Abstract:

Monitoring and estimating wildlife population size is essential to conservation. Affected by global climate change and human activities, wildlife populations could be relatively unstable. Primates are a group of highly evolved taxa in the animal kingdom and are among the most social of animals. As many as 701 species or subspecies of primates are recognized globally, forming a rich diversity. They could be found in various types of habitats, including rain forests, swamp forests, mangroves, secondary forests, deciduous forests, monsoon forests and montane forests, as well as in grasslands (savannah and steppe) including forest outliers, gallery forests, wooded steppes, thorn forests, Mediterranean scrubs and montane meadows, and even in deserts, dry uplands or permanent snow. Most primate species are endangered from different causes, and therefore effective long-term monitoring is of significant value to primate conservation. Species and habitat diversity have contributed to the numerous methods of censusing primate populations. This article offers a summary of widely-used non-human primate population censusing methods, including the classifications, the fundamentals, the various scenarios for application, and their limitations. The methods are analyzed with case studies and research. Furthermore, we introduce the latest applications of drones, thermal imaging and computer deep learning in primate population surveys, hoping to offer some insights into future non-human primate censusing and population monitoring.

Key words: Primates, Total count, Line transect sampling, Point census, Infra-red camera trap survey, Genetic methods of surveying, Survey by unmanned aerial vehicle

摘要：

监测估算野生动物的种群数量是保护的核心工作。由于气候变化和人类活动的影响，野生动物种群常处于不稳定的状态。非人灵长类是动物界的高等类群，具有复杂的社会行为、丰富的物种多样性，全球有701种 (含亚种)，生活在多种类型的栖息地中，包括热带雨林、沼泽森林、红树林、次生林、落叶林、季雨林、山地森林，和包含孤存林、长廊森林、热带旱生林、山地草甸、地中海灌木林的稀树草原和干草原，以及荒漠、干旱的山地，甚至是雪地。绝大多数非人灵长类处于濒危的状态，长期有效的监测对于灵长类的保护十分重要。物种多样性和栖息地类型的多样性使得灵长类种群数量的调查方法多种多样。本文归纳总结了目前常用的非人灵长类种群数量调查方法的类型、基本原理、适用场景和局限性，并以研究实例加以分析；介绍了无人机、热成像、计算机学习系统等新技术应用在调查方法中的进展，希望为今后的非人灵长类野外数量调查、种群监测提供参考和启发。

关键词: 灵长类, 直接计数法, 样线法, 样点法, 红外相机调查法, 遗传调查法, 无人机调查法