Training Course in Primate Conservation
August 7 õ?" 27, 2006
Introduction: The Indo-Burma Hotspot is one of the most urgent regions in the world for primate conservation. It has the third highest number of endangered taxa of twenty-three hotspots that contain primate habitat (Mittermeier et al., 2005). Within the Indo-Burma hotspot, Vietnam has been identified as the single highest priority for primate conservation having the highest number of taxa and endemic species (Nadler and Streicher, 2004). The country has 24-26 taxa depending on the authority one consults (Groves, 2001, Nadler and Streicher, 2004, Brandon-Jones et al., 2004), including five endemic taxa: Trachypithecus policephalus poliocephalus, Trachypithecus delacouri, Pygathrix cinerea, Rhinopithecus avunculus and Macaca fasicularis condorensis. Of Vietnamõ?Ts primates, four have been consistently listed on the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialists Groupsõ?T Worldõ?Ts 25 most endangered primates since its inception in 2000 (Mittermeier et al., 2005) while a fifth, Nomascus nasutus nasutus has been included in both 2000 and 2002 assessments.
While there are many people working in primatology in a wide variety of roles in Vietnam, there is a general appreciation within the country that skill levels of those in the discipline are not of an international standard. A assessment for training in primatology conducted in Vietnam identified several limiting factors preventing Vietnamese nationals from producing international quality research and publication including; a lack of available training in general, lack of available funding, lack of reference materials, and poor English skills. The recommendation of this assessment was that that the best way to tackle these issues was the implementation of a primatological training program, based within a tertiary institution, aimed at 4th year undergraduate and postgraduate students.
It is the aim of Conservation International (CI) in collaboration with Hanoi University of Science (HUS) and the University of Colorado-Boulder to develop a primatology curriculum for students to be introduced at HUS in 2006. Through providing a range of programs and incentives at different levels of studentsõ?T university careers the program aims to cultivate a new generation of competent Vietnamese primatologists capable of taking on the challenges that primate conservation in the country demands.
Course Description: This course will be held for three weeks in August 2006. Format will include lectures from 9:00 õ?" 12:00 Monday through Friday offering a total of 45 hours of classroom contact. In addition, a small number of labs will be offered in the afternoon providing hands-on activities when appropriate. The majority of the instruction will be offered by Professor Bert Covert and Mr. Ben Rawson, however there will be a number of guest lectures by Vietnamese and international primatologists. While most lectures will be offered in English, interpretation in Vietnamese will also be provided.
Provisional Course Schedule
WEEK ONE:
Monday: Introduction to Primates and outline of course
ã Primate Diversity: Geography, body size, and taxonomy
ã Strepsirhines, Tarsiers, and New World Primates
Invited guest speakers
Le Xuan Canh, õ?oA brief history of primate studies in Vietnamõ?.
Vu Ngoc Thanh, õ?oThe status/diversity/ of Vietnamõ?Ts primatesõ?.
Tuesday: Primate Diversity Continued
ã Catarrhini: Old World monkeys and apes
Wednesday: Vietnamõ?Ts Primates
ã Nomascus
ã Trachypithecus
ã Pygathrix
ã Rhinopithecus
ã Macaca
ã Nycticebus
Invited guest speakers may include: Nguyen Xuan Dang, Le Khac Quyet, Uli
Streicher, Nguyen Hai Ha
Thursday: Primate Taxonomy: An Introduction to Method and Theory
ã Philosophy of taxonomy: whose taxonomy is right?
ã Cladistics and phylogeny
Friday: Primate Anatomy 1
ã Diagnostic traits and taxonomy
ã Anatomy of skull and teeth
WEEK TWO:
Monday: Primate Anatomy 2
ã Anatomy of the trunk and limbs
Afternoon Lab 1
Primate identification using skeletal remains. Primate õ?" non-primate, strepsirhine õ?" haplorhine, hominoid õ?" cercopithecoid, and cercopithecine õ?" colobine comparison.
Tuesday: Primate Behaviour
ã Communication
ã Dominance hierarchies
ã Sexual Behaviour
ã Case study: Chimpanzee behaviour and culture
Afternoon Lab 1
Primate identification using skeletal remains.
Wednesday: Macaques and Gibbons
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Afternoon Lab 1
Primate identification using skeletal remains.
Thursday: Primate Ecology
ã Group structure
ã Predation
ã Infanticide
ã Feeding ecology
ã Case Study: Hanuman langurs, infanticide and group dynamics
Invited Guest Speaker
Ha Thang Long, õ?oEcology of the grey-shanked douc langur Pygathrix cinereaõ?.
Friday: Primate Conservation 1: Threats
ã Hunting
ã Trade
ã Habitat destruction and fragmentation
ã Extinction processes in small populations
Invited Guest Speakers
Rosi Stenke, õ?oConservation of the Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus policephalus poliocephalusõ?
Craig Kirkpatrick, õ?oOverview of the regional trade in primatesõ?.
WEEK THREE:
Monday: Primate Conservation 2: Tactics
ã Risk assessment
ã In-situ protection
ã Ex-situ breeding
ã Primate re-release and reintroduction
Invited Guest Speakers
Tilo Nadler, õ?oEx-situ breeding of endangered primates at the EPRCõ?.
Barney Long, õ?oIn-situ conservation of primates in Quang Namõ?.
Tuesday: Field Methods 1: Surveying and Censusing Primates
ã Interview surveys
ã Presence/absence
ã Line transects
ã Point surveys
ã Capture-mark-recapture
ã Night Surveys
ã Taking specimens
Invited Guest Speaker
Ha Dinh Duc, õ?o Legal documents for primate protection in Vietnamõ?
Vu Ngoc Thanh, õ?oNight surveys for Nycticebus spp.õ?.
Wednesday: Field Methods 2: Primate Behaviour and Ecology
ã Behavioural sampling
ã Feeding ecology and dietary analysis
ã Home range mapping
ã Phenology, habitat description, plant samples
ã Climate, weather and seasonality
ã Radio-tracking
Invited Guest Speakers
Dong Thanh Hai, õ?oGathering ecological data on very rare primatesõ?.
Le Vu Khoi, õ?o Biology Geography of mammal in Vietnam õ?o
Thursday: Data Analysis
ã Surveying and censusing primates
o Distance software
o Point surveys
ã Primate ecology
o Activity Budgets
o Ranging Behaviour
o Feeding Ecology
o Habitat Use
Afternoon Lab 2
Population estimation of primate populations
Friday: Scientific Writing:
ã Resources in primatology
ã Scientific paper format
ã Referencing and plagiarism
ã Proposal writing
Invited Guest Speaker
Jake Brunner, õ?oWriting effective proposalsõ?.
Saturday & Sunday: Field Trip:
August 26-27 End of Course Field Trip to Endangered Primate Rescue Center and Van Long Protected Area.
Evaluation of Students: All students will be required to take three quizzes covering lecture and assigned readings; two lab quizzes; and two essays reviewing and critiquing articles. Advanced students will also prepare a scientific paper.
Course Evaluation: Students will complete an evaluation questionnaire of course content at the end of the course. This will be used to improve the quality of the course in the future.
Course Certificate: All students will receive certification on successful completion of the course. Those completing advanced components of the course will receive recognition of this accomplishment on their certificate.
End of Course Opportunities: