Speaker
Description
The expansion of agricultural land into natural habitats harms global biodiversity, especially when unsustainable practices are employed. In Malaysia, pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) have adapted to this altered environment, regularly entering oil palm plantations adjacent to their remaining forest habitat. Within these plantations, macaques feed on palm fruits and provide an ecosystem service by reducing populations of plantation rats, the primary pest species of oil palm crops. However, the use of plantations also poses risks to these primates: our research has uncovered significant impacts on the health and fitness of a population of wild macaques inhabiting a rainforest-oil palm matrix. Long-term demographic data (2014-2023) revealed an exceptionally high mean infant mortality rate of nearly 60%. The reasons for this elevated mortality are likely complex, but survival analysis indicated that, in particular, prolonged visits to the plantation increased the risk of infant death. Our results further suggest that exposure to agricultural chemicals, which may enter the macaques’ food chain via plantation rats or water, plays a significant role. Certain harmful herbicides are known to gradually accumulate in mammals, increasing pesticide exposure for developing offspring, particularly those born to first-time mothers and after prolonged interbirth intervals. Consistent with this, chemical analysis based on 91 samples of macaque body odour revealed changes in their chemical profiles following herbicide exposure in the plantation, indicating metabolomic changes caused by pesticides. Our future work aims to develop a ‘One Health’ project, considering threats emanating from anthropogenic activities, such as exposure to environmental pollutants or zoonotic disease transmission, and their impacts within a broader context. Our goal is to understand how these threats impact the inextricably linked health of wildlife, humans, and the environment, providing a basis for establishing stakeholder awareness and informing feasible management strategies for sustainable, wildlife-friendly oil palm plantations in Malaysia.
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
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