Trends and biases in scientific literature about marmosets, genus Callithrix (Primates, Callitrichidae): biodiversity and conservation perspectives

Abstract

Marmosets of the genus Callithrix are small-bodied platyrrhines, endemic to Brazil. In the last 30 years, there has been a constant interest in studying their biology, ecology and conservation. In this study, we compiled a systematic review to evaluate the trends and advances of marmoset research, from biodiversity and conservation perspectives. We searched for articles published in peer-reviewed journals within the main academic search engines, using the keywords “marmoset” OR “sagui” OR “Callithrix”. We found 68 published articles with a focus on biodiversity and conservation. The number of articles has increased over the years, most of them consisting of research from the Atlantic Forest biome. Callithrix penicillata (26 articles) and C. jacchus (21) were the most studied species. The number of studies was associated with the species’ geographical distribution. From a conservation perspective, the most threatened species showed the narrowest geographical distribution, a lower number of studies and, on average, a smaller protected area size. We concluded that trends and biases in biodiversity and conservation scientific literature of Callithrix are directly and indirectly associated with its geographical distribution. Species with wide geographical distribution are more studied, better known and protected. We highlight that the major effort of studies must be towards marmoset populations from the transition region of the Atlantic Forest-Cerrado and Caatinga biomes, and on threatened species within narrow geographical ranges.

Using ecological niche modelling to prioritise areas for conservation of the critically endangered Buffy‐Headed marmoset (Callithrix flaviceps)

“…Hence, to have a broader picture and more accurate projections of the realised niche, studies investigating species interactions relative to landscape and climatic factors are needed, including interactions with C. aurita, but also with the common and invasive marmosets C. penicillata and C. jacchus, as well as metrics such as landscape variables to predict constraints on C. flaviceps movement and dispersal capacity (Rezende et al, 2020). In addition, as proposed by Hannibal et al (2019), agricultural land and urban areas should be included in the next conservation strategies to better consider habitat fragmentation (Hannibal et al, 2019).…”

“…The common marmoset species seem to be more adaptive, which prejudice the montane species C. aurita and C. flaviceps (Braz et al., 2019). Despite being the least studied among Callithrix species (Hannibal et al., 2019), the montane species C. aurita and C. flaviceps present the most alarming conservation status (de Melo, Hilário, et al., 2021; de Melo, Port‐Carvalho, et al., 2021).…”

Main trends and gaps in studies for bird conservation in the Pantanal wetland

“…Analyzing scientific production in terms of environmental themes is recognized as an important conservation tool (Nabout et al 2012), producing a detailed understanding of different areas of knowledge (Teodoro et al 2020). In addition, it enables the identification of researchers' preferences for certain areas, study locations, definition of concepts and applications, main trends, and gaps regarding the themes considered (Kullenberg and Kasperowski 2016;Freitas and Mantovani 2018;Hannibal et al 2019;Baldiviezo et al 2019).…”

Geotecnologia como ferramenta de análise para a conservação de Callithrix aurita É. Geoffroy, 1812 (primates: Callitrichidae)

“…Segundo a lista do Primate Specialist Group da IUCN e da International Primatological Society, das 25 espécies de primatas mais ameaçadas no mundo, uma se encontra no Brasil, o Callithrix aurita, sendo também considerada ameaçada de acordo com o Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção (MELO et al, 2018(MELO et al, , 2020. O Callithrix aurita, também conhecido como sagui-decara-escura, sagui-caveirinha, ou localmente como aurita, pertence ao gênero Callithrix (também chamados de "saguis"), que é composto por seis espécies, todas endêmicas do Brasil (HANNIBAL et al, 2019). Endêmico da Mata Atlântica, o Callithrix aurita pode ser encontrado nas cadeias montanhosas dos estados de São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais, em altitudes superiores a 500 m (RYLANDS, 1993;AXIMOFF et al, 2016).…”

“…Uma das espécies de primatas ameaçadas da Mata Atlântica é o Callithrix aurita, também conhecido como sagui-de-cara-escura, sagui-caveirinha (RYLANDS, 1993;AXIMOFF et al, 2016;MELO et al, 2018MELO et al, , 2020 ou localmente como aurita, estando considerada como em perigo no Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção (MELO et al, 2018). A espécie pertence ao gênero Callithrix (também chamados de "saguis"), que é composto por seis espécies, todas endêmicas do Brasil (HANNIBAL et al, 2019). Para o Callithrix aurita a hibridação e a competição são as principais ameaças a sua sobrevivência sendo causada pela simpatria entre as espécies exóticas de Callithrix, introduzidas por fatores antropogênicos fora de suas áreas nativas (MALUKIEWICZ et al, 2021).…”