Chapter 10
Ecological Determinants of Parasitism
in Howler Monkeys
Rodolfo Martínez-Mota, Martín M. Kowalewski, and Thomas R. Gillespie
Abstract Infectious diseases caused by pathogens are now recognized as one of the
most important threats to primate conservation. The fact that howler monkeys
(Alouatta spp.) are widely distributed from Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina,
inhabit a diverse array of habitats, and are considered “pioneers,” particularly adapted
to exploit marginal habitats, provides an opportunity to explore general trends of
parasitism and evaluate the dynamics of infectious diseases in this genus. We take a
meta-analysis approach to examine the effect of ecological and environmental variables on parasitic infection using data from 7 howler monkey species at more than 35
sites throughout their distribution. We found that different factors including precipitation, latitude, altitude, and human proximity may influence parasite infection depending on the parasite type. We also found that parasites infecting howler monkeys
followed a right-skewed distribution, suggesting that only a few individuals harbor
infections. This result highlights the importance of collecting large sample sizes
when developing these kinds of studies. We suggest that future studies should focus
on obtaining fine-grained measurements of ecological and microclimate changes to
provide better insights into the proximate factors that promote parasitism.
Resumen Las enfermedades infecciosas causadas por patógenos son reconocidas
en la actualidad como una de las principales amenazas para la conservación de primates. Los monos aulladores (Alouatta spp.) son los primates con mayor distribución en Las Américas, desde el sur de México hasta el noreste de la Argentina.
Además, habitan una gran variedad de hábitats y son considerados “pioneros.” al
encontrarse frecuentemente en áreas marginales. Esto los convierte en modelos
R. Martínez-Mota (*)
Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
e-mail: rmarti39@illinois.edu
M.M. Kowalewski
Estación Biológica Corrientes, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Nacional de
Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
e-mail: martinkow@gmail.com
T.R. Gillespie
Departments of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Health, Emory University,
Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
e-mail: thomas.gillespie@emory.edu
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
M.M. Kowalewski et al. (eds.), Howler Monkeys, Developments in Primatology:
Progress and Prospects, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-1957-4_10
259
260
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
ideales para explorar tendencias generales de parasitismo y evaluar la dinámica de
enfermedades infecciosas. Se realizó un meta-análisis para examinar los efectos de
variables ecológicas y ambientales sobre infecciones por parásitos utilizando datos
de siete especies de monos aulladores distribuidos en más de 35 sitios a lo largo de
su distribución. Se encontró que factores tales como precipitación, latitud, altitud y
la proximidad a asentamientos humanos afectan en diferentes grados a la infección
parasitaria según el tipo de parásito considerado. También se encontró que los
parásitos de monos aulladores siguen una distribución sesgada, indicando que pocos
individuos dentro de una población muestran infecciones por parásitos. Esto sugiere
la importancia de colectar un número de muestras apropiado. Se recomienda que los
estudios futuros se enfoquen en obtener estimaciones detalladas de cambios ecológicos y microclimáticos. Esto permitirá identificar en forma más precisa cuáles son
los factores próximos que promueven el parasitismo.
Keywords Disease ecology • Prevalence • Richness • Latitude • Precipitation •
Habitat disturbance
10.1
Introduction
Infectious diseases caused by pathogens are now recognized as one of the most
important threats for wildlife and primate conservation (Daszak et al. 2000;
Leendertz et al. 2006; Gillespie et al. 2008). Several studies have documented that
pathogens are capable of reducing wildlife populations (e.g., amphibians (Daszak
et al. 1999); Ethiopians wolves (Laurenson et al. 1998)). In primates, the most dramatic cases come from studies of apes impacted by respiratory pathogens or the
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Bermejo et al. 2006; Köndgen et al. 2008; Palacios et al.
2011). Yellow fever outbreaks have impacted populations of mantled (Alouatta palliata), brown (A. guariba), and black-and-gold (A. caraya) howler monkeys (Rifakis
et al. 2006; Milton et al. 2009; Holzmann et al. 2010; de Almeida et al. 2012). These
studies have demonstrated the vulnerability of primates to infectious diseases and
have highlighted the importance of health monitoring to detect primate populations
at risk due to pathogenic infection (Leendertz et al. 2006).
Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) have a wide distribution from Southern
Mexico to Northern Argentina and inhabit diverse habitats including tropical rain
forests, dry deciduous forests, mountain forests, lowland forests, and mangroves,
due to their dietary flexibility and ability to exploit difficult-to-digest food items,
such as mature leaves and unripe fruits (Di Fiore et al. 2011). Howlers have been
studied extensively, including aspects of their behavior (e.g., male and female reproductive behavior (Van Belle et al. 2009; Kowalewski and Garber 2010)), demography (e.g., population change (Clarke et al. 2002; Rudran and Fernandez-Duque
2003)), ecology (e.g., feeding ecology (Milton 1980; Silver et al. 1998)), and parasitism (Table 10.1). More than 60 % of the studies reported in Table 10.1 have
focused on gastrointestinal parasites voided in feces, given that fecal samples can be
Table 10.1 Studies of parasitic infection in wild howler monkeys (genus Alouatta)
Species
Study site
Latitude
Habitat
type
A. arctoidea
Hato El Frio, Venezuela
7° 30′ N
MF
A. belzebul
A. caraya
Rio Tocantins, Tucurui, Brazil
Parana River, Parana, Brazil
Nova Querencia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Tocantins River, Goias, Brazil
Porto Primavera, Sao Paulo-Mato Grosso do
Sul, Brazil
Bella Vista, Corrientes, Argentina
3° 40′ S
22° 46′ S
20° 43′ S
13° 49′ S
21° 15′ S
MF, C
MF
LF
SF
SF
28° 30′ S
Parana River, Chaco, Argentina
Rio Riachuelo, Corrientes, Argentina
Las Lomas, Corrientes, Argentina
Isla Brasilera, Corrientes, Argentina
Yaciretá, Corrientes, Argentina
Estación Biológica, Corrientes, Argentina
San Cayetano, Corrientes, Argentina
A. guariba
Morro Sao Pedro, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Reserva Biológica Lami, Porto Alegre,
Brazil
Mata de Ribeirão Cachoeira, Brazil
Altitude
(m)
Rainfall
(mm/year)
Human
proximity
60
1,424
Rural
75
252
450
460
302
2,740
1,700
1,379
1,750
1,500
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
F*
60
1,200
Remote
27° 20′ S
27° 30′ S
27° 30′ S
27° 30′ S
SF
SF
SF
SF
60
55
55
55
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
Remote
Rural
Rural
Rural
27° 23′ S
27° 20′ S
27° 20′ S
27° 28′ S
27° 30′ S
27° 34′ S
27° 34′ S
30° 01′ S
30° 15′ S
MF
MF
MF
SF
SF
SF
SF
F*
F*
67
54
54
65
59
60
60
230
200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,324
1,324
22° 50′ S
MF
650
1,049
Sample type
Collected
specimens
Feces
Blood
Feces
Blood
Blood
Sample
size
# of
individuals
# of
groups
Unk
38
6
1
212
17
59
42
590
Unk
17
6
42
590
50
Unk
1
Unk
Unk
2
3
4
5
5
302
302
Unk
6
Source
28
30
256
110
28
30
16
110
Unk
Unk
2
Unk
7
8
9
10
Remote
Remote
Remote
Rural
Rural
Urban
Urban
Rural
Urban
Collected
specimens
Feces
Blood
Feces
Collected
specimens
Feces
Blood/feces/fur
Feces
Blood/feces/fur
Feces
Blood/feces/fur
Feces
Feces
Feces
60
12
30
9
30
21
30
53
114
20
14
30
9
30
21
30
Unk
Unk
2
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
11
12
13
12
13
12
13
14
14
Remote
Feces
112
Unk
Unk
15
(continued)
Table 10.1 (continued)
Species
Study site
Latitude
Habitat
type
A. macconnelli
Sinnamary River, Petit Saut Dam, French
Guiana
5° 04′ N
C
5° 04′ N
5° 04′ N
2° 30′ S
A. palliata
Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments
Project, Manaus, Brazil
Balbina, Uatuma River, Amazonas State,
BRA
Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Carlos Green, Mexico
Pochitocal, Mexico
Macuspana, Mexico
El Zapotal, Mexico
Barro Colorado Island, Panama
A. palliata
Chomes, Costa Rica
Parque Nacional Palo Verde, Costa Rica
Parque Nacional Cahuita, Costa Rica
San Ramón, Costa Rica
Chira, Costa Rica
Gran Nicoya, Costa Rica
Playa Potrero, Costa Rica
Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, Costa
Rica
La Pacifica, Costa Rica
La Selva Biological Reserve, Costa Rica
Altitude
(m)
Rainfall
(mm/year)
