Deforestation in the Amazon is a serious environmental, economic, and social concern. This article examines how a colonization plan to bring 180 families to an area north of Manaus, Brazil, would negatively impact the conservation of the six primate species residing in the area. The colonization sites would be located within the Biological Dynamics Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) study area, the longest-running study of forest fragmentation. An increase in human density in the area would likely increase deforestation and hunting pressure on the fauna, thereby threatening those species that have not fared well in forest fragments. Furthermore, the colonization plan threatens future research at BDFFP and other research sites, as well as the Central Amazonian Conservation Corridor. This would be a great scientific and conservation loss.

Belize, for its small size, is remarkably diverse ecologically and culturally. However, its forests and marine resources are under significant threat, mainly from high deforestation rates, improper solid waste management, rapid coastal development, increasing poverty, weak institutional and legal frameworks, and the recent discovery of sweet crude oil. Sustainable solutions to these challenges will require innovative, practical, and cost-effective strategies that involve all stakeholders and that seek to improve the socio-economic conditions of these stakeholders. Belize's network of protected areas must be managed transparently, utilizing best management practices and informed by applied scientific research, if the biodiversity they contain is to be maintained

The tropical rainforest of southern Yunnan, which is similar to the equatorial rainforest of Asia in floristic composition and physiognomy, is a type of tropical Asian rainforest. Its tropical floristic elements contribute more than 90% at the generic level and more than 80% at the specific level to the total flora. Those of typical tropical Asian distribution contribute about 75% of the species. Occurring at the northern edge of the tropical zone (up to 24°40’ N), the tropical rainforest of Yunnan differs from the equatorial rainforest in having deciduous trees in the canopy layer and fewer megaphanerophytes and epiphytes, but more abundant lianas as well as more plants with microphyllous leaves. It is suggested that the tropical rainforest did not emerge until the late Tertiary in the region, and that the rainforest is more dependent on topography and local habitats than on the regional climate.

We performed a population viability analysis (PVA) using a stochastic population model employing RAMAS/Metapop software: 1) to evaluate the contribution of demographic parameters to population growth, and 2) to simulate group trend and local extinction probability of the Mexican mantled howler monkeys Alouatta palliata mexicana in Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, under two landscape scenarios: isolated populations (IPS) and patchy population or metapopulation (MPS). We found that as the number of adult females per fragment increased, the rate of fecundity and relative reproductive success increased. As a consequence, the finite growth rate depended mainly on the survival of adult females. In both IPS and MPS the simulations suggested that the probability of extinction was exponentially dependent on fragment size. An estimation of 60% of extinction was predicted when fragment size is lower than 15 ha. Simulations suggest that in MPS the expected population change could be lower than in IPS. The value of these analyses for conservation of the primate populations studied is discussed.

Quantifying the effects of human disturbance on rare species is crucial for conservation. The eastern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus), restricted to East Africa, is one of the region's least studied mammals. This study assesses the effect of hunting and logging on density and calling behavior. We evaluate three methods for estimating relative density: circular plot counts of calling individuals, latrine counts, and daytime transect counts. Circular plots show that the density of calling individuals within one forest is positively related to canopy cover. Furthermore we estimate densities of 17.3 calling individuals ha⁻¹ in a little-disturbed forest, 12.1 in a lightly disturbed forest, and zero in an intensely hunted and formerly logged forest. Other methods support this trend, thus confirming that D. validus is dependent on intact forest. Estimation of hyrax density (and relative density) is however highly problematic and the magnitude of the trend varied between methods. Despite methodological problems, the results clearly highlight the discordance between Forest Reserve legislation and management, a conservation concern throughout the tropics.