Recovery from Beak and Feather Disease Virus Infection in a Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) Population in South Africa.

Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is one of the most important viral diseases affecting parrot species worldwide. Outbreaks of PBFD have been reported in wild endemic and endangered South African Cape Parrots (Poicephalus robustus), most recently in 2008. A previous study of wild Cape Parrots in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa in 2010-11 found 34/49 birds positive for beak and feather disease virus (BFDV), the causative agent of PBFD, showing that the outbreak was still ongoing. The present study (2015-16) screened 30 blood samples from the same Cape Parrot population for BFDV infection by PCR: all parrots were found to be BFDV DNA-negative, which showed both that BFDV infection in the region has declined and that the parrot population has recovered. Our data contribute to the important negative data set which permits monitoring the progress of BFDV infections in wild Psittaciformes. We recommend a PCR method with universal BFDV primers as a quick, easy, and consistent diagnostic test for BFDV detection.

Validating a non-invasive technique for monitoring physiological stress in the samango monkey.

The non-invasive monitoring of physiological stress can provide conservation and wildlife managers with an invaluable tool for assessing animal welfare and psychological health of captive and free-ranging populations. A significant decrease in free-ranging primate populations globally and an increase in captive-housed primates have led to a need to monitor the stress and general welfare of these animals. We examined the suitability of three enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for monitoring stress-related physiological responses in the samango monkey, Cercopithecus albogularis erythrarchus. We conducted an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge on a male and female at the National Zoological Garden, Pretoria, South Africa. Individual faecal samples were collected 8 days pre- and post-ACTH administration and subsequently analysed for faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations. During the study, biological stressors occurred for both the male and female. Two of the three EIAs tested (11-oxoetiocholanolone I and II) were able to reliably monitor fGCM alterations throughout the study period in both sexes. The 11-oxoetiocholanolone I EIA, however, had the lowest mean deviation from the calculated baseline value and was thus chosen as the preferred assay. Both the physiological activation of the stress response and the biological response to a stressor could be monitored with the chosen assay. The successful establishment of a reliable, non-invasive method for monitoring adrenocortical activity in C. albogularis erythrarchus will now allow conservationists, scientific researchers and wildlife managers to evaluate the level of stress experienced, and general welfare, by animals in captivity as well as free-ranging populations.

Samango Monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis labiatus) Manage Risk in a Highly Seasonal, Human-Modified Landscape in Amathole Mountains, South Africa.

Wild species use habitats that vary in risk across space and time. This risk can derive from natural predators and also from direct and indirect human pressures. A starving forager will often take risks that a less hungry forager would not. At a highly seasonal and human-modified site, we predicted that arboreal samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis labiatus) would show highly flexible, responsive, risk-sensitive foraging. We first determined how monkeys use horizontal and vertical space across seasons to evaluate if high-risk decisions (use of gardens and ground) changed with season, a proxy for starvation risk. Then, during a subsequent winter, we offered equal feeding opportunities (in the form of high-value, raw peanuts) in both gardens and forest to see if this short-term change in food availability and starvation risk affected monkeys' foraging decisions. We found that during the food-scarce winter, monkeys foraged outside indigenous forest and in gardens, where they fed on exotic species, especially fallen acorns (Quercus spp.), despite potential threats from humans. Nevertheless, and as predicted, when given the choice of foraging on high-value foods in gardens vs. forest during our artificial foraging experiment, monkeys showed a preference for a safer forest habitat. Our experiment also indicated monkeys' sensitivity to risk in the lower vertical strata of both habitats, despite their previous extensive use of the ground. Our findings support one of the central tenets of optimal foraging theory: that risk of starvation and sensitivity to the variation in food availability can be as important drivers of behavior as risk of predation.

New insights into samango monkey speciation in South Africa.

The samango monkey is South Africa's only exclusively forest dwelling primate and represents the southernmost extent of the range of arboreal guenons in Africa. The main threats to South Africa's forests and thus to the samango are linked to increasing land-use pressure and increasing demands for forest resources, resulting in deforestation, degradation and further fragmentation of irreplaceable habitats. The species belongs to the highly polytypic Cercopithecus nictitans group which is sometimes divided into two species C. mitis and C. albogularis. The number of subspecies of C. albogularis is also under debate and is based only on differences in pelage colouration and thus far no genetic research has been undertaken on South African samango monkey populations. In this study we aim to further clarify the number of samango monkey subspecies, as well as their respective distributions in South Africa by combining molecular, morphometric and pelage data. Overall, our study provides the most comprehensive view to date into the taxonomic description of samango monkeys in South Africa. Our data supports the identification of three distinct genetic entities namely; C. a. labiatus, C. a. erythrarchus and C. a. schwarzi and argues for separate conservation management of the distinct genetic entities defined by this study.

Postrelease success of two rehabilitated vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) troops in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

In South Africa, the most common primate in rehabilitation centres is the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops). Here we evaluated the efficacy of releasing two vervet monkey troops into the wild, using the standard methods employed by an established rehabilitation centre. Two troops were assembled over 2-3 years. Coloured ear tags identified adults, subadults and juveniles. Radiocollars were placed on all the adults and subadults of both troops (41% of all individuals). Each troop was released at a suitable site after 2 nights in a holding cage, and supplementary food was provided for 2 months after release. For 10 months, locations of both troops were recorded, as well as the presence/absence of individuals and their general behaviour. The smaller troop survived better than the larger troop, with only 6 of 35 individuals (17%) confirmed alive in the large troop compared with 12 of 24 (50%) in the small troop. Large numbers of missing monkeys make it difficult to determine whether the release was a success. However, results suggest that rehabilitated vervet monkeys could be successfully released in the future. Recommendations are provided for consideration in future releases.