Laura K. Marsh

Bio: Laura K. Marsh is an academic researcher from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The author has contributed to research in topics: Deforestation & Howler monkey. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 17 publications receiving 1121 citations.

The use of camera traps for estimating jaguar Panthera onca abundance and density using capture/recapture analysis

Abstract: Across their range jaguars Panthera onca are important conservation icons for several reasons: their important role in ecosystems as top carnivores, their cultural and economic value, and their potential conflicts with livestock. However, jaguars have historically been difficult to monitor. This paper outlines the first applica- tion of a systematic camera trapping methodology for abundance estimation of jaguars. The methodology was initially developed to estimate tiger abundance in India. We used a grid of camera traps deployed for 2 months, identified individual animals from their pelage patterns, and estimated population abundance using capture-recapture statistical models. We applied this methodology in a total of five study sites in the Mayan

Primates in Fragments

Abstract: and/or keywords. This search revealed a total of 227 papers. We randomly selected 100 of these papers and identifi ed the ways in which habitat fragmentation effects are being assessed. Evaluating and Measuring Habitat Fragmentation Habitat may be broadly defi ned as “the range of environments suitable for a given species” (Hall et al. 1997 ). For primates this generally refers to broad vegetation types, such as tropical rain forest and tropical dry forest (Arroyo-Rodríguez and Mandujano 2009 ). Because native vegetation is important for many species, numerous researchers have equated “habitat” with native vegetation (Fischer and Lindenmayer 2007 ; Arroyo-Rodríguez and Mandujano 2009 ). Habitat fragmentation is a landscape-scale process in which continuous habitat is broken apart into smaller pieces (fragments) scattered within a matrix of nonhabitat. This implies the loss of habitat and its subdivision (fragmentation) into a variable number of fragments (Fahrig 1999 ; McGarigal and Cushman 2002 ; Fahrig 2003 ). However, habitat loss can occur without the subdivision of habitat (Fig. 2.2 ), and therefore, we advocate that it will be valuable for researchers to consider analyzing the independent effects of habitat loss and fragmentation to determine whether it is the overall loss of habitat or the separation of habitat into smaller pieces (hereafter termed “habitat fragmentation per se”; sensu Fahrig 1999 , 2003 ) that actually causes negative effects on primates. This can only be done through landscape-scale studies, that is, by using landscapes as the independent units of observation (McGarigal and Cushman 2002 ; Fahrig 2003 ; Arroyo-Rodríguez and Mandujano 2009 ). By using fragments as the unit of analysis (hereafter named “fragment-scale studies”), researchers cannot differentiate between the effects of the habitat loss and the breaking apart of habitat, as both processes can result in smaller and more isolated fragments (Fahrig 2003 ; Fig. 2.2 ). Most fragmentation measures (e.g., mean fragment isolation, total amount of edge, number of fragments) are strongly related in a nonlinear manner to the amount of habitat within a landscape, in such a way that below a certain threshold of habitat area, small changes in the extent of the habitat lead to big changes in these measures (Neel et al. 2004 ). For this reason, it is often diffi cult to determine the separate effects of habitat loss and fragmentation. For instance, studies with plants (ArroyoRodríguez et al. 2009 ) and animals (Andrén 1994 ; Pardini et al. 2010 ) suggest that species diversity in a fragment of a given size may vary in landscapes with different habitat amount. Actually, the effects of fragmentation per se are thought to be relatively more important below certain thresholds of habitat amount remaining in the landscape (Andrén 1994 ; Fahrig 1997 , 1998 ; With and King 2001 ). Below this threshold of habitat amount, the probability of persistence of populations drops signifi cantly. Given the crucial management implications that these thresholds have for primate conservation, we urgently need to analyze the response of primates under different scenarios of habitat loss and fragmentation. This cannot be done through fragment-scale studies; it requires studies at the landscape scale. 2 Assessing Habitat Fragmentation Effects on Primates...