Human
proximity
Sample type
Sample
size
# of
individuals
# of
groups
Source
45
3,000
Remote
Blood
117
117
Unk
16
C
C
C
45
45
38
3,000
3,000
2,606
Remote
Remote
Rural
Blood
Blood
Feces
81
50
35
81
50
24
Unk
Unk
3
17
18
19
1° 55′ S
C
34
2,262
Rural
Blood
31
31
Unk
20
18° 34′ N
18° 34′ N
18° 34′ N
C
SF
F*
300
300
100
4,900
4,900
4,900
Remote
Rural
Rural
38
63
6
Unk
Unk
6
Unk
Unk
5
21
21
22
18° 38′ N
18° 18′ N
17° 41′ N
18° 15′ N
17° 38′ N
16° 43′ N
9° 10′ N
MF, SF
SF
F*
F*
SF
SF
LF
100
180
15
5
15
700
120
4,900
4,900
4,014
4,014
3,186
950
2,612
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Urban
Remote
288
278
1
19
Unk
67
Unk
12
43
1
19
27
15
Unk
3
5
Unk
Unk
2
1
Unk
23
24
25
25
26
27
28
10° 02′ N
10° 22′ N
9° 43′ N
10° 05′ N
10° 06′ N
9° 59′ N
10° 27′ N
9° 24′ N
MF
LF
LF
SF
MF
MF
SF
LF
9
15
20
1,020
8
100
20
45
1,950
1,950
3,000
1,500
2,000
1,950
1,500
4,000
Rural
Remote
Remote
Urban
Rural
Rural
Urban
Urban
Feces
Feces
Darted
individualsa
Feces
Feces
Blood
Blood
Feces
Feces
Darted
individualsa
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
9
20
29
7
5
18
8
6
Unk
Unk
29
5
5
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
Unk
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
29
10° 28′ N
10° 26′ N
MF
LF
45
35
1,553
3,962
Rural
Rural
Feces
Feces
200
84
108
13
13
2
30
31
Species
Study site
Latitude
Habitat
type
Altitude
(m)
Rainfall
(mm/year)
Human
proximity
Sample type
Sample
size
# of
individuals
# of
groups
Source
A. pigra
Reforma Agraria, Mexico
Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
16° 15′ N
18° 06′ N
18° 06′ N
17° 27′ N
17° 27′ N
17° 33′ N
16° 49′ N
16° 07′ N
16° 07′ N
18° 36′ N
18° 36′ N
18° 36′ N
17° 41′ N
18° 15′ N
17° 46′ N
17° 35′ N
20° 38′ N
19° 17′ N
17° 38′ N
16° 21′ N
13° 8′ S
LF
C
C
LF
LF
MF
C
C
C
LF
LF
LF
F*
F*
MF
SF
MF
C
SF
LF
C
181
50
50
500
500
28
200
181
181
90
90
90
15
5
16
20
14
31
15
12
250
3,000
820
820
2,200
2,200
1,995
2,700
3,000
3,000
1,380
1,380
1,380
4,014
4,014
1,200
1,400
1,500
1,200
3,186
2,500
2,400
Rural
Remote
Remote
Remote
Remote
Rural
Remote
Remote
Remote
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Rural
Remote
Remote
Rural
Rural
Rural
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Blood
Blood
Blood
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
Feces
17
29
Unk
29
Unk
Unk
Unk
23
151
39
81
12
2
6
99
218
3
8
Unk
315
16
Unk
Unk
4
Unk
3
13
5
Unk
15
Unk
69
12
2
6
Unk
43
3
8
7
18
16
Unk
Unk
2
Unk
2
3
2
Unk
3
Unk
17
3
Unk
Unk
22
6
2
4
2
4
4
21
21
32
21
32
32
32
21
33
21
34
25
25
25
35
36
37
37
26
38
39
Palenque Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Community Baboon Sanctuary, Belize
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize
Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
El Tormento, Mexico
A. sara
Carlos Green, Mexico
Pochitocal, Mexico
Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, Belize
Catazaja, Mexico
Punta Laguna, Mexico
Petcacab, Mexico
Macuspana, Mexico
Monkey River, Belize
Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
Habitat type: C continuous forest, SF small-size fragments, MF medium-size fragments, LF large-size fragments, F* indicates a fragmented forest but the size cannot be obtained from
the literature. Unk unknown. We wrote “unknown” when ambiguous information regarding sample size, number of individuals, or number of groups was presented in the studies
Source: 1Braza (1980), 2Martins et al. (2008), 3 Garcia et al. (2005), 4Godoy et al. (2004); 5Duarte et al. (2006), 6Pope (1966), 7Venturini et al. (2003), 8Travi et al. (1986), 9Delgado
(2006), 10Coppo et al. (1979), 11Milozzi et al. (2012), 12Santa Cruz et al. (2000), 13Kowalewski et al. (2011), 14Cabral et al. (2005), 15Santos et al. (2005), 16Fandeur et al. (2000),
17
Volney et al. (2002), 18 Carme et al. (2002), 19Gilbert (1994), 20Lourenco de Oliveira and Deane (1995), 21Trejo-Macías et al. (2007), 22Cristóbal-Azkarate et al. (2012), 23CristóbalAzkarate et al. (2010), 24Valdespino et al. (2010), 25 Rovirosa-Hernández et al. (2013), 26González-Hernández et al. (2011), 27Castillejos (1993), 28Milton (1996), 29Chinchilla
Carmona et al. (2005), 30Stuart et al. (1990), 31Stoner (1996), 32Vitazkova and Wade (2007), 33Stoner and González Di Pierro (2006), 34Martínez-Mota unpublished data, 35Eckert
et al. (2006), 36Alvarado-Villalobos (2010), 37Bonilla-Moheno (2002), 38Kowalzik et al. (2010), 39Phillips et al. (2004)
a
Individuals were darted for clinical evaluation and collection of botfly parasites
264
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
collected noninvasively without disturbing individuals (Gillespie 2006). The content
of these papers ranges from descriptions (e.g., reports of parasites infecting A. pigra
(Vitazkova and Wade 2006)) to studies relating parasitic infection to demographic
(e.g., group size (Stoner and González Di Pierro 2006)) or ecological variables (e.g.,
forest fragmentation (Valdespino et al. 2010); contact with domesticated animals
(Kowalewski et al. 2011)). In this chapter, we take a meta-analysis approach to
examine the effect of ecological and environmental variables on parasitic infection
of howler monkeys. First, we review variables that affect patterns of parasite infection, and second, we test whether different predictors such as forest fragmentation,
human proximity, and climatic factors influence parasitism in howler monkeys.
10.2
10.2.1
Background
Habitat Disturbance, Forest Fragmentation,
and Parasitic Infection
Habitat disturbance associated with anthropogenic activities, such as extensive logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, and ecotourism, has been added to the set of factors that promote the spread of parasites and increase the probability of pathogen
exchange (Patz et al. 2000; Smith et al. 2009). These environmental changes favor
the dispersal, establishment, and abundance of parasites that were previously rare
(Wilcox and Ellis 2006). Evidence suggests that transformation of primate habitats
alters parasite–host dynamics, affecting the potential for parasite transmission
among primate hosts. For example, Gillespie et al. (2005) found that redtail guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius) inhabiting logged forest showed an approximate
85 % increased prevalence of the gastrointestinal parasite Oesophagostomum spp.,
compared to individuals living in an undisturbed forest. Similarly, Goldberg et al.
(2008) found that humans harbored bacteria that were genetically more similar to
those hosted by redtail guenons that inhabited fragments located near their settlements, compared to bacteria from guenons living in an undisturbed forest, suggesting that bacterial transmission between humans and primates had occurred. Primates
inhabiting fragmented forests may be at greater risk of infectious diseases, in particular those living in proximity to human populations, due to increased exposure to
pathogens that proliferate in anthropogenically disturbed habitats (Gillespie and
Chapman 2006, 2008). Other studies, however, have not found clear differences in
measures of parasitic infection when comparing populations of primates inhabiting
forests with different degrees of disturbance (sifakas, P. edwardsi (Wright et al.
2009); mangabeys, Cercocebus galeritus galeritus (Mbora and McPeek 2009)).
Clearly teasing out generalities and site-specific variation in how habitat disturbance affects the transmission of parasites in different primate species will be a
major area of research in coming years.
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
10.2.2
265
Effects of Climate on Parasites
Studies of parasites hosted by wild primates should also take into consideration other
factors that may play an interactive role in parasite–host dynamics. For example,
climatic conditions, such as the amount of rainfall or moisture, have been identified
as important variables for the proliferation of parasite vectors (Altizer et al. 2006;
Vittor et al. 2006). In the case of malaria, a vector-borne disease caused by the protozoan Plasmodium spp., changes in patterns of precipitation were followed by malaria
outbreaks in several African human populations (Zhou et al. 2004; Pascual et al.
2008). In this regard, Odongo-Aginya et al. (2005) reported that density of malaria
parasites found in blood samples of human patients fluctuated with mean monthly
rainfall during a year in the Entebbe Municipality, Uganda. Parasite vectors, such as
mosquitos (e.g., Anopheles spp.), benefit from changes in rainfall patterns, given that
these conditions increase humidity and availability of water sources, which provide
more breeding sites, speed vector development, and increase vector abundance,
potentially spreading a disease more efficiently (Patz et al. 2000; Vittor et al. 2006).
