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Intestinal Parasitism in Free-Ranging Black-Headed Night Monkeys, Aotus nigriceps, of Southeastern Peru

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Abstract

The study of intestinal parasite communities is an important aspect of conservation biology, disease ecology, and wildlife health. Researchers can use the presence of select micro- and macroparasites as an indicator of host health. Only two studies have sampled intestinal parasites in free-ranging Aotus monkeys despite their wide geographic distribution in Central and South America. We therefore conducted a survey of gastrointestinal parasites using 50 fecal samples from seven free-ranging black-headed night monkey (Aotus nigriceps) groups at three field sites in the Peruvian Amazon. We calculated an index of habitat quality using Gentry transects and compared this with parasite communities. We recovered seven intestinal parasite taxa: Strongyloides sp.; Balantioides sp.; Trypanoxyuris sp.; Entamoeba sp.; and unidentified species of ascarid, strongylid, and trematode. Two of these taxa have previously been described in captive Aotus nigriceps (Balantioides sp. and Strongyloides sp.). Parasite richness ranged from zero to five taxa with a mean of 0.8 parasite taxa (±1.0 SD) per fecal sample. Fifty-six percent of samples had at least one intestinal parasite taxon. We found all seven parasite taxa in the wet season but only Strongyloides sp. and Trypanoxyuris sp. in the dry season. Balantioides sp. was positively associated with both Entamoeba sp. and an unidentified trematode, while Entamoeba sp. was positively associated with the unidentified ascarid (P < 0.05). Extrapolations support the likelihood of recovering additional intestinal parasite taxa with increased sampling effort. Neither group size nor basal area was significantly associated with parasite richness. These results highlight the need for continued surveillance of Aotus parasites both temporally and across heterogeneous landscapes because several of the parasite taxa we found are pathogenic in nonhuman primates and people.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Amazonian Conservation Association (ACCA), staff at Villa Carmen Biological Station, and Manu Learning Center (CREES) staff for hosting us, clearing trails, and providing valuable insight into location and behavior of groups. We are indebted to students and staff from The School for Field Studies (Peru) who assisted with data collection and logistics, specifically Noah Linck, Ben Sharaf, Caroline Rzucidlo, Katlin Gott, Leigh Preston, Sheridan Plummer, and Madison Wilkinson. We would also like to thank Jessica Suarez for her contribution in the field. We appreciate the valuable feedback provided by anonymous reviewers. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA

    William D. Helenbrook

  2. Tropical Conservation Fund, Atlanta, GA, USA

    William D. Helenbrook

  3. Department of Organic Biology and Ecology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Audrey Nelson

  4. Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, National Center for Veterinary Parasitology, Athens, GA, USA

    Kelsey L. Paras

  5. Departmento de Ecología de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Brenda Solorzano-Garcia

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  1. William D. Helenbrook
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Contributions

WDH conceived and designed the experiments. WDH and AN performed the field work. WDH, AN, and KLP performed laboratory analysis. WDH analyzed the data. WDH wrote the manuscript; the other authors provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to William D. Helenbrook.

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Handling Editor: Joanna M. Setchell

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Helenbrook, W.D., Nelson, A., Paras, K.L. et al. Intestinal Parasitism in Free-Ranging Black-Headed Night Monkeys, Aotus nigriceps, of Southeastern Peru. Int J Primatol 41, 458–470 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-020-00146-7

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