Measuring fitness costs of habitat degradation in an endangered primate

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COVID19 prevented the fellow from traveling to Indonesia, so sampling was performed by our colleagues at the YIARI Rescue center. Ten Javan slow lorises and 1 Sunda slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) were sampled, when possible, for hormonal and parasitological analysis. Four lorises were fitted with GPS collars before release, and we collected between 206 to 408 GPS locations per individual. Since their release, two individuals died within 35 and 90 days. We continue to monitor two individuals (to date: 125 days of monitoring).Preliminary analysis of post-release movement and habitat selection show that space-use strategies differ among individuals. Some individuals establish home ranges quickly within a few weeks post release and have a low rate of exploratory movements. One individual still displayed exploratory movements and low site fidelity after 90 days of monitoring. Using resource selection functions, we investigated habitat selection and found that individuals that died within 3 months post-release tended to use areas more disturbed by humans. Low sample size is a limiting factor, and more individuals need to be included in our analysis to draw robust conclusions.We also completed the project on exotic pet cafes and recorded the presence 3799 wild animals belonging to 430 different species in Japanese establishments. The manuscript based on this research has been accepted in the journal "Conservation Science and Practice". This work shows the potential implications for biodiversity, global health and animal welfare of these businesses.