Rainfall also has been associated with an increase in protozoan infections such
as cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in human populations (Jagai et al. 2009) as well
as in nonhuman primates (chimpanzees (Gonzalez-Moreno et al. 2013); black
howler monkeys (Vitazkova and Wade 2006)). This might be the result of a high
concentration of oocytes and cysts in water sources that tend to accumulate after
heavy rainfall (Muchiri et al. 2009). In addition, precipitation plays an important
role in the survival, development, and transmission of soil-transmitted helminths
including hookworms (e.g., Necator americanus), whipworms (e.g., Trichuris
trichiura), pinworms (e.g., Enterobius vermicularis), or roundworms (e.g., Ascaris
lumbricoides) which are gastrointestinal parasites of public health concern (Bethony
et al. 2006) reported to infect several nonhuman primates such as howler monkeys,
orangutans, red langurs, gibbons, and chimpanzees (Vitazkova 2009; Gillespie et al.
2010, 2013; Hilser 2011). Moisture favors the survival and development of different
parasite stages that are otherwise compromised by desiccation during dry periods
(Gillespie 2006). Thus, we would expect that precipitation also affects patterns of
parasite infection in howler monkeys.
Temperature is one of the critical climate factors affecting pathogen survival,
distribution, and transmission (Harvell et al. 2002; Poulin 2006). For example, climate variability (e.g., short-term fluctuations around mean temperature) has been
found to be a driver of malaria epidemics in African human populations (Lindblade
et al. 2000; Zhou et al. 2004). This is most likely due to changes in land use and
habitat modification that have led to an increase in temperature that in turn has
altered vector distribution and parasite infection patterns (Lindblade et al. 2000;
Harvell et al. 2002; Zamora-Vilchis et al. 2012). In parasite studies, altitude has
been used as a proxy of temperature, implying that temperature decreases as elevation increases. In fact, a negative relationship between blood parasite prevalence
and altitude has been described in birds (Zamora-Vilchis et al. 2012). Patterns of
parasitism in primates also may vary according to an altitudinal gradient; for
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
266
instance, Appleton and Henzi (1993) found that diversity of gastrointestinal parasites was lower in chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) that ranged at a
high altitude (1,835–2,250 m), where temperature changes can be extreme representing a hostile environment for parasites, than in baboons ranging at 100–200 m
altitude in Natal, South Africa. Given that parasites can be sensitive to temperature
and be affected by an altitudinal gradient, it may be expected that at higher altitudes
howler hosts present lower parasitic infection compared to howlers ranging at a low
altitude. Since howler monkeys may inhabit forests both at sea level and at high
altitude, this feature allows us to explore whether parasitic infection in howler monkeys follows an altitudinal gradient.
10.2.3
Host Distribution
A latitudinal gradient may affect patterns of parasitic infection, given that abundance and diversity of species increase in tropical areas at lower latitudes (Guernier
et al. 2004; Hillebrand 2004). In general, it is acknowledged that geographic zones
close to the equator may encompass a large variety of habitats and are characterized
by high-energy productivity and favorable climatic conditions (Pianka 1966; Rohde
1992; Luo et al. 2012), which, in turn, may allow the establishment and proliferation of a diverse array of vertebrate hosts compared to temperate zones (Hawkins
et al. 2003). This availability and diversity of hosts might favor transmission rates
among generalist parasites (Nunn et al. 2005). Parasite species also may follow this
latitudinal gradient; for example, species richness of pathogens responsible for
infectious diseases in humans was found to be higher in tropical areas at lower latitudes (Guernier et al. 2004). In a meta-analysis of 119 primate host species, Nunn
et al. (2005) found that species richness of protozoan parasites, but not helminths
and viruses, increased towards the equator. According to this, howler monkeys that
range in tropical areas close to the equator are expected to harbor more parasite species compared to howlers found at higher latitudes.
10.3
Goals and Expectations
Existing published data on parasites harbored by different species of howlers creates an opportunity to explore general trends of parasitism in these New World primates. Therefore, the main goal of this chapter is to examine the effect of multiple
variables on measures of parasitic infection reported for several species of howler
monkeys. We predict that:
1. Howler geographic distribution will have an effect on parasitic infection. We
expect that parasite prevalence and species richness as measures of parasitic
infection will be higher in howlers living close to the equator compared to howlers living at higher latitudes.
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
267
2. Given that humidity and rainfall may favor the development of parasites at
different stages, we expect that measures of parasitic infections will be positively
correlated with precipitation in howler monkeys. Furthermore, we expect that
howlers living at lower altitudes show higher parasitic infection than howlers
living at higher altitudes.
3. Habitat disturbance and forest fragmentation have been recognized as factors
that modify parasitic infection dynamics; in this regard, we expect that howlers
living in fragmented/disturbed habitats show higher parasite prevalence and
richness than howlers inhabiting undisturbed forests. In addition, in anthropogenically disturbed habitats, the likelihood of contact between human and nonhuman primates is higher compared to remote areas, increasing the probabilities
of pathogen exchange (Gillespie et al. 2008; Rwego et al. 2008). Thus, we expect
that howlers inhabiting areas close to human settlements show an increase in
measures of parasitic infection.
10.4
10.4.1
Methods
Data Collection
We conducted a literature review and analyzed published material including scientific articles, brief reports, and dissertation theses that reported parasitic infection in
howler monkeys including mantled howlers (Alouatta palliata), black howlers
(A. pigra), red howlers (A. macconnelli and A. sara), red-handed howlers (A. belzebul), brown howlers (A. guariba), and black-and-gold howler monkeys (A. caraya).
We also searched any record of published material in the Global Mammal Parasite
Database (www.mammalparasites.org, Nunn and Altizer 2005). We obtained parasite prevalence data reported for each species of parasite and recorded the number
of parasite species reported in each study case. For each study site, we obtained
ecological/environmental data including latitude, altitude (meters), and annual precipitation (millimeters) from primary literature (i.e., when reported in the study) or
from websites such as WorldClim and Google Earth.
We categorized the howler monkey habitats as fragmented or continuous based
on forest size (Marsh 2003; Kowalewski and Gillespie 2009). We assigned the category of small forest fragments to those with 1–100 ha forest cover. Fragments
ranging in size from 100 to 1,000 ha were considered medium-size fragments, and
those ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 ha of forest cover were assigned to the largefragment category. Continuous habitats were those characterized by having
≥10,000 ha of forest area. Moreover, howler habitats were divided in three categories according to their proximity of human settlements, following Kowalewski and
Gillespie (2009): (1) we considered an area as “remote” when the site was almost or
totally isolated from human settlements. (2) We assigned the category of “rural”
area to howler habitats that were close to rural populations, fishing camps, and/or
268
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
were regularly visited by people. This applies mostly to forest fragments located
nearby human settlements, where locals possibly carry out activities such as selective logging, cattle ranching, or hunting, showing a constant presence in howler
habitats. (3) An “urban” site was considered when howler habitats were in close
proximity to or immersed within human settlements characterized by dense human
populations.
10.4.2
Data Analysis
We divided prevalence data into two broad categories, helminth and protozoan parasites: (1) We divided the helminth parasite data set into nematodes (82 records),
trematodes (38 records), and cestodes (13 records) and also analyzed the effect of
predictor variables on prevalence of Trypanoxyuris parasites, given that this was a
well-represented genus in 4 out of 7 howler species (exception were A. guariba,
A. macconnelli, and A. sara). (2) We separately analyzed prevalence data of protozoan parasites: we first divided this data set in a general category named amoebae
parasites (34 records), which included the genera Entamoeba, Endolimax,
Iodamoeba, and unknown reported amoebae. Thereafter, we analyzed Giardia
prevalence (21 records) separately since these parasites were represented in 5 of 7
howler species (A. belzebul, A. caraya, A. guariba, A. palliata, and A. pigra) in our
database. Finally, we analyzed data on Plasmodium prevalence (17 records).
Plasmodium data were only available for 2 South American howler species (A.
caraya and A. macconnelli); however, given that malaria infection is frequently
associated with ecological changes (Zhou et al. 2004), we decided to explore the
effect of ecological/environmental variables on the prevalence of this genus.
Parasite prevalence usually follows an aggregated distribution (e.g., negative
binomial (Wilson et al. 2002)), thus we log-transformed helminth and protozoan
prevalence and analyzed these data using generalized linear models with an identity
link function in the R software (MASS library, version 2.15.1) (Crawley 2007). We
considered the following predictor variables: forest type as a categorical variable,
which includes fragments of different size and continuous forests. Similarly, human
proximity was included as a categorical variable with three levels (1 = remote,
2 = rural, 3 = urban). Latitude, annual precipitation (millimeters), and altitude
(meters) were included as continuous variables. We ran each model taking into
account all predictor variables and selected the best model using the Akaike information criterion. Thereafter we ran a deviance test to assess model adequacy.
