Researchers are using monkey poop to learn how an endangered species chooses its mates
Northern muriquis, which live in the Atlantic forest of Brazil, are one of the most endangered species of monkey in the world. Choosing good mates and rearing thriving offspring are key to the species' long-term survival.
To better understand what goes on in the mating lives of muriquis, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Wisconsin–Madison turned to the monkeys' poop to help gain insight into how the primates choose their mates.
In a paper published on Aug. 2 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the scientists combined genetic analysis with long-term behavioral observations to better understand the reproductive patterns of the endangered muriqui.
Unlike most primates, muriquis live in peaceful, egalitarian societies, the core of which is made up of related males and their mothers. Karen Strier, a professor of anthropology at UW–Madison and co-author of the paper, has spent 40 years studying the behavior and ecology of these monkeys in a small, preserved portion of Brazilian forest. She and her team know how to identify each individual monkey and who they are related to. It also means she knows how to tell whose poop is whose.
She and her team collected samples and provided them to Anthony Di Fiore, a professor of anthropology and director of the Primate Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab at UT Austin, and Paulo Chaves, then Di Fiore's graduate student. They used the fecal samples (among the best non-invasive samples they could collect) as a source of DNA to analyze the muriquis' mating behavior through genetic data.
Because Strier's field crew knew which sample belonged to whom, the research team was able to ask unique genetic questions.
A northern muriquis sits on a branch in the sunlight. Strier and her team have spent years documenting the unique colorings and patterns of the monkeys' faces to be able to identify each individual. Credit: Carla Possamai
A group of northern muriquis sit together in a tree. The peaceful egalitarian structure of northern muriquis groups makes them different from many other groups of primates which tend to see more violence. Credit: Carla Possamai