Speciation without a good reason: disentangling the radiation of primates living in limestone habitat

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Michael Hofreiter; Professor Dr. Christian Roos
• Subject Area: Evolution, Anthropology ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392343277

• Final Report Year: 2023

Final Report Abstract

This project applied successfully new methods like genomics, metabarcoding and species distribution modelling to understand the ecology of endangered langur species both in Vietnam and China. The key findings are: We resolved the nuclear phylogeny of Trachypithecus using whole genome data and found that limestone langurs are genetically adapted to high calcium intake. - The Critically Endangered Cat Ba langur is a species with extremely low genetic diversity and adapted to saltwater consumption. The results provide important information for species conservation. - The diet results not only provided a better assessment of complex diets and interactions between the different species and their ecosystem but also open up possibilities of future experimental studies on the impact of changing diet variation associated with global change on the environment and new perspectives for behavioral ecologists studying diet variation. - In the context of the different plant communities in limestone and rainforest habitats as well as the phylogenetic relationships of the species, the results also revealed differences in the composition of the gut microbiota in these species and possible reasons for these differences. - Species distribution modelling employing new environmental variables, including slope and aspect, reveals clear niche separation between four langur species in Vietnam. Based on the findings, we strongly recommend developing a conservation action plan for existing protected areas including collaborative transboundary activities between Vietnam and Laos aiming to improve langur conservation in the context of climate change.

Publications

• Primate project in Vietnam. Oral presentation at Training Workshop Improving Wildlife Trade Management Through Applying Conservation Genetic and Forensic Science, Vietnam National University, Ha Noi, September 16-21, 2019
  Truong Van Nguyen, Christian Roos & Michael Hofreiter
  
• Investigating the gut microbiome of wild populations of limestone and forest langurs in Vietnam. Poster presentation at the bioinformatics virtual coordination network, June 07-11, 2021.
  Truong Van Nguyen, Luisa Hallmaier-Wacker, Sascha Knauf, Minh Le, Tilo Nadler, Christian Roos & Michael Hofreiter
  
• Species distribution modelling and gut microbiome of limestone and forest langurs in Vietnam. Poster presentation at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biology Science Day, University of Potsdam, October 04, 2021
  Truong Van Nguyen, Luisa Hallmaier-Wacker, Sascha Knauf, Minh Le, Tilo Nadler, Nguyen Hai Ha, Ming Li, Christian Roos & Michael Hofreiter
  
• Species distribution modelling for limestone and forest langurs in tropical Asia and its conservation implications (ID: 181). Oral presentation at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, July 10-14, 2022
  Truong Van Nguyen, Minh Le, Ha Nguyen, Tilo Nadler, Dung Le, Hung Nguyen, Kien Luu, Pham Tam, Toan Nguyen, Duong Do, Ming Li, Christian Roos & Michael Hofreiter