Habitat Quality and Integrated Connectivity Analysis for Callicebus oenanthe in San Martin, Peru

Abstract

The San Martín department of north central Peru is experiencing some of the highest ongoing deforestation rates in South America. The San Martín titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe) is a critically endangered endemic to this region. The extensive fragmentation to this species’ distribution necessitates a range-wide habitat evaluation to inform future conservation decision-making. Through a remote sensing and geospatial analysis, results indicate that more than one quarter of the range has been cleared and that over 90% of remaining habitat patches are likely too small to support viable populations. Authorized mining concessions could also pose a substantial threat to this species’ connectivity and high quality habitat. To increase protected areas and ensure landscape connectivity, the development of conservation concessions and corridor restoration programs are imperative. This study provides our local partner, Proyecto Mono Tocón (PMT), with a comprehensive management tool that will allow them to evaluate tradeoffs in conservation program design to ensure effective and sustainable outcomes as ecological and socioeconomic variations dictate. With a better understanding of where remaining habitat patches are, their connectedness, their distance to mining concessions, and their relative cost and feasibility for protection, PMT can utilize a dynamic management tool for the conservation of C. oenanthe.