Abstract
Several coprological studies of Alouatta pigra, the black howler monkey, inhabiting Belize and Mexico have been published in the past several years. Trematodes, specifically Controrchis biliophilus (Dicrocoeliidae), have been detected in A. pigra from all locations in Belize and Mexico examined in those studies. A routine coprological survey of A. pigra was conducted in May and June 2010 as part of baseline data collection for an A. pigra population in Punta Gorda, Toledo District, southern Belize. The 51 fecal samples collected in this area were all negative for C. biliophilus. Subsequently, two additional fecal samples were collected from another population of A. pigra in Toledo District and 25 additional fecal samples were collected from six other areas of Belize during December 2010 and January 2011 and were examined for parasites. To date, C. biliophilus eggs have been detected in fecal samples from A. pigra inhabiting every district of Belize except Toledo District in southern Belize. This finding is notable, for no other population of A. pigra completely free of C. biliophilus infection had been located prior to this study.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank R. N. Castellanos for invaluable field assistance without which this research could not have been possible. Sincere thanks to Ian and Kate Morton of Hickatee Cottages for permission to collect samples on their property, enthusiastic and material support of our various research projects, and their commitment to conservation in Belize; to Ian and Ella at Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch for their hospitality, interest, and permission to collect samples on their property; managers at Tranquility Lodge, Chan Chich Lodge, and Belize Audubon Society for permission to collect samples on their property; to H. Mai (Dept. of Forestry, Government of Belize) for research permits; and to J. Awe (Dept. of Archeology, Government of Belize) for permission to collect at Maya archeological sites. Dr. Janet Nackoney, Department of Geographic Sciences, University of Maryland, generously used her advanced GIS skills to create the map in Fig. 1, for which the authors are most grateful. We thank Prof. Eckhard W. Heymann and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on previous versions of this paper. A George Mason University COS and CHSS Deans’ start-up award and Morris Animal Foundation award (D10ZO-819A) made it possible to undertake this research.
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Vitazkova, S.K., Wade, S.E. Free-ranging black howler monkeys, Alouatta pigra, in southern Belize are not parasitized by Controrchis biliophilus . Primates 53, 333–336 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-012-0315-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-012-0315-5