We also tested the effects of forest type, latitude, altitude, and precipitation and
the effect of human proximity on parasite species richness (i.e., number of parasite
species reported per howler population). We analyzed these data with a generalized
linear model with a negative binomial link function (Wilson and Grenfell 1997;
Crawley 2007) using the glm.nb procedure of the MASS library in the R software
(version 2.15.1).
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
10.5
10.5.1
269
Results
Helminth Analysis
Nematodes: We found that precipitation was a predictor of nematode prevalence
(χ2 = 13.53, p = 0.003) in howler monkeys. Figure 10.1 shows that nematode prevalence increases with precipitation. Other terms included in the model, such as forest
type, latitude, or altitude, did not have an effect on the response variable. Similarly,
human proximity did not have any effect on nematode prevalence.
Trematodes and Cestodes: We did not find any significant effect of forest type, latitude, precipitation, altitude, or human proximity on the prevalence of trematodes
and cestodes hosted by howler monkeys. However, we found a trend of cestode
prevalence being higher in howlers from remote forests compared to howlers inhabiting rural areas (Fig. 10.2). We did not find any record of cestode parasites at the
“urban” level in the “human proximity” categorical variable in our data set; thus,
this level was not considered in the analysis.
Trypanoxyuris: Prevalence of Trypanoxyuris parasites was not predicted by any of
our predictor variables; however, we found a trend in which prevalence was higher
at lower altitudes and decreased at higher altitudes (Fig. 10.3).
Fig. 10.1 Relationship between nematode prevalence hosted by howler monkeys and
precipitation
270
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
Fig. 10.2 Effects of human proximity on cestode prevalence (%) hosted by howler monkeys.
Human proximity categories included in the analysis were remote and rural (see methods for
description). Box and whisker plot shows the median, percentiles (25 and 75 %), and the minimum
and maximum value
Fig. 10.3 Scatterplot showing a negative relationship between altitude (m) and prevalence (%) of
Trypanoxyuris spp. reported to infect different howler monkeys
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
10.5.2
271
Protozoan Analysis
Amoebae Parasites: We found that the interaction between latitude and precipitation
had an effect on the prevalence of amoeba parasites ( χ2 = 9.08, p < 0.001). Amoebae
prevalence increased close to the equator and at sites where precipitation was high
(Fig. 10.4). Other predictors, such as forest type, altitude, or human proximity had
no affect on overall amoebae prevalence.
Giardia: Precipitation predicted Giardia prevalence ( χ2 = 8.6, p < 0.05), producing a
negative (exponential) relationship between precipitation and Giardia prevalence
(Fig. 10.5). Other predictors were not significant.
Plasmodium: Plasmodium prevalence was not predicted by any of our independent
variables.
10.5.3
Parasite Richness Analysis
We did not find any effect of forest type, latitude, altitude, precipitation, or the
degree of human proximity on parasite species richness.
Fig. 10.4 Relationship among amoebae prevalence (%), latitude, and precipitation (mm) in
howler monkeys (Genus Alouatta)
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
272
Fig. 10.5 Negative relationship between prevalence (%) of Giardia spp. reported for different
species of howler monkeys and precipitation (mm)
10.6
10.6.1
Discussion
Effects of Climatic Factors
In this review, we found that different factors including precipitation, latitude, altitude, and human proximity may influence parasite infection in howler monkeys.
However, the effect of each of these predictor variables varies depending on the
parasite category (Table 10.2). Table 10.2 summarizes general trends found in our
analysis. For example, in the case of helminth parasites, precipitation positively
predicted nematode, but not trematode and cestode prevalence. Moreover, altitude
only affected prevalence of the nematode Trypanoxyuris. Humidity and rainfall are
critical climatic factors for the survival and spread of parasites, especially soiltransmitted helminths (e.g., Ascaris spp.) that are sensitive to desiccation (Patz et al.
2000). It is possible that the encounter rate with nematodes that proliferate in forests
characterized by high precipitation is higher for howlers inhabiting these sites than
for howlers living in drier environments. To our surprise, trematode prevalence was
not predicted by precipitation, despite the majority of these parasites requiring
intermediate hosts dependent on water sources (e.g., mollusks such as snails) during
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
Table 10.2 Effects of precipitation, latitude, and altitude on parasite prevalence and richness in howler monkeys (genus Alouatta)
Precipitation
Latitude
Altitude
Nematodes
+
0
0
Trematodes
0
0
0
Cestodes
0
0
0
Trypanoxyiurisa
0
0
−
Amoeba
+
−
0
Giardia
−
0
0
Plasmodium
0
0
0
Parasite richness
0
0
0
+ = positive relationship; − = negative relationship; 0 = no significant effect
Indicates that although not significant there exists a trend
a
273
274
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
their life cycles. The lack of connection between precipitation and trematode prevalence in howlers may be the result of spatial variability in the intermediate host
distribution (Wilson et al. 2002), which may limit the probability of contact between
trematode-infective stages and howler monkeys as definitive hosts. Alternately,
trematodes that proliferate in howler habitats may be using vertebrates other than
howlers as definitive hosts. It is also possible that lower trematode prevalence and
richness at some sites simply are the result of using different procedures varying in
efficiency to isolate trematode eggs from feces (e.g., flotation and sedimentation
techniques), which makes comparing the results of studies difficult (Gillespie 2006).
On the other hand, prevalence of protozoan parasites such as amoebae was
affected by the interaction between rainfall and latitude. Howler monkeys living in
sites characterized by high amount of annual precipitation and close to the equator
have higher prevalence of amoeba parasites compared to howler hosts at higher latitudes living in areas with lower rainfall. Amoebae are waterborne protozoan parasites transmitted via fecal–oral route, and while some species like Entamoeba coli
are not pathogenic, others, such as E. histolytica and Endolimax nana, may cause
dysentery and diarrheic events, respectively, in human populations (Graczyk et al.
2005). Howler monkeys inhabiting tropical areas characterized by heavy rainfall
may be infected by amoebae while drinking water accumulated in tree holes
following rainfall events (A. caraya (Giudice and Mudry 2000); A. pigra (MartinezMota, unpubl. data)). However, in our experience, howler monkeys rarely show
diarrheic episodes or clinical signs of enteric disease. In fact, in this review, only
11.7 % of our amoebae records were of the diarrheic-causing protozoa E. nana,
while the majority were Entamoeba spp. (20.6 %) and unknown amoebae (29.4 %).
Further studies using molecular tools (e.g., PCR) should be used to determine
whether amoebae parasites infecting howlers are of pathogenic potential.
In contrast with the pattern found in the amoebae analysis, we found that howlers
inhabiting areas with lower annual precipitation have higher Giardia prevalence.
Giardiasis is a waterborne reemerging infectious disease widely distributed in the
tropics. Transmission of Giardia occurs by the fecal–oral route, usually when a host
ingests cyst-contaminated water and food. Typical symptoms may involve diarrhea,
abdominal pain, and weight loss (Thompson 2000; Fayer et al. 2004). Given the
zoonotic potential of these protozoa found infecting wildlife, livestock, and humans,
giardiasis has become a disease of human health concern (Thompson 2000; Volotao
et al. 2008). We found in our meta-analysis that Giardia spp. was reported to infect
A. belzebul, A. caraya, A. guariba, A. palliata, and A. pigra. Although prevalence of
this parasite has been associated with heavy rainfall and water sources (Hunter
2003; Fayer et al. 2004), our results indicate the opposite trend. Kowalewski et al.
(2011) suggested that due to the interplay of additional factors associated with
anthropogenic disturbance, such as presence of infected cattle and the common use
of small water reservoirs, howler habitat use and stress levels, together with human
presence may drive Giardia infection patterns in howler monkeys.
In human patients, Plasmodium infection correlates negatively with altitude and
increases in parallel with precipitation (Drakeley et al. 2005; Odongo-Aginya et al.
2005); however, in our study, none of our predictor variables had a significant effect
on Plasmodium prevalence. New World primates are potential hosts for Plasmodium,
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
275
and prevalence of this pathogen increases with primate group size (Nunn and
Heymann 2005). The fact that we failed to detect any trend in Plasmodium infection
may be associated to the small number of reported cases in our data base (n = 17).
The small number of reports of Plasmodium infection in howlers probably reflects
that only few studies have carried out health monitoring initiatives. We suggest that
as part of complete health monitoring (or during translocation and/or capture procedures for marking purposes), howlers should be tested for Plasmodium. With this
new information we will be able to determine if howlers have been exposed to this
parasite along their entire distribution.
