HEALTH EVALUATION

The study of the health of wild populations is a fundamental tool for the conservation of the animals, detecting potential threats to the animals that follow recent environmental changes. Wild animals are usually exposed to pathogens that are found in their natural environments and live with them in equilibrium; however, environmental changes, induced by man, can generate stress and reduce these wild animals’ resistance, putting them at health risks that may not have existed before.

With the objective to evaluate the health state of the owl monkeys at our study site, previous field veterinarians of the Global Health Program (GHP) at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), toke blood samples, fecal samples, and samples of external parasites during monkey capture events. In the lab, the veterinarians later analyzed basic hemoglobin levels, blood biochemicals composition, blood serum, parasite loads, and by use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), evaluate illnesses and pathogen specifics. These analyses were done in order to understand the health status of the population under study. The investigation was carried out both in isolated forest patches, and in the gallery forest, looking to establish differences that lead to the understanding of how fragmented environments can affect the persistence of the owl monkey populations.