Online trade in wildlife and the lack of response to COVID-19

Wildlife trade has been widely discussed as a likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear how the main actors in the wildlife trade chain responded to these discussions and to the campaigns advocating wildlife trade bans. We analyzed the content of ~20,000 posts on 41 Facebook groups devoted to wild pet trade and ran a breakpoint and a content analysis to assess when and how the COVID-19 pandemic was incorporated into the discourse within trade communities. Only 0.44% of advertisements mentioned COVID-19, mostly after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. No traders discussed the role of trade in spreading diseases; instead, posts stimulated the trade in wild species during lockdown. COVID-19 potentially offers persuasive arguments for reducing wildlife trade and consumption. This effect was not demonstrated by on-the-ground actors involved in this market. Bans in wildlife trade will not be sufficient and additional strategies are clearly needed.

Illegal online pet trade in venomous snakes and the occurrence of snakebites in Brazil

Greater access to the Internet has boosted the online pet trade and especially enabled the trade in niche-targeted groups, such as venomous species. Despite their fearsome reputation, an array of venomous animals, such as snakes, spiders and scorpions arise interest among pet hobbyists, which exposes owners, sellers, and others involved in their transport and maintenance to potentially serious accidents by envenomation. To assess the potential risk to human health posed by the trade and ownership of venomous pet snakes, we examined social media posts trading or portraying native and exotic venomous species as pets (Facebook™ and YouTube™) and official seizures in Brazil between 2015 and 2020. In addition, we recorded all venomous snakebite events occurring in the country during the same period from the Brazilian Ministry of Health database. We compiled 114,931 venomous snakebite events resulting in over 600 human deaths. Bothrops spp. and Crotalus spp. were responsible for 86% and 10% of these events. We recorded 241 individual venomous snakes kept as pets of at least 16 species (seven native and nine non-native). The taxa with higher numbers of snakebites were also those most often kept as pets. Venomous pet snakes were sold at low prices, US$ 71.70 ± 18.44 on average. Our findings highlight a dangerous market, given the similarity of taxa raised as pets and those causing snakebites, combined with low availability of anti-venom for exotic species in Brazil. Additionally, several of the venomous pet snakes recorded are invasive species in many countries. Trade in venomous snakes is prohibited in Brazil, but the law is not well-enforced. To curb this illegal market and discourage consumer demand, we suggest that tougher penalties for sellers and owners should be considered, along with the development of awareness campaigns on the consequences of the snakebite injuries and the lack of antivenoms.

Illegal trade in wild cats and its link to Chinese-led development in Central and South America

Seizures of hundreds of jaguar heads and canines in Central and South America from 2014 to 2018 resulted in worldwide media coverage suggesting that wildlife traffickers are trading jaguar body parts as substitutes for tiger parts to satisfy the demand for traditional Asian medicine. We compiled a data set of >1000 seized wild cats (jaguar [Panthera onca], puma [Puma concolor], and ocelot [Leopardus pardalis]) from 19 Central and South American countries and China. We ran generalized additive mixed models to detect trends in wild-cat seizures from 2012 to 2018 and assess the effects of socioeconomic factors of source countries and between those countries and China on the number of wild cats seized. Jaguar seizures increased over time, and most of the seized jaguar pieces were canines (1991 of 2117). Around 34% (32 of 93) of the jaguar-part seizure reports were linked with China, and these seizures contained 14-fold more individuals than those intended for domestic markets. Source countries with relatively high levels of corruption and Chinese private investment and low income per capita had 10-50 times more jaguar seizures than the remaining sampled countries. The number of Chinese residents in Central and South America was not significantly related to the number of jaguars seized. No socioeconomic factors influenced the seizures of puma and ocelots. Legal market chains may provide structure for the illegal chain; thus, the influx of illegal jaguar products is potentially a side effect of the economic partnership between Central and South American countries and China. Poverty and high levels of corruption in the source countries may motivate local people to engage in illegal activities and contribute to the growth of this trade. Supply-side interventions to curb this threat to Neotropical wild cats may include improved training for officials and promotion of governance and the value of protecting these animals to local people.