10.6.2
Parasite Species Richness
Although parasite species richness in primates increases towards the equator (Nunn
et al. 2005), we failed to find this relationship in howler monkeys. Our results differ
from those of Nunn et al. (2005), who found that latitude negatively predicts protozoan parasite diversity in primates. Nunn et al. used a large database (119 primate
taxa) including species with distinct life histories and ecological features (e.g.,
arboreal and terrestrial, insectivores, folivores, and frugivores), which may explain
variation in diversity of parasites hosted by primates. Despite the fact that the genus
Alouatta is widely distributed from Mexico to South America, with species inhabiting different forest types and ecosystems, all howler species share similar life histories and behavioral ecology, and this might be the reason for the lack of variation in
parasite species richness along a latitudinal gradient. Our results suggest that other
factors, which in some instances covary with latitude, must be responsible for
changes in parasite species diversity within primate hosts.
Parasite species richness has been considered an important disease risk indicator
(Nunn and Altizer 2006). Poulin and Morand (2000) suggest that the observed parasite diversity within a host is the result of coevolutionary processes between parasites and host and may reflect the susceptibility of hosts to be colonized by parasites.
Furthermore, parasite colonization process and diversity are driven to some extent
by host ecological traits (Poulin and Morand 2000). In our analysis, we found that
the number of parasite species reported to infect howler monkeys is rather low
(average: 5.2 ± 2.3 per population, range: 2–12). This might be the result of howler
monkey ecological traits such as arboreality, which may prevent monkeys from contacting infective stages of some parasite species that are more commonly found on
the ground. Gillespie et al. (2005) reported that in logged forests the arboreal blackand-white colobus (Colobus guereza) showed lower parasite diversity compared to
redtail guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius), which frequently feed on insects in the
lower strata of the canopy (Rode et al. 2006). Such feeding habits may expose primates to parasites that use invertebrates as intermediate hosts. Howler monkeys do
not actively feed on insects; moreover, the ingestion of substantial amounts of leaves
during certain seasons may contribute to their resistance to parasites, since leaves of
species such as Ficus spp. may act as natural antiparasitic agents due to their secondary compound content (Huffman 1997; Stoner and González Di Pierro 2006).
276
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
We cannot discard the possibility that howler monkeys are intrinsically prone to
host few parasite species. Due to their high dispersal and colonizing ability (Ford
2006), and their ecological flexibility, howlers are considered “pioneers,” specially
adapted to exploit marginal habitats (Rosenberger et al. 2011). The latter probably
contributed to their higher resistance to pathogen infections. Studies examining the
immune function in howlers may shed light on this possibility.
10.6.3
Human Proximity and Habitat Disturbance
Although we did not find any significant effect of human proximity on parasite
prevalence (nematodes, trematodes, amoebae parasites, and the specific genera
Trypanoxyuris, Giardia, and Plasmodium), we found a trend in which cestode prevalence was slightly higher in howlers inhabiting remote and less disturbed areas
compared to howlers from rural sites that are characterized by a constant presence
of people. Surprisingly, we did not find any effect of human proximity on species
richness. Howler monkeys inhabiting more conserved and remote areas may interact with a diverse array of fauna, which could increase the probability of parasite
transmission, especially generalist parasites that infect different host species. In
contrast, it is possible that howlers that inhabit forests located in rural areas do not
come into close contact with other vertebrates such as small mammals. In rural
areas, hunting is a common activity practiced by local people and decreases the
abundance of vertebrates (Peres 2001) serving as potential hosts. In addition, howler
habitats located near rural areas are often characterized by anthropogenic impact,
such as slash-and-burn agriculture, which involves burning a piece of land before
cultivation. Bloemers et al. (1997) found that forest fragments that have been
impacted by slash-and-burn agriculture had lower nematode diversity. It is possible
that fire associated with this practice, as well as changes in microclimatic conditions, such as decreased humidity and increased desiccation associated with edge
effects in forest fragments (Laurance 2000), negatively affect the survival of infective stages of parasites.
Although habitat disturbance has been related to increases in parasitic infection
and clearly modifies parasite–host dynamics in primates (Gillespie et al. 2005;
Gillespie and Chapman 2006, 2008), mechanisms for such change may be highly
influenced by the nature and magnitude of the disturbance experienced. Our analysis failed to detect an effect of the habitat type on parasite prevalence and richness
of howler monkeys. Our results paralleled those of Kowalewski and Gillespie (2009)
who found that habitat disturbance did not predict parasitism in South American
howler monkeys and agree with recent findings which show that primates inhabiting
disturbed forests do not have higher parasitic infections than primates living in conserved habitats (Young et al. 2013). This lack of effect of forest type on parasitism
may be related to our classification scheme of continuous or fragmented forest (e.g.,
small, medium, and large fragments). These are artificial categories that do not take
into consideration other interacting variables affecting parasitism. Consequently, we
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
277
suggest that future parasite studies in howler monkeys and other primates avoid the
continuous-fragmented forest dichotomy since this categorical variable does not
add any explanation power to results. Instead, we encourage primatologists to collect and quantify ecological and environmental data in order to provide better explanations of parasitic infection patterns. We believe that including a general quantitative
assessment of habitat disturbance such as an index of logging extraction (Gillespie
and Chapman 2006, 2008), size and shape of howler habitats (Valdespino et al.
2010), exposure rates of individuals to a matrix of human-transformed habitat
(Zommers et al. 2012), human and domestic animal proximity (Rwego et al. 2008),
together with quantitative data of microclimatic variation (e.g., humidity, temperature, rainfall) will improve the quality of explanatory variables and give us better
insights into the proximate factors that affect parasitism in howler monkeys.
10.7
Final Remarks
One characteristic of parasites is that they are not evenly distributed in a host population (Wilson et al. 2002). According to the data we analyzed from 31 studies,
parasites infecting howler monkeys followed an aggregated (right-skewed) distribution (Fig. 10.6a, b) in which only few individuals in the population harbor parasites.
For example, Fig. 10.6 shows that the proportion of infected howlers (i.e., prevalence) with helminth (A) and protozoan (B) parasites is rather low, suggesting that
only few sampled individuals per study presented evidence of parasitic infection.
This characteristic has significant implications for detecting parasitic infection in a
specific population and calls attention to the importance of gathering a large sample
size (number of individuals sampled and number of samples collected per individual; Gillespie 2006). This is particularly important given that many studies reporting
parasites in howlers are based only on brief surveys and small sample sizes.
More than 60 % of the studies analyzed in this chapter (Table 10.1) used fecal
material to recover gastrointestinal parasite eggs, cysts, oocysts, and larvae. Egg
counts have been used as a proxy of parasite intensity or load in many studies in
nonhuman primates including red colobus monkeys (Procolobus rufomitratus
(Chapman et al. 2009)), olive baboons (Papio anubis (Weyher et al. 2006)), and
howler monkeys (mantled howlers, A. palliata (Stoner 1996); black howlers,
A. pigra (Stoner and González Di Pierro 2006; González-Hernández et al. 2011)).
Intensity is defined as the number of adult individuals of a specific parasite species
within a host (Bush et al. 1997). Because intensity of adult individuals can induce
morbidity, this measure provides an important index of disease risk (Bethony et al.
2006); however, helminth parasite egg production does not correlate with the number
of adult parasites infecting a single host (Anderson and Schad 1985), which makes
egg counts a limited measure of parasite intensity. Despite this being reiterated in the
primate literature (Gillespie 2006), primatologists continue using this measure as an
index of intensity. This is an incorrect procedure that should be avoided in howler
parasite studies. First of all, egg output rate is characterized by day-to-day variability
278
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
Fig. 10.6 Frequency of helminth (a) and protozoan (b) prevalence reported in howler monkey studies
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
279
within and between individual hosts (Anderson and Schad 1985; Wilson et al. 2002),
which may lead to incorrect conclusions, based on false-negative results, such as
claiming that a howler monkey population is not infected by certain parasite species.
Second, number of eggs shed in feces is not constant over time and does not indicate
degree of infection (Ezenwa 2003). Actually, parasite egg output in humans has been
found to decrease when worm burden increases due to a density-dependent effect on
parasite fecundity (Anderson and Schad 1985). Because of this, helminth egg counts
do not provide an accurate measure of parasite intensity.
Our goal is not to minimize the damaging effects that pathogens may have on
howler monkeys, but rather to draw attention to the fact that parasitic infection in
howler monkeys is driven by complex interactions among environmental and ecological factors, which vary according to parasite type. There is strong evidence that
infectious diseases have the potential to increase mortality in howler populations
(Holzmann et al. 2010; de Almeida et al. 2012). Unfortunately, there is a disconnection between such sporadic evidence of pathogenic threats to howlers and the ubiquitous data typically collected in the study of howler parasites. Howler parasite studies
are generally focused on relating parasitic infections to seasonal periods (e.g., wet vs.
dry), forest type (e.g., disturbed vs. undisturbed), or sex (e.g., male vs. female), and
although these are important variables to be taken into account, fine-grained estimations of ecological and microclimate change will provide better insights into the
proximate factors that promote parasitism in howler monkeys. Finally, we want to
point out that there is a gap in primate gastrointestinal parasite taxonomy, which
highlights the need to collaborate with molecular parasitologists to correctly identify
parasite taxa hosted by howler monkeys. In this way, we will be able to accurately
determine parasites with pathogenic potential and then assess disease risk.