A Taxonomic Revision of the Saki Monkeys, Pithecia Desmarest, 1804

Abstract: For more than 200 years, the taxonomy of Pithecia has been floating on the misunderstanding of a few species, in particular P. pithecia and P. monachus. In this revision, historical names and descriptions are addressed and original type material is examined. For every museum specimen, all location, collection, and museum data were recorded, and photographs and measurements of each skin, skull, mount, or fluid specimen were taken. The revision is based on work conducted in 36 museums in 28 cities from 17 countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan, resulting in the examination of 876 skins (including mounts and fluids), 690 skulls, and hundreds of photographs taken by the author and by colleagues in the field of living captive and wild sakis of all species, and through internet searches. Per this revision, there are 16 species of Pithecia: five currently recognized, three reinstated, three elevated from subspecies level, and five newly described.

The Nature of Fragmentation

Abstract: The numbers are staggering and grotesque They are the opening factoids for every paper where research in tropical forest is conducted Tropical forests are disappearing faster than any other biome (Myers, 1991) Tropical forests once covered up to 15% of the earth’s surface and currently cover only 6% to 7%, but contain more than 50% and possibly as much as 90% of all species of plants and animals (WRI, 1990) Rain forests are being systematically reduced by 150,000 km2 (10 to 15 million ha) per year (Whitmore, 1997; Achard et al, 2002), which is more than a full percentage point (12%, Laurance, 1997) Assuming this rate maintains, the last rain forest tree will fall in 2027 Many of us will witness this within our lifetimes Additionally (to make matters worse), only 3% to 7% of the world’s land area is officially protected as national parks or forest reserves (Chapman and Peres, 2001) The travesty of rampant deforestation will have profound effects, not simply on forests and their inhabitants, but for all humanity Thus, the resulting fragmented patchwork of habitat and the species remaining within become central to the challenge of conservation

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis.

Abstract: Cause, conseguenze e strategie di mitigazione Proponiamo il primo di una serie di articoli in cui affronteremo l’attuale problema dei mutamenti climatici. Presentiamo il documento redatto, votato e pubblicato dall’Ipcc - Comitato intergovernativo sui cambiamenti climatici - che illustra la sintesi delle ricerche svolte su questo tema rilevante.

An evaluation of camera traps for inventorying large‐ and medium‐sized terrestrial rainforest mammals

Abstract: Mammal inventories in tropical forests are often difficult to carry out, and many elusive species are missed or only reported from interviews with local people. Camera traps offer a new tool for conducting inventories of large- and medium-sized terrestrial mammals. We evaluated the efficiency of camera traps based on data from two surveys carried out at a single site during 2 consecutive years. The survey efforts were 1440 and 2340 camera days, and 75 and 86% of the 28 large- and medium-sized terrestrial mammal species known to occur at the site were recorded. Capture frequencies for different species were highly correlated between the surveys, and the capture probability for animals that passed in front of the cameras decreased with decreasing size of the species. Camera spacing and total survey area had little influence on the number of species recorded, with survey effort being the main factor determining the number of recorded species. Using a model we demonstrated the exponential increase in survey effort required to record the most elusive species. We evaluated the performance of different species richness estimators on this dataset and found the Jackknife estimators generally to perform best. We give recommendations on how to increase efficiency of camera trap surveys exclusively targeted at species inventories.