The Toxicological Intersection between Allergen and Toxin: A Structural Comparison of the Cat Dander Allergenic Protein Fel d1 and the Slow Loris Brachial Gland Secretion Protein

Slow lorises are enigmatic animal that represent the only venomous primate lineage. Their defensive secretions have received little attention. In this study we determined the full length sequence of the protein secreted by their unique brachial glands. The full length sequences displayed homology to the main allergenic protein present in cat dander. We thus compared the molecular features of the slow loris brachial gland protein and the cat dander allergen protein, showing remarkable similarities between them. Thus we postulate that allergenic proteins play a role in the slow loris defensive arsenal. These results shed light on these neglected, novel animals.

Arboreal route navigation in a Neotropical mammal: energetic implications associated with tree monitoring and landscape attributes

BACKGROUND

Although navigating along a network of routes might constrain animal movement flexibility, it may be an energetically efficient strategy. Routinely using the same route allows for visually monitoring of food resources, which might reduce the cognitive load and as such facilitate the process of movement decision-making. Similarly, locating routes in areas that avoid costly landscape attributes will enhance their overall energy balance. In this study we determined the benefits of route navigation in an energy minimiser arboreal primate, the black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra).

METHODS

We monitored five neighbouring groups of black howler monkeys at Palenque National Park, Mexico from September 2016 through August 2017. We recorded the location of the focal group every 20 m and mapped all travel paths to establish a route network (N = 1528 travel bouts). We constructed linear mixed models to assess the influence of food resource distribution (N = 931 trees) and landscape attributes (slope, elevation and presence of canopy gaps) on the location of routes within a route network.

RESULTS

The number of food trees that fell within the visual detection distance from the route network was higher (mean: 156.1 ± SD 44.9) than randomly simulated locations (mean: 121.9 ± SD 46.4). Similarly, the number of food trees found within the monkey's visual range per meter travelled increased, on overage, 0.35 ± SE 0.04 trees/m with increasing use of the route. In addition, route segments used at least twice were more likely to occur with increasing density of food resources and decreasing presence of canopy gaps. Route segments used at least four times were more likely to occur in elevated areas within the home ranges but only under conditions of reduced visual access to food resources.

CONCLUSIONS

Route navigation emerged as an efficient movement strategy in a group-living arboreal primate. Highly used route segments potentially increased visual access to food resources while avoiding energetically costly landscape features securing foraging success in a tropical rainforest.

Nocturnal Primate Communication: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation

Auditory, visual and olfactory cues play varying roles in non-human primate communication, and these systems have been intensively studied over the last several decades. The use of vocalisations as a primary mode of communication has been the focus of much research, especially in attempts to understand the origins of human language, with a major focus on anthropoid primates and diurnal lemurs. Over the last decade, technological advances have allowed researchers to begin to conduct in-depth investigations into the communication systems exhibited by the nocturnal and cathemeral prosimian primates, including tarsiers, lemurs and lorises. Understanding how nocturnal prosimians use visual, olfactory and auditory cues is vital for reconstructing the origins of primate communication systems. In this special issue, we highlight some of the more exciting advances in the communication strategies of the prosimians. Contributions come from work conducted in Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Rwanda, Madagascar and the Indonesian islands of Java and Sulawesi. Topics will include: the description of novel ultrasonic vocalisations, including frequency and function of these newly discovered calls; the possible use of vocalisations to navigate and assemble at sleep sites; the importance of species-specific contact vocalisations for the identification of new species; the use of urinary and glandular signals to communicate and the methods developed to understand this complex communication in the field; the use of vocalisations for niche separation among nocturnal primates from mainland Africa and Madagascar; and whether or not we can use new technologies to discern whether prosimians use vocalisations for individual identification of group members. We discuss the importance of new field methods including novel equipment and techniques, the use of vocalisation to influence conservation practices and the importance of comparing across prosimian taxa to reconstruct the communication systems of our early primate ancestors.