Acknowledgments We are very grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable input. We
thank Nicoletta Righini for helpful comments during the development of this manuscript.
References
Altizer S, Dobson A, Hosseini P, Hudson P, Pascual M, Rohani P (2006) Seasonality and the
dynamics of infectious diseases. Ecol Lett 9:467–484
Alvarado-Villalobos MA (2010) Prevalencia e intensidad de parásitos intestinales de Alouatta
pigra en fragmentos de selva en Playas de Catazajá. Chiapas. Bachelors thesis, Universidad
Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México
Anderson RM, Schad GA (1985) Hookworm burdens and faecal egg counts: an analysis of the
biological basis of variation. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 79:812–825
Appleton CC, Henzi SP (1993) Environmental correlates of gastrointestinal parasitism in montane
and lowland baboons in Natal, South Africa. Int J Primatol 14:623–635
Bermejo M, Rodríguez-Teijeiro JD, Illera G, Barroso A, Vilà C, Walsh PD (2006) Ebola outbreak
killed 5000 gorillas. Science 314:1564
Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, Diemert D, Hotez PJ (2006) Soiltransmitted helminth infections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworms. Lancet 367:1521–1532
Bloemers GF, Hodda M, Lambshead PJD, Lawton JH, Wanless FR (1997) The effects of forest
disturbance on diversity of tropical soil nematodes. Oecologia 111:575–582
280
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
Bonilla-Moheno M (2002) Prevalencia de parásitos gastroentéricos en primates (Alouatta pigra y
Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis) localizados en hábitat conservado y fragmentado de Quintana
Roo, México. Bachelors thesis, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF
Braza F (1980) El araguato rojo (Alouatta seniculus). Doñana Acta Vertebr 75:1–175
Bush AO, Lafferty KD, Lotz JM, Shostak AW (1997) Parasitology meets ecology on its own
terms: Margolis et al. revisited. J Parasitol 83:575–583
Cabral JNH, Rossato RS, de M Gomes MJT, Araujo FAP, Oliveira F, Praetzel K (2005)
Gastrointestinais de bugios-ruivos (Alouatta guariba clamitans Cabrera 1940) da regiao
extremo-sul de Porto Alegre/RS- Brasil, diagnosticados atraves da coproscopia: implicacoes
para a conservacao da especie e seus ha. Congresso Brasileiro de Parasitologia, Porto Alegre,
RS, Brasil
Carme B, Aznar C, Motard A, Demar M, De Thoisy B (2002) Serologic survey of Toxoplasma
gondii in noncarnivorous free-ranging neotropical mammals in French Guiana. Vector Borne
Zoonotic Dis 2:11–17
Castillejos M (1993) Identificación de parásitos gastrointestinales en monos aulladores (Alouatta
palliata), en la reserva “El Zapotal” Chiapas, México. Bachelors thesis, Facultad de Medicina
Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, México
Chapman CA, Rothman JM, Hodder SAM (2009) Can parasite infections be a selective force
influencing primate group size? A test with red colobus. In: Huffman MA, Chapman CA (eds)
Primate parasite ecology. The dynamics and study of host-parasite relationships. Cambridge
University, Cambridge
Chinchilla Carmona M, Guerrero Bermúdez O, Gutiérrez-Espeleta GA, Sánchez Porras R,
Rodríguez Ortiz B (2005) Parásitos intestinales en monos congo Alouatta palliata (Primates:
Cebidae) de Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 53:437–445
Clarke MR, Crockett CM, Zucker EL, Zaldivar M (2002) Mantled howler population of Hacienda
La Pacifica, Costa Rica, between 1991 and 1998: effects of deforestation. Am J Primatol
56:155–163
Coppo JA, Moreira RA, Lombardero OJ (1979) El parasitismo en los primates del CAPRIM. Acta
Zool Lilloana 35:9–12
Crawley MJ (2007) The R book. Wiley, Sussex
Cristóbal-Azkarate J, Hervier B, Vegas-Carrillo S, Osorio-Sarabia D, Rodríguez-Luna E, Veà JJ
(2010) Parasitic infections of three Mexican howler monkey groups (Alouatta palliata mexicana) living in forest fragments in Mexico. Primates 51:231–239
Cristóbal-Azkarate J, Colwell DD, Kenny D, Solórzano B, Shedden A, Cassaigne I, RodríguezLuna E (2012) First report of bot fly (Cuterebra baeri) infestation in howler monkeys (Alouatta
palliata) from Mexico. J Wildl Dis 48:822–825
Daszak P, Berger L, Cunningham AA, Hyatt AD, Green DE, Speare R (1999) Emerging infectious
diseases and amphibian population declines. Emerg Infect Dis 5:735–748
Daszak P, Cunningham AA, Hyatt AD (2000) Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife- threats to
biodiversity and human health. Science 287:443–449
de Almeida MA, Dos Santos E, da Cruz CJ, da Fonseca DF, Noll CA, Silveira VR, Maeda AY, de
Souza RP, Kanamura C, Brasil RA (2012) Yellow fever outbreak affecting Alouatta populations in southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul State), 2008–2009. Am J Primatol 74:68–76
Delgado A (2006) Estudio de patrones de uso de sitios de defecación y su posible relación con
infestaciones parasitarias en dos grupos de monos aulladores negros y dorados (Alouatta
caraya) en el nordeste argentino. Bachelors thesis, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
Di Fiore A, Link A, Campbell CJ (2011) The Atelines. Behavioral and socioecological diversity in
a New World monkey radiation. In: Campbell CJ, Fuentes AF, MacKinnon KC, Bearder SK,
Stumpf RM (eds) Primates in perspective, 2nd edn. Oxford University, New York
Drakeley CJ, Carneiro I, Reyburn H, Malima R, Lusingu JPA, Cox J, Theander TG, Nkya WMMM,
Lemnge MM, Riley EM (2005) Altitude-dependent and -independent variations in Plasmodium
falciparum prevalence in northeastern Tanzania. J Infect Dis 191:1589–1598
Duarte AMRC, Porto MAL, Curado I, Malafronte RS, Hoffmann EHE, de Oliveira SG,
da Silva AMJ, Kloetzel JK, Gomes AC (2006) Widespread occurrence of antibodies against
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
281
circumsporozoite protein and against blood forms of Plasmodium vivax, P falciparum and P
malariae in Brazilian wild monkeys. J Med Primatol 35:87–96
Eckert KA, Hahn NE, Genz A, Kitchen DM, Stuart MD, Averbeck GA, Stromberg BE, Markowitz
H (2006) Coprological surveys of Alouatta pigra at two sites in Belize. Int J Primatol
27:227–238
Ezenwa VO (2003) Thee effect of time of day on the prevalence of coccidian oocysts in antelope
faecal samples. Afr J Ecol 41:192–193
Fandeur T, Volney B, Peneau C, De Thoisy B (2000) Monkeys of the rainforest in French Guiana
are natural reservoirs for P. brasilianum/P. malariae malaria. Parasitology 120:11–21
Fayer R, Dubey JP, Lindsay DS (2004) Zoonotic protozoa: from land to sea. Trends Parasitol
20:531–536
Ford SM (2006) The biogeographic history of Mesoamerican primates. In: Estrada A, Garber PA,
Pavelka MSM, Luecke L (eds) New perspectives in the study of Mesoamerican primates: distribution, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Springer, New York
Garcia JL, Svoboda WK, Chryssafidis AL, de Souza Malanski L, Shiozawa MM, de Moraes
Aguiar L, Teixeira GM, Ludwig G, da Silva LR, Hilst C, Navarro IT (2005) Sero-epidemiological
survey for toxoplasmosis in wild New World monkeys (Cebus spp.; Alouatta caraya) at the
Paraná river basin, Paraná State, Brazil. Vet Parasitol 133:307–311
Gilbert KA (1994) Endoparasitic infection in red howling monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) in the
Central Amazonian basis: a cost of sociality? PhD dissertation, The State University of New
Jersey at New Brunswick Rutgers
Gillespie TR (2006) Noninvasive assessment of gastrointestinal parasite infections in free-ranging
primates. Int J Primatol 27:1129–1143
Gillespie TR, Chapman CA (2006) Prediction of parasite infection dynamics in primate metapopulations based on attributes of forest fragmentation. Conserv Biol 20:441–448
Gillespie TR, Chapman CA (2008) Forest fragmentation, the decline of an endangered primate,
and changes in host-parasite interactions relative to an unfragmented forest. Am J Primatol
70:222–230
Gillespie TR, Chapman CA, Granier EC (2005) Effects of logging on gastrointestinal parasite
infections and infection risk in African primates. J Appl Ecol 42:699–707
Gillespie TR, Nunn CL, Leendertz FH (2008) Integrative approaches to the study of primate infectious disease: implications for biodiversity conservation and global health. Am J Phys
Anthropol 51:53–69
Gillespie TR, Lonsdorf EV, Canfield EP, Meyer DJ, Nadler Y, Raphael J, Pusey AE, Pond J, Pauley
J, Mlengeya T, Travis DA (2010) Demographic and ecological effects on patterns of parasitism
in eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania.