How many species of mammals are there

Abstract: Accurate taxonomy is central to the study of biological diversity, as it provides the needed evolutionary framework for taxon sampling and interpreting results. While the number of recognized species in the class Mammalia has increased through time, tabulation of those increases has relied on the sporadic release of revisionary compendia like the Mammal Species of the World (MSW) series. Here, we present the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD), a digital, publically accessible, and updateable list of all mammalian species, now available online: https://mammaldiversity.org. The MDD will continue to be updated as manuscripts describing new species and higher taxonomic changes are released. Starting from the baseline of the 3rd edition of MSW (MSW3), we performed a review of taxonomic changes published since 2004 and digitally linked species names to their original descriptions and subsequent revisionary articles in an interactive, hierarchical database. We found 6,495 species of currently recognized mammals (96 recently extinct, 6,399 extant), compared to 5,416 in MSW3 (75 extinct, 5,341 extant)—an increase of 1,079 species in about 13 years, including 11 species newly described as having gone extinct in the last 500 years. We tabulate 1,251 new species recognitions, at least 172 unions, and multiple major, higher-level changes, including an additional 88 genera (1,314 now, compared to 1,226 in MSW3) and 14 newly recognized families (167 compared to 153). Analyses of the description of new species through time and across biogeographic regions show a long-term global rate of ~25 species recognized per year, with the Neotropics as the overall most species-dense biogeographic region for mammals, followed closely by the Afrotropics. The MDD provides the mammalogical community with an updateable online database of taxonomic changes, joining digital efforts already established for amphibians (AmphibiaWeb, AMNH's Amphibian Species of the World), birds (e.g., Avibase, IOC World Bird List, HBW Alive), non-avian reptiles (The Reptile Database), and fish (e.g., FishBase, Catalog of Fishes). Una taxonomía que precisamente refleje la realidad biológica es fundamental para el estudio de la diversidad de la vida, ya que proporciona el armazón evolutivo necesario para el muestreo de taxones e interpretación de resultados del mismo. Si bien el número de especies reconocidas en la clase Mammalia ha aumentado con el tiempo, la tabulación de esos aumentos se ha basado en las esporádicas publicaciones de compendios de revisiones taxonómicas, tales como la serie Especies de mamíferos del mundo (MSW por sus siglas en inglés). En este trabajo presentamos la Base de Datos de Diversidad de Mamíferos (MDD por sus siglas en inglés): una lista digital de todas las especies de mamíferos, actualizable y accesible públicamente, disponible en la dirección URL https://mammaldiversity.org/. El MDD se actualizará con regularidad a medida que se publiquen artículos que describan nuevas especies o que introduzcan cambios de diferentes categorías taxonómicas. Con la tercera edición de MSW (MSW3) como punto de partida, realizamos una revisión en profundidad de los cambios taxonómicos publicados a partir del 2004. Los nombres de las especies nuevamente descriptas (o ascendidas a partir de subespecies) fueron conectadas digitalmente en una base de datos interactiva y jerárquica con sus descripciones originales y con artículos de revisión posteriores. Los datos indican que existen actualmente 6,495 especies de mamíferos (96 extintas, 6,399 vivientes), en comparación con las 5,416 reconocidas en MSW3 (75 extintas, 5,341 vivientes): un aumento de 1,079 especies en aproximadamente 13 años, incluyendo 11 nuevas especies consideradas extintas en los últimos 500 años. Señalamos 1,251 nuevos reconocimientos de especies, al menos 172 uniones y varios cambios a mayor nivel taxonómico, incluyendo 88 géneros adicionales (1,314 reconocidos, comparados con 1,226 en MSW3) y 14 familias recién reconocidas (167 en comparación con 153 en MSW3). Los análisis témporo-geográficos de descripciones de nuevas especies (en las principales regiones del mundo) sugieren un promedio mundial de descripciones a largo plazo de aproximadamente 25 especies reconocidas por año, siendo el Neotrópico la región con mayor densidad de especies de mamíferos en el mundo, seguida de cerca por la region Afrotrópical. El MDD proporciona a la comunidad de mastozoólogos una base de datos de cambios taxonómicos conectada y actualizable, que se suma a los esfuerzos digitales ya establecidos para anfibios (AmphibiaWeb, Amphibian Species of the World), aves (p. ej., Avibase, IOC World Bird List, HBW Alive), reptiles “no voladores” (The Reptile Database), y peces (p. ej., FishBase, Catalog of Fishes).