Environment shapes sleep patterns in a wild nocturnal primate

Among primates, the suborder Haplorhini is considered to have evolved a consolidated monophasic sleep pattern, with diurnal species requiring a shorter sleep duration than nocturnal species. Only a few primate species have been systematically studied in their natural habitat where environmental variables, including temperature and light, have a major influence on sleep and activity patterns. Here we report the first sleep study on a nocturnal primate performed in the wild. We fitted seven wild Javan slow lorises (Nycticebus javanicus) in West Java, Indonesia with accelerometers that collected activity data, and installed climate loggers in each individual’s home range to collect ambient temperature readings (over 321 days in total). All individuals showed a strictly nocturnal pattern of activity and displayed a striking synchronisation of onset and cessation of activity in relation to sunset and sunrise. The longest consolidated rest episodes were typically clustered near the beginning and towards the end of the light period, and this pattern was inversely related to daily fluctuations of the ambient temperature. The striking relationship between daily activity patterns, light levels and temperature suggests a major role of the environment in shaping the daily architecture of waking and sleep. We concluded that well-known phenotypic variability in daily sleep amount and architecture across species may represent an adaptation to changes in the environment. Our data suggest that the consolidated monophasic sleep patterns shaped by environmental pressures observed in slow lorises represent phylogenetic inertia in the evolution of sleep patterns in humans.

Venom in Furs: Facial Masks as Aposematic Signals in a Venomous Mammal

The function of colouration in animals includes concealment, communication and signaling, such as the use of aposematism as a warning signal. Aposematism is unusual in mammals, and exceptions help us to understand its ecology and evolution. The Javan slow loris is a highly territorial venomous mammal that has a distinctive facial mask and monochromatic vision. To help understand if they use aposematism to advertise their venom to conspecifics or predators with different visual systems, we studied a population in Java, Indonesia. Using ImageJ, we selected colours from the facial masks of 58 individuals, converted RBG colours into monochromatic, dichromatic and trichromatic modes, and created a contrast index. During 290 captures, we recorded venom secretion and aggressiveness. Using Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling and generalised additive models for location, scale and shape, we found that young slow lorises differ significantly from adults, being both more contrasting and more aggressive, with aggressive animals showing fewer wounds. We suggest aposematic facial masks serve multiple purposes in slow lorises based on age. Change in colouration through development may play a role in intraspecific competition, and advertise toxicity or aggressiveness to competitors and/or predators in juveniles. Aposematic signals combined with intraspecific competition may provide clues to new venomous taxa among mammals.

Slow lorises (Nycticebus spp.) display evidence of handedness in the wild and in captivity

It has been suggested that strepsirrhines (lemurs, lorises, and galagos) retain the more primitive left-hand preference, whilst monkeys and apes more regularly display a right-hand preference at the individual-level. We looked to address questions of laterality in the slow loris (Nycticebus spp.) using spontaneous observations of 7 wild individuals, unimanual tests in 6 captive individuals, and photos of 42 individuals in a bilateral posture assessing handedness at the individual- and group-level. During the unimanual reach task, we found at the individual-level, only 4 slow lorises showed a hand use bias (R: 3, L: 1), Handedness index (HI) ranged from -0.57 to 1.00. In the wild unimanual grasp task, we found at the individual-level two individual showed a right-hand bias, the HI ranged from -0.19 to 0.70. The bilateral venom pose showed a trend toward a right-hand dominant grip in those photographed in captivity, but an ambiguous difference in wild individuals. There are many environmental constraints in captivity that wild animals do not face, thus data collected in wild settings are more representative of their natural state. The presence of right-handedness in these species suggests that there is a need to re-evaluate the evolution of handedness in primates.