Am J Phys Anthropol 143:534–544
Gillespie TR, Barelli C, Heistermann M (2013) Effects of social status and stress on patterns of
gastrointestinal parasitism in wild white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar). Am J Phys Anthropol
150:602–608
Giudice AM, Mudry MD (2000) Drinking behavior in the black howler monkey (Alouatta caraya).
Zoocriaderos 3:11–19
Godoy KCI, Odalia-Rimoli A, Rimoli J (2004) Infeccao por endoparasitos em um grupo de
bugios-pretos (Alouatta caraya), em um fragmento florestal no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul.
Neotrop Primates 12:63–68
Goldberg TL, Gillespie TR, Rwego IB, Estoff EL, Chapman CA (2008) Forest fragmentation as
cause of bacterial transmission among non-human primates, humans, and livestock, Uganda.
Emerg Infect Dis 14:1375–1382
González-Hernández M, Dias PAD, Romero-Salas D, Canales-Espinosa D (2011) Does home
range use explain the relationship between group size and parasitism? A test with two sympatric species of howler monkeys. Primates 52:211–216
Gonzalez-Moreno O, Hernandez-Aguilar RA, Piel AK, Stewart FA, Gracenea M, Moore J (2013)
Prevalence and climatic associated factors of Cryptosporidium sp. infection in savanna chimpanzees from Ugalla, Western Tanzania. Parasitol Res 112:393–399
282
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
Graczyk TK, Shiff CK, Tamang L, Munsaka F, Beitin AM, Moss WJ (2005) The association of
Blastocystis hominis and Endolimax nana with diarrheal stools in Zambia school-age children.
Parasitol Res 98:38–43
Guernier V, Hochberg ME, Guégan JF (2004) Ecology drives the worldwide distribution of human
diseases. PLoS Biol 2:740–746
Harvell CD, Mitchell CE, Ward JR, Altizer S, Dobson AP, Ostfeld RS, Samuel MD (2002) Climate
warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science 296:2158–2162
Hawkins BA, Porter EE, Dinis-Filho JAF (2003) Productivity and history as predictors of the latitudinal diversity gradient of terrestrial birds. Ecology 84:1608–1623
Hillebrand H (2004) On the generality of the latitudinal diversity gradient. Am Nat 163:192–211
Hilser H (2011) An assessment of primate health in the Sabangau peat-swamp forest, central
Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Masters thesis, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
Holzmann I, Agostini I, Areta JI, Ferreyra H, Beldomenico P, Di Bitetti MS (2010) Impact of yellow fever outbreaks on two howler monkey species (Alouatta guariba clamitans and A. caraya)
in Misiones, Argentina. Am J Primatol 72:475–480
Huffman MA (1997) Current evidence for self-medication in primates: a multidisciplinary perspective. Yearbook Phys Anthropol 40:171–200
Hunter PR (2003) Climate change and waterborne and vector-borne disease. J Appl Microbiol
94:37S–46S
Jagai JS, Castronovo DA, Monchak J, Naumova EN (2009) Seasonality of cryptosporidiosis: a
meta-analysis approach. Environ Res 109:465–478
Köndgen S, Kühl H, N’Goran PK, Walsh PD, Schenk S, Ernst N, Biek R, Formenty P, MätzRensing K, Schweiger B, Junglen S, Ellerbrok H, Nitsche A, Briese T, Lipkin WI, Pauli G,
Boesch C, Leendertz FH (2008) Pandemic human viruses cause decline of endangered great
apes. Curr Biol 18:260–264
Kowalewski MM, Garber PA (2010) Mating promiscuity and reproductive tactics in female black
and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) inhabiting an island on the Parana River, Argentina.
Am J Primatol 72:734–748
Kowalewski MM, Gillespie TR (2009) Ecological and anthropogenic influences on patterns of
parasitism in free-ranging primates: a meta-analysis of the Genus Alouatta. In: Garber PA,
Estrada A, Bicca-Marques JC, Heymann EW, Strier KB (eds) South American primates.
Comparative perspectives in the study of behavior, ecology, and conservation. Springer,
New York
Kowalewski MM, Salzer JS, Deutsch JC, Raño M, Kuhlenschmidt MS, Gillespie TR (2011) Black
and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) as sentinels of ecosystem health: patterns of zoonotic protozoa infection relative to degree of human-primate contact. Am J Primatol
73:75–83
Kowalzik BK, Pavelka MSM, Kutz SJ, Behie A (2010) Parasites, primates, and ant-plants: clues to
the life cycle of Controrchis sp. in black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in southern Belize.
J Wildl Dis 46:1330–1334
Laurance WF (2000) Do edge effects occur over large spatial scales? Trends Ecol Evol
15:134–135
Laurenson K, Sillero-Zubiri C, Thompson H, Shiferaw F, Thirgood S, Malcolm J (1998) Disease
as a threat to endangered species: Ethiopian wolves, domestic dogs and canine pathogens.
Anim Conserv 1:273–280
Leendertz FH, Pauli G, Maetz-Rensing K, Boardman W, Nunn C, Ellerbrok H, Jensen SA, Junglen
S, Boesch C (2006) Pathogens as drivers of population declines: the importance of systematic
monitoring in great apes and other threatened mammals. Biol Conserv 131:325–337
Lindblade KA, Walker ED, Onapa AW, Katungu J, Wilson ML (2000) Land use change alters
malaria transmission parameters by modifying temperature in a highland area of Uganda. Trop
Med Int Health 5:263–274
Lourenco de Oliveira R, Deane LM (1995) Simian malaria at two sites in the Brazilian Amazon.
The infection rates of Plasmodium brasilianum in non-human primates. Mem Inst Oswaldo
Cruz 90:331–339
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
283
Luo Z, Tang S, Li C, Fang H, Hu H, Yang J, Ding J, Jiang Z (2012) Environmental effects on vertebrate species richness: testing the energy, environmental stability and habitat heterogeneity
hypotheses. PLoS One 7(e35514):1–7
Marsh LK (2003) The nature of fragmentation. In: Marsh LK (ed) Primates in fragments: ecology
and conservation. Kluwer Academic, New York
Martins SS, Ferrari SF, Silva CS (2008) Gastro-intestinal parasites of free-ranging red-handed
howlers (Alouatta belzebul) in Eastern Amazonia. In: Ferrari SF, Rímoli J (eds) A Primatologia
no Brasil—9 (.) Aracaju, Sociedade Brasileira de Primatologia, Biologia Geral e Experimental—
UFS, pp 114–124
Mbora DNM, McPeek MA (2009) Host density and human activities mediate increased parasite
prevalence and richness in primates threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. J Anim Ecol
78:210–218
Milozzi C, Bruno G, Cundom E, Mudry MD, Navone GT (2012) Intestinal parasites of Alouatta
caraya (Primates, Ceboidea): preliminary study in semi-captivity and in the wild in Argentina.
Mastozool Neotrop 19:271–278
Milton K (1980) The foraging strategy of howler monkeys: a study in primate economics.
Columbia University, New York
Milton K (1996) Effects of bot fly (Alouattamyia baeri) parasitism on free-ranging howler monkey
(Alouatta palliata) population in Panama. J Zool 239:39–63
Milton K, Lozier JD, Lacey EA (2009) Genetic structure of an isolated population of mantled
howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Conserv Genet
10:347–358
Muchiri JM, Ascolillo L, Mugambi M, Mutwiri T, Ward HD, Naumova EN, Egorov AI, Cohen S,
Else JG, Griffiths JK (2009) Seasonality of Cryptosporidium oocyst detection in surface waters
of Meru, Kenya as determined by two isolation methods followed by PCR. J Water Health
7:67–75
Nunn CL, Altizer SM (2005) The global mammal parasite database: an online resource for infectious disease records in wild primates. Evol Anthropol 14:1–2
Nunn CL, Altizer SM (2006) Infectious diseases in primates: behavior, ecology, and evolution.
