Yellow fever in Brazil threatens successful recovery of endangered golden lion tamarins

The golden lion tamarin is an endangered primate endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Centuries of deforestation reduced numbers to a few hundred individuals in isolated forest fragments 80 km from Rio de Janeiro city. Intensive conservation action including reintroduction of zoo-born tamarins into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2019-09, Vol.9 (1), p.12926-13, Article 12926
Main Authors: Dietz, James M., Hankerson, Sarah J., Alexandre, Brenda Rocha, Henry, Malinda D., Martins, Andréia F., Ferraz, Luís Paulo, Ruiz-Miranda, Carlos R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158/672
692/699/255/2514
Animals
Conservation of Natural Resources
Deforestation
Endangered animals
Fever
Humanities and Social Sciences
Leontopithecus - virology
Leontopithecus rosalia
multidisciplinary
Population Density
Protected species
Reintroduction
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Vector-borne diseases
Vectors
Wildlife conservation
Yellow fever
Yellow Fever - complications
Yellow Fever - virology
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Summary:The golden lion tamarin is an endangered primate endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Centuries of deforestation reduced numbers to a few hundred individuals in isolated forest fragments 80 km from Rio de Janeiro city. Intensive conservation action including reintroduction of zoo-born tamarins into forest fragments 1984–2000, increased numbers to about 3,700 in 2014. Beginning in November 2016, southeastern Brazil experienced the most severe yellow fever epidemic/epizootic in the country in 80 years. In May 2018, we documented the first death of a golden lion tamarin due to yellow fever. We re-evaluated population sizes and compared them to results of a census completed in 2014. Tamarin numbers declined 32%, with ca. 2,516 individuals remaining in situ . Tamarin losses were significantly greater in forest fragments that were larger, had less forest edge and had better forest connectivity, factors that may favor the mosquito vectors of yellow fever. The future of golden lion tamarins depends on the extent of additional mortality, whether some tamarins survive the disease and acquire immunity, and the potential development of a vaccine to protect the species against yellow fever.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-49199-6