A novel application of cultural consensus models to evaluate conservation education programs

Conservation professionals recognize the need to evaluate education initiatives with a flexible approach that is culturally appropriate. Cultural-consensus theory (CCT) provides a framework for measuring the extent to which beliefs are communally held and has long been applied by social scientists. In a conservation-education context, we applied CCT and used free lists (i.e., a list of items on a topic stated in order of cultural importance) and domain analysis (analysis of how free lists go together within a cultural group) to evaluate a conservation education program in which we used a children's picture book to increase knowledge about and empathy for a critically endangered mammal, the Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus). We extracted free lists of keywords generated by students (n = 580 in 18 schools) from essays they wrote before and after the education program. In 2 classroom sessions conducted approximately 18 weeks apart, we asked students to write an essay about their knowledge of the target species and then presented a book and several activities about slow loris ecology. Prior to the second session, we asked students to write a second essay. We generated free lists from both essays, quantified salience of terms used, and conducted minimal residuals factor analysis to determine presence of cultural domains surrounding slow lorises in each session. Students increased their use of words accurately associated with slow loris ecology and conservation from 43% in initial essays to 76% in final essays. Domain coherence increased from 22% to 47% across schools. Fifteen factors contributed to the domain slow loris. Between the first and second essays, factors that showed the greatest change were feeding ecology and slow loris as a forest protector, which increased 7-fold, and the humancentric factor, which decreased 5-fold. As demonstrated by knowledge retention and creation of unique stories and conservation opinions, children achieved all six levels of Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains. Free from the constraints of questionnaires and surveys, CCT methods provide a promising avenue to evaluate conservation education programs.

Welfare impacts of the illegal wildlife trade in a cohort of confiscated greater slow lorises, Nycticebus coucang

Illegal harvesting and trade are major forces behind population declines of wild slow lorises (genus Nycticebus). The impacts of the wildlife trade on individual slow lorises have not been as well described. In this article, we describe quantitatively the consequences of the wildlife trade for 77 greater slow lorises, N. coucang, who were confiscated en masse and brought to Cikananga Wildlife Center in Indonesia. Medical records indicated that in total, 28.6% of the slow lorises died within the first 6 months, mostly due to traumatic injury, and all the infants died. The greatest sources of morbidity were external wounds (33.1% of 166 total medical events) and dental problems (19.3%). Of the surviving individuals, 25.4% displayed abnormal behavior. Behavioral observations indicated that healthy adults (n = 3) spent 48.2% of their active period performing stereotypies. These data illustrate the physical and behavioral impacts of the illegal wildlife trade on the welfare of slow lorises. We suggest that sharing these individual stories may help generate empathy and educate the public about the impacts of the exotic companion-animal (pet) trade on nonhuman animal welfare.

Impending extinction crisis of the world's primates: Why primates matter

Nonhuman primates, our closest biological relatives, play important roles in the livelihoods, cultures, and religions of many societies and offer unique insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and the threat of emerging diseases. They are an essential component of tropical biodiversity, contributing to forest regeneration and ecosystem health. Current information shows the existence of 504 species in 79 genera distributed in the Neotropics, mainland Africa, Madagascar, and Asia. Alarmingly, ~60% of primate species are now threatened with extinction and ~75% have declining populations. This situation is the result of escalating anthropogenic pressures on primates and their habitats-mainly global and local market demands, leading to extensive habitat loss through the expansion of industrial agriculture, large-scale cattle ranching, logging, oil and gas drilling, mining, dam building, and the construction of new road networks in primate range regions. Other important drivers are increased bushmeat hunting and the illegal trade of primates as pets and primate body parts, along with emerging threats, such as climate change and anthroponotic diseases. Often, these pressures act in synergy, exacerbating primate population declines. Given that primate range regions overlap extensively with a large, and rapidly growing, human population characterized by high levels of poverty, global attention is needed immediately to reverse the looming risk of primate extinctions and to attend to local human needs in sustainable ways. Raising global scientific and public awareness of the plight of the world's primates and the costs of their loss to ecosystem health and human society is imperative.

Provide context when reporting on the use of protected and endangered wildlife in ethnopharmacological surveys

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The value of reports on the use of wildlife in ethnopharmacological surveys increases when context is provided on the legality of its use and on the species' conservation status.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To evaluate if context is provided when protected and threatened animals are reported as being used in traditional medicine, and to provide recommendations for future reporting.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Review of recent papers in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.

RESULTS

Rarely is information provided on (1) the conservation status of the animals that are used in traditional medicine, (2) whether the parts can be obtained non-invasively or if the animals have to be killed, or (3) whether or not it is legal to use the animals, their parts or derivatives according to national law.