Oxford University, Oxford
Nunn CL, Heymann EW (2005) Malaria infection and host behavior: a comparative study of
Neotropical primates. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 59:30–37
Nunn CL, Altizer SM, Sechrest W, Cunningham AA (2005) Latitudinal gradients of parasite species richness in primates. Divers Distrib 11:249–256
Odongo-Aginya E, Ssegwanyi G, Kategere P, Vuzi PC (2005) Relationships between malaria infection intensity and rainfall pattern in Entebbe peninsula, Uganda. Afr Health Sci 5:238–245
Palacios G, Lowenstine LJ, Cranfield MR, Gilardi KVK, Spelman L, Lukasik-Braum M, Kinaki
JF, Mudakikwa A, Nyirakaragire E, Busetti AV, Savji N, Hutchison S, Egholm M, Lipkin WI
(2011) Human metapneumovirus infection in wild mountain gorillas, Rwanda. Emerg Infect
Dis 17:711–713
Pascual M, Cazelles B, Bouma MJ, Chaves LF, Koelle K (2008) Shifting patterns: malaria dynamics and rainfall variability in African highland. Proc R Soc B 275:123–132
Patz JA, Graczyk TK, Geller N, Vittor AY (2000) Effects of environmental change on emerging
parasitic diseases. Int J Parasitol 30:1395–1405
Peres CA (2001) Synergistic effects of subsistence hunting and habitat fragmentation on
Amazonian forest vertebrates. Conserv Biol 15:1490–1504
Phillips KA, Haas ME, Grafton BW, Yrivarren M (2004) Survey of the gastrointestinal parasites
of the primate community at Tambopata National Reserve, Peru. J Zool 264:149–151
Pianka ER (1966) Latitudinal gradients in species diversity: a review of concepts. Am Nat
100:33–46
Pope BL (1966) Some parasites of the howler monkey of northern Argentina. J Parasitol 52:166–168
Poulin R (2006) Global warming and temperature-mediate increases in cercarial emergence in
trematode parasites. Parasitology 132:143–151
Poulin R, Morand S (2000) The diversity of parasites. Q Rev Biol 75:277–293
284
R. Martínez-Mota et al.
Rifakis PM, Benítez JA, Pineda JDLP, Rodríguez-Morales AJ (2006) Epizootics of yellow fever in
Venezuela (2004-2005). Ann N Y Acad Sci 1081:57–60
Rode KD, Chapman CA, McDowell LR, Stickler C (2006) Nutritional correlates of population
density across habitats and logging intensities in redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius).
Biotropica 38:625–634
Rohde K (1992) Latitudinal gradients in species diversity: the search for the primary cause. Oikos
65:514–527
Rosenberger AL, Halenar L, Cooke SB (2011) The making of Platyrrhine semifolivores: models
for the evolution of folivory in primates. Anat Rec 294:2112–2130
Rovirosa-Hernández MJ, Cortés-Ortiz L, García-Orduña F, Guzmán-Gómez D, López-Monteon
A, Caba M, Ramos-Ligonio A (2013) Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania
mexicana in free-ranging howler monkeys in Southeastern Mexico. Am J Primatol
75:161–169
Rudran R, Fernandez-Duque E (2003) Demographic changes over thirty years in a red howler
population in Venezuela. Int J Primatol 24:925–947
Rwego IB, Isabirye-Basuta G, Gillespie TR (2008) Gastrointestinal bacterial transmission among
humans, mountain gorillas, and domestic livestock in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,
Uganda. Conserv Biol 22:1600–1607
Santa Cruz ACM, Borda JT, Patiño EM, Gomez L, Zunino GE (2000) Habitat fragmentation and
parasitism in howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya). Neotrop Primates 8:146–148
Santos MVS, Ueta MT, Setz EZF (2005) Levantamento de helmintos intestinais em bugio- ruivo,
Alouatta guariba (Primates, atelidae), na mata de ribeir˜ao cachoeira no Distrito de Souzas/
Campinas, SP. Congresso Brasileiro de Parasitologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil
Silver SC, Ostro LET, Yeager CP, Horwich R (1998) Feeding ecology of the black howler monkey
(Alouatta pigra) in northern Belize. Am J Primatol 45:263–279
Smith KF, Acevedo-Whitehouse K, Pedersen AB (2009) The role of infectious diseases in biological conservation. Anim Conserv 12:1–12
Stoner KE (1996) Prevalence and intensity of intestinal parasites in mantled howling monkeys
(Alouatta palliata) in Northeastern Costa Rica: implications for conservation biology. Conserv
Biol 10:539–546
Stoner KE, González Di Pierro AM (2006) Intestinal parasitic infections in Alouatta pigra in tropical rain forest in Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico: implications for behavioral ecology and conservation. In: Estrada A, Garber PA, Pavelka MSM, Luecke L (eds) New perspectives in the study
of Mesoamerican primates: distribution, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Springer,
New York
Stuart MD, Greenspan LL, Glander KE, Clarke MR (1990) A coprological survey of parasites of
wild mantled howling monkeys, Alouatta palliata palliata. J Wildl Dis 26:547–549
Thompson RCA (2000) Giardiasis as a re-emergence infectious disease and its zoonotic potential.
Int J Primatol 30:1259–1267
Travi BL, Colillas OJ, Segura EL (1986) Natural trypanosome infection in Neotropical monkeys
with special reference to Saimiri sciureus. In: Taub DM, King FA (eds) Current Perspectives in
primate biology. Van Nostrand Rehinold, New York
Trejo-Macías G, Estrada A, Mosqueda Cabrera MA (2007) Survey of helminth parasites in populations of Alouatta palliata mexicana and A. pigra in continuous and in fragmented habitat in
southern Mexico. Int J Primatol 28:931–945
Valdespino C, Rico-Hernández G, Mandujano S (2010) Gastrointestinal parasites of howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) inhabiting the fragmented landscape of the Santa Marta mountain
range, Veracruz, Mexico. Am J Primatol 72:539–548
Van Belle S, Estrada A, Ziegler TE, Strier KB (2009) Sexual behavior across ovarian cycles in wild
black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra): male mate guarding and female choice. Am J Primatol
71:153–164
Venturini L, Santa Cruz AM, González JA, Comolli JA, Toccalino PA, Zunino GE (2003) Presencia
de Giardia duodenalis (Sarcomastigophora, Hexamitidae) en mono aullador (Alouatta caraya)
10 Parasites in Howler Monkeys
285
de vida silvestre. Comunicaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Universidad Nacional del
Nordeste
Vitazkova SK (2009) Overview of parasites infecting howler monkeys, Alouatta sp., and potential
consequences of human-howler interactions. In: Huffman MA, Chapman CA (eds) Primate
parasite ecology. The dynamics and study of host-parasite relationships. Cambridge University,
Cambridge
Vitazkova SK, Wade SE (2006) Parasites of free-ranging black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)
from Belize and Mexico. Am J Primatol 68:1089–1097
Vitazkova SK, Wade SE (2007) Effects of ecology on the gastrointestinal parasites of Alouatta
pigra. Int J Primatol 28:1327–1343
Vittor AY, Gilman RH, Tielsch J, Glass G, Shields T, Sanchez Lozano W, Pinedo-Cancino V, Patz
JA (2006) The effect of deforestation on the human-biting rate of Anopheles darlingi, the primary vector of falciparum malaria in the Peruvian Amazon. Am J Trop Med Hyg 74:3–11
Volney B, Pouliquen JF, De Thoisy B, Fandeur T (2002) A sero-epidemiological study of malaria
in human and monkey populations in French Guiana. Acta Trop 82:11–23
Volotao AC, Junior JC, Grassini C, Peralta JM, Fernandes O (2008) Genotyping of Giardia duodenalis from southern brown howler monkeys (Alouatta clamitans) from Brazil. Vet Parasitol
158:133–137
Weyher AH, Ross C, Semple S (2006) Gastrointestinal parasites in crop raiding and wild foraging
Papio anubis in Nigeria. Int J Primatol 27:1519–1534
Wilcox BA, Ellis B (2006) Forest and emerging infectious diseases of humans. Unasylva
57:11–18
Wilson K, Grenfell BT (1997) Generalized linear modelling for parasitologists. Parasitol Today
13:33–38
Wilson K, Bjørnstad ON, Dobson AP, Merler S, Poglayen G, Randolph SE, Read AF, Skorping A
(2002) Heterogeneities in macroparasite infections: patterns and processes. In: Hudson PJ,
Rizzoli A, Grenfell BT, Heesterbeek H, Dobson AP (eds) The ecology of wildlife disease.
Oxford University, Oxford
Wright PC, Arrigo-Nelson SJ, Hogg KL, Bannon B, Morelli TL, Wyatt J, Harivelo AL, Ratelolahy
F (2009) Habitat disturbance and seasonal fluctuations of lemur parasites in the rain forest of
Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. In: Huffman MA, Chapman CA (eds) Primate parasite ecology. The dynamics and study of host-parasite relationships. Cambridge University,
Cambridge
Young H, Griffin RH, Wood CL, Nunn CL (2013) Does habitat disturbance increase infectious
disease risk for primates? Ecol Lett 16:656–663
Zamora-Vilchis I, Williams SE, Johnson CN (2012) Environmental temperature affects prevalence
of blood parasites of birds on an elevation gradient: implications for disease in a warming climate. PLoS One 7(e39208):1–8
Zhou G, Minakawa N, Githeko AK, Yan G (2004) Association between climate variability and
malaria epidemics in the East African highlands. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101:2375–2380
Zommers Z, Macdonald DW, Johnson PJ, Gillespie TR (2012) Impact of human activity on chimpanzee ground use and parasitism (Pan troglodytes). Conserv Lett 6:264–273