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Three decades of Philippine nonhuman primate studies: research gaps and opportunities for Philippine primatology

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Abstract

The Philippines is considered a megadiverse country. However, there are few published studies on its nonhuman primate (NHP) species (Carlito syrichta, Macaca fascicularis, and Nycticebus menagensis). Understanding the nature and extent of existing NHP research in the Philippines would help us to determine research gaps and opportunities. Thus, studies on NHPs of Philippine origin were retrieved from online databases including Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Primate Lit, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), and relevant authors. Of a total of 107 studies on Philippine NHP from 1989 to 2019, most focused on Philippine long-tailed macaque (52.78%), and Philippine tarsier (42.59%), with far fewer on Philippine slow loris (4.63%). Fewer studies were based on fieldwork (26.17%); more were based on research on captive animals or that undertaken in the laboratory (34.58%), or used only existing specimens or data (33.64%). Studies on wild NHPs were mostly conducted in Bohol Island. In terms of the type of research, studies on diseases (38.60%) were the most prevalent for macaques; ecological studies (23.91%) for tarsiers; evolutionary, taxonomic, and systematic studies (40%), and ecological and natural history studies (40%) for lorises. Philippine researchers and collaborations with foreign researchers contributed fewer studies (43.93%) than foreign-only researchers (56.07%). In conclusion, although research on Philippine NHPs is increasing, there is a bias with regards to the species studied, the type of research, and study location. Conservation-driven studies are also lacking. These gaps offer opportunities for further research to identify threats to the survival of NHPs in the Philippines, and for the development of plans and effective strategies for their conservation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, College of Science and Mathematics, University of the Philippines Mindanao for support in writing this manuscript, and all the researchers who have worked on Philippine NHPs thus far. We would like to thank Dr. Anna Pauline O. de Guia, Hani Nabilia Muhd Sahimi, and Mr. Simeon Gabriel F. Bejar, for their help in collecting information, Mr. Krizler C. Tanalgo for some inputs in the analysis, and the authors who sent us their publications. We would also like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao, Philippines

    Lief Erikson Gamalo & Brian Sabanal

  2. Wildlife-Human Interaction Studies, Ecological Research, and Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao, Philippines

    Lief Erikson Gamalo & Brian Sabanal

  3. Raffles’ Banded Langur Working Group, Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund, Singapore, Singapore

    Andie Ang

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  1. Lief Erikson Gamalo
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Contributions

L. E. G. and A. A. conceptualized the study. L. E. G., B. S., and A. A. participated in the collection of data. L. E. G., B. S., and A. A. analyzed and interpreted the data. L. E. G., A. A., and B. S. wrote the paper. L. E. G., A. A., and B. S. participated in the reviewing and editing of the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lief Erikson Gamalo.

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Gamalo, L.E., Sabanal, B. & Ang, A. Three decades of Philippine nonhuman primate studies: research gaps and opportunities for Philippine primatology. Primates 62, 233–239 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00847-w

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