Using genetic diversity estimates in the assessment of the conservation status of neotropical primates

Abstract

Genetic diversity allows species to face environmental change, and it is important for estimating a species? conservation status. Here,we analyzed genetic diversity estimates derived from microsatellite data of Neotropical primates, based on an extensive literature review. We found microsatellite data for all five platyrrhine families, including 12 out of 63 species of Callitrichidae, 3 out of 30 species of Cebidae, 3 out of 11 species of Aotidae, 5 out of 61 species of Pitheciidae, and 11 out of 25 species of Atelidae. We used the approach of Willoughby et al. (2015) to estimate the number of generations (t) that it would take for a population to lose genetic variation below the lower 25% quantile found across all studies of neotropical primates. Based on our estimation of t, we found that some species categorized as Least Concern, Near Threatened and Vulnerable in the Red List of the IUCN have low genetic diversity relative to other neotropical primates, suggesting that their conservation risk may be underestimated. We encourage the use of genetic diversity estimates as an additional criterion in the Red List assessment, to more accurately evaluate conservation need, which is essential to develop conservation strategies and management actions.