Chinese researchers have been extracting and monitoring the DNA from more than 3,000 fecal samples of the black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys, also known as Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, to study the species' living conditions, according to the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The research, which commenced in 2017, focuses on the genetic diversity, monkey group relations, structures and gene exchange, to better ascertain the monkey species' living conditions and its endangered status.

The researchers will estimate the number and size of the monkey groups, divide the protection units, evaluate the monkeys' habitat conditions and provide data to figure out protection solutions, said Yu Li, a researcher at the State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilisation of Bio-Resources in Yunnan.

Yu also promised to construct a comprehensive DNA molecular marker database for the Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys.

One of the world's most endangered primates, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is considered a bellwether species for biodiversity in the high-altitude region.

Local poachers drove them close to extinction in the 1980s, but the number has since risen above 3,500 nationally, thanks to the joint efforts of governments, researchers and local villagers.

The monkeys live in the mountainous forests of Yunnan and the neighboring Tibet Autonomous Region. The majority reside in the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve, which was established in 1983 and added to the list of national-level nature reserves in 1986.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys are an endangered species under first-class protection in China and are also listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, according to Long Yongcheng, chief scientist at the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE) Southwest Project Center.

The Forestry and Grassland Administration of Yunnan Province and the SEE Southwest Project Center and jointly conducted the research. Eight professional organizations, including the Chinese Academy of Forestry, Yunnan Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve and Yunnan University, participated.

Read more:

Monkey Mania: The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey

(Cover image via VCG)

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