April 6, 2020

"Differential impact of severe drought on infant mortality in two sympatric neotropical primates"

Recent publication from Dr. Linda Fedigan lab.
Capuchin mother and infant
Capuchin mother and infant Caroline Turner Hogan

Congratulations to department members Jeremy Hogan, Dr. Amanda Melin and Dr. Linda Fedigan and co-authors on their latest collaborative publication: “Differential impact of severe drought on infant mortality in two sympatric neotropical primates” in the Royal Society Open Science online journal.

One of the longest running continuous primate studies in the world, established by Dr. Fedigan over thirty-five years ago, operates in Sector Santa Rosa (SSR) of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northwestern Costa Rica. This particular publication utilizes very rare and large datasets produced by the Santa Rosa team, including: life history data of two long-lived primates species, phenological data on hundreds of fruit-producing trees, and a daily record of local weather conditions. The study aimed to answer to main questions regarding infant mortality and environmental factors that contribute to it in two local primate species. The resulting analysis indicates that severe droughts have large impacts on capuchin infant survival, and spider monkeys seem to stop reproduction entirely to avoid mortality

The article is open source and can be found online here: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200302

Campos, F.A., Kalbitzer, U., Melin, A.D., Hogan, J.D., Cheves, S.E., Murillo-Chacon, E., Guadamuz, A., Myers, M.S., Schaffner, C.M., Jack, K.M. and Aureli, F., 2020. Differential impact of severe drought on infant mortality in two sympatric neotropical primates. Royal Society Open Science7(4), p.200302.

Congratulations to all authors!