CONCLUSION

When presenting the results of ethnopharmalogical surveys include (1) the conservation status of the species affected, (2) whether or not parts could be harvested non-invasively and (3) the legality of harvesting and / or trading these animals, their parts or their derivatives. Our focus here is on animals, given that more so than in plants or fungi, many of their parts used in natural medicine cannot be obtained non-invasively, but a similar set of guidelines could be developed for other taxa.

Large-Scale Trade in Legally Protected Marine Mollusc Shells from Java and Bali, Indonesia

Background

Tropical marine molluscs are traded globally. Larger species with slow life histories are under threat from over-exploitation. We report on the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in and from Java and Bali, Indonesia. Since 1987 twelve species of marine molluscs are protected under Indonesian law to shield them from overexploitation. Despite this protection they are traded openly in large volumes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We collected data on species composition, origins, volumes and prices at two large open markets (2013), collected data from wholesale traders (2013), and compiled seizure data by the Indonesian authorities (2008–2013). All twelve protected species were observed in trade. Smaller species were traded for <USD1.00 whereas prices of larger species were USD15.00–40.00 with clear price-size relationships. Some shells were collected locally in Java and Bali, but the trade involves networks stretching hundreds of kilometres throughout Indonesia. Wholesale traders offer protected marine mollusc shells for the export market by the container or by the metric ton. Data from 20 confiscated shipments show an on-going trade in these molluscs. Over 42,000 shells were seized over a 5-year period, with a retail value of USD700,000 within Indonesia; horned helmet (Cassis cornuta) (>32,000 shells valued at USD500,000), chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) (>3,000 shells, USD60,000) and giant clams (Tridacna spp.) (>2,000 shells, USD45,000) were traded in largest volumes. Two-thirds of this trade was destined for international markets, including in the USA and Asia-Pacific region.

Conclusions/Significance

We demonstrated that the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in Indonesia is not controlled nor monitored, that it involves large volumes, and that networks of shell collectors, traders, middlemen and exporters span the globe. This impedes protection of these species on the ground and calls into question the effectiveness of protected species management in Indonesia; solutions are unlikely to be found only in Indonesia and must involve the cooperation of importing countries.

Changes in the primate trade in indonesian wildlife markets over a 25-year period: Fewer apes and langurs, more macaques, and slow lorises

Indonesia has amongst the highest primate species richness, and many species are included on the country's protected species list, partially to prevent over-exploitation. Nevertheless traders continue to sell primates in open wildlife markets especially on the islands of Java and Bali. We surveyed 13 wildlife markets in 2012-2014 and combined our results with previous surveys from 1990-2009 into a 122-survey dataset with 2,424 records of 17 species. These data showed that the diversity of species in trade decreased over time, shifting from rare rainforest-dwelling primates traded alongside more widespread species that are not confined to forest to the latter type only. In the 1990s and early 2000s orangutans, gibbons and langurs were commonly traded alongside macaques and slow lorises but in the last decade macaques and slow lorises comprised the bulk of the trade. In 2012-2014 we monitored six wildlife markets in Jakarta, Bandung and Garut (all on Java), and Denpasar (Bali). During 51 surveys we recorded 1,272 primates of eight species. Traders offered long-tailed macaque (total 1,007 individuals) and three species of slow loris (228 individuals) in five of the six markets, whereas they traded ebony langurs (18 individuals), and pig-tailed macaques (14 individuals) mostly in Jakarta. Pramuka and Jatinegara markets, both in Jakarta, stood out as important hubs for the primate trade, with a clear shift in importance over time from the former to the latter. Slow lorises, orangutans, gibbons and some langurs are protected under Indonesian law, which prohibits all trade in them; of these protected species, only the slow lorises remained common in trade throughout the 25-year period. Trade in non-protected macaques and langurs is subject to strict regulations-which market traders did not follow-making all the market trade in primates that we observed illegal. Trade poses a substantial threat to Indonesian primates, and without enforcement, the sheer volume of trade may mean that species of Least Concern or Near Threatened may rapidly decline. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22517, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.