Central and Western Amazonia. Taxon The genus Cacajao ,including the black uakaris ( C. melanocephalus ,C. ayresi ,C. hosomi ); and the bald‐headed uakaris ( C. calvus ,C. amuna ,C. rubicundus ,C. ucayalii ,C. novaesi ). Methods We performed a continuous phylogeographic analysis using 77 cytochrome b sequences to identify the origin and dispersal of Cacajao lineages. We used genome‐wide SNP variation (ddRADseq) to investigate population structure, gene flow and demographic history in Cacajao populations and used digital elevation models to identify landscape and riverscape characteristics that may have influenced the geographic distribution of Cacajao .Results Our continuous phylogeographic reconstruction pointed out that the ancestral Cacajao lineage occupied the flooded forests of the Solimões River, in central Amazonia, at ~1.7 Mya and descendant lineages dispersed throughout central and western Amazonia more recently. We identified gene flow in both black and bald‐headed uakari populations, even across rivers considered barriers (e.g. the Negro River). Landscape analysis showed that river rearrangements influenced the geographic distribution and population structure in Cacajao .Historical demographic analyses suggest varied scenarios of population size changes among Cacajao monkeys consistent with periods of intense dynamism in flooded habitats and the formation of non‐flooded upland forests. Main Conclusion Our results support that the river rearrangements have shaped the geographic distribution and divergence of recently diverged Cacajao lineages. Landscape and riverscape changes, along with retractions of the flooded forests, isolated some Cacajao populations in floodplain areas. Our study also suggests that these events led to the recent changes in demographic histories in species with a restricted geographic distribution.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Impact of Quaternary Amazonian river dynamics on the diversification of uakari monkeys (genus Cacajao)

AimThe central and western Amazonia underwent several landscape changes during the Quaternary. Whereas the Riverine Barrier Hypothesis is traditionally used to explain the influence of rivers on speciation, processes such as river rearrangements have been overlooked to explain the geographic distribution and evolutionary history of Amazonia biota. Here, we tested how river rearrangements influenced the evolutionary history of uakari monkeys, genus Cacajao, a primate genus primarily associated with seasonally flooded forests in central and western Amazonia.LocationCentral and Western Amazonia.TaxonThe genus Cacajao, including the black uakaris (C. melanocephalus, C. ayresi, C. hosomi); and the bald‐headed uakaris (C. calvus, C. amuna, C. rubicundus, C. ucayalii, C. novaesi).MethodsWe performed a continuous phylogeographic analysis using 77 cytochrome b sequences to identify the origin and dispersal of Cacajao lineages. We used genome‐wide SNP variation (ddRADseq) to investigate population structure, gene flow and demographic history in Cacajao populations and used digital elevation models to identify landscape and riverscape characteristics that may have influenced the geographic distribution of Cacajao.ResultsOur continuous phylogeographic reconstruction pointed out that the ancestral Cacajao lineage occupied the flooded forests of the Solimões River, in central Amazonia, at ~1.7 Mya and descendant lineages dispersed throughout central and western Amazonia more recently. We identified gene flow in both black and bald‐headed uakari populations, even across rivers considered barriers (e.g. the Negro River). Landscape analysis showed that river rearrangements influenced the geographic distribution and population structure in Cacajao. Historical demographic analyses suggest varied scenarios of population size changes among Cacajao monkeys consistent with periods of intense dynamism in flooded habitats and the formation of non‐flooded upland forests.Main ConclusionOur results support that the river rearrangements have shaped the geographic distribution and divergence of recently diverged Cacajao lineages. Landscape and riverscape changes, along with retractions of the flooded forests, isolated some Cacajao populations in floodplain areas. Our study also suggests that these events led to the recent changes in demographic histories in species with a restricted geographic distribution

Additional file 1: of Merozoite surface protein-1 genetic diversity in Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium brasilianum from Brazil

Pairwise similarity matrix among P. malariae/P. brasilianum isolates based on the MSP1 protein sequence fragments. The matrices on the left show, for each fragment separately, the raw numbers of identical amino acids and total amino acids compared between each pair of isolates. The matrices on the right show the aggregated similarity or difference values for the concatenated regions.(XLS 40 kb