CONSERVATION STATUS
CITES: Appendix II
(What is CITES?)
IUCN Red List: C. olallae, C. oenanthe, C. modestus: EN; C. ornatus: VU; C. aureipalatii, C. pallescens, C. moloch, C. hoffmannsi, C. dubius, C. donacophilus, C. discolor, C. cupreus, C. cinerascens, C. caligatus, C. brunneus, C. bernhardi, C. baptista: LC; C. stephennashi: DD
(What is Red List?)
Key: EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable, LC = Least concern, DD = Data deficient
(Click on species name to see IUCN Red List entry, including detailed status assessment information.)
Callicebus brunneusPhoto: Kevin Schafer
CONSERVATION THREATS
Threat: Human-Induced Habitat Loss and Degradation
As with other neotropical primates, deforestation and loss of habitat are
profound threats to the survival of the titi monkey. In Brazil, the
government's plan to pave, improve, and construct over 6000 km of roads will
likely exacerbate deforestation by facilitating logging and forest fires, and
moving many more people and potentially destructive activities into formerly
remote areas (Nepstad et al. 2001). This pattern follows elsewhere in the titi
range, where highway building or improvement in Bolivia, Peru and Brazil alike
have also caused or have the potential to cause increased destruction of habitat
(van Roosmalen et al. 2002; Mark 2003; Felton et al. 2006; Wallace et al. 2006).
In Paraguay, deforestation is again the largest threat to endemic primates
(Stallings 1985).
Deforestation due to agriculture poses a significant threat to titis, especially
rice growing, which is typically undertaken near rivers and streams; habitats
used by titis (Mark 2003). In Colombia, illegal coca farms are quite widespread
and numerous, often located within titi habitats. While some efforts have been
targeted at eliminating such illegal farms, these have lead to hostility with
farmers, confounding conservation. Spraying to kill coca has also harmed the
natural habitats near the farms (Defler et al. 2003). Coffee plantations
utilize slash-and-burn clearing techniques and can completely destroy the forest
habitats of titis. In addition, wood is the preferred building and fuel source,
so even where fragmented forests remain, they are under threat of destruction to
those ends (DeLuycker 2006). Governmental farming expansion programs and road
expansion also threaten titis by encouraging human immigration to areas near
titi habitats and result in a transition from traditional land use to more
intensive agriculture and different settlement patterns which increase
deforestation (Rengifo Ruiz 1994 cited in DeLuycker 2006; Rowe & Martinez 2003;
DeLuycker 2006).
Sometimes, titi habitats are fragmented and surrounded by grazing lands. The
results of this are mixed in relation to conservation however, as ranchers
sometimes prevent hunting on their lands and it appears that titis are adaptable
and are able to travel on the ground between forest fragments (Felton et al.
2006). In addition, some evidence points to the ability of some titis to thrive
in disturbed habitats near human activities (van Roosmalen et al. 2002). This
is not to say that fragmentation is not dangerous however, as fragmentation can
prevent the establishment of new territories and reproductive opportunities by
titis (DeLuycker 2006).
Petroleum prospecting and extraction in addition to other infrastructure
development also threaten titi populations in formerly untouched areas as do
potential hydroelectric projects (Defler et al. 2003; Rowe & Martinez 2003;
Marsh 2004; Felton et al. 2006; Wallace et al. 2006).
It has been suggested that the creation of forest corridors connecting isolated
forest remnants would be an effective means by which to help ensure the survival
of titis (DeLuycker 2006). Conservation should also focus on the protection of
populations in such fragments (Mark 2003). In addition, governmental reward
systems designed to promote forest conservation and the establishment of such
corridors would be a step in the right direction for titi conservation
(DeLuycker 2006). It is estimated that to sustain a viable population of titis,
a contiguous area of at a minimum 81 km² (31.3 mi²) is required (Stallings
1985). In some cases it is hard to enforce protective legislation however, due
to civil unrest, drug activity, and insurgents, as is the case in some areas of
Colombia (Defler et al. 2003).
Threat: Harvesting (hunting/gathering)
Hunting is also a threat to titis, mostly for subsistence (Rowe & Martinez
2003). Often the take by indigenous populations is quite low and not a serious
threat, as in Paraguay (Stallings 1985). However, the threat from over-hunting
remains and hunting pressure on titis in some areas is quite intense (Rowe &
Martinez 2003). Indeed, some populations have become extinct as a result of
unchecked hunting (Felton et al. 2006).
Due to their small size, titis are also kept and commercially sold as pets,
representing a potentially serious threat to their numbers (Kohlhaas 1988;
Stallings 1985; Rowe & Martinez 2003). One captive family of titis captured in
Peru was offered for sale at a price of less than $10 (Rowe & Martinez 2003).
LINKS TO MORE ABOUT CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION INFORMATION
CONSERVATION NEWS
Content last modified: December 19, 2007
Written by Kurt Gron. Reviewed by Gabriela de Luna.
Cite this page as:
Gron KJ. 2007 December 19. Primate Factsheets: Dusky titi (Callicebus moloch) Conservation . <http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/dusky_titi/cons>. Accessed 2009 November 7.
