Changes

Current (2023) projects led by Association Anoulak (www.conservationlaos.com) are:  

Current (2023) projects led by Association Anoulak (www.conservationlaos.com) are:  

INVESTIGATING THE UNKNOWN: DISTRIBUTION OF THE SOUTHERN WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON NOMASCUS SIKI AND THE NORTHERN WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON N. LEUCOGENYS IN CENTRAL LAOS - Camille Noemie, Zoe Coudrat, Association Anoulak (Primary Presenter) - Michal Hradec, Czech University of Life Science Prague - Hana Vostrá-Vydrová, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. Nomascus gibbons are the most threatened of the four Hylobatidae genera. The Northern N. leucogenys and the Southern White-cheeked Gibbon N. siki are both classified as Critically Endangered. They have a restricted global range and are endemic to Laos and Vietnam. It is currently speculated that the Nam Kading-Nam Theun (river) represents the major geographical barrier between N. leucogenys and N. siki (ranging north and south of the river, respectively). However, in central Laos the distribution range limit between the two species remains uncertain, preventing appropriate conservation planning. Gibbon songs are taxonomically distinct between species. To investigate the distribution of N. siki and N. leucogenys, we collected and obtained from partner institutions a total of 896 gibbon songs from sites in central Laos and Vietnam. We compared these recordings with 213 vocal recordings of genetically screened gibbon individuals of both species from zoological facilities in Europe. Our dataset contains 674 records from males and 222 records from females. We performed the Kruskal-Wallis test to select acoustic parameters. We used cluster analysis to identify differences in vocalization among the gibbon populations. Cluster analysis is a multivariate method useful for identifying the same individuals based on the acoustic parameters they assign into clusters. The preliminary results showed that in the area north of the Nam Kading-Nam Theun are groups similar to N. siki while groups south of the river show a mixture of the two species. The results of our research will lead to re-evaluating the global distribution of both species and adapt national conservation prioritization.  

INVESTIGATING THE UNKNOWN: DISTRIBUTION OF THE SOUTHERN WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON NOMASCUS SIKI AND THE NORTHERN WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON N. LEUCOGENYS IN CENTRAL LAOS - Camille Noemie, Zoe Coudrat, Association Anoulak (Primary Presenter) - Michal Hradec, Czech University of Life Science Prague - Hana Vostrá-Vydrová, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. Nomascus gibbons are the most threatened of the four Hylobatidae genera. The Northern N. leucogenys and the Southern White-cheeked Gibbon N. siki are both classified as Critically Endangered. They have a restricted global range and are endemic to Laos and Vietnam. It is currently speculated that the Nam Kading-Nam Theun (river) represents the major geographical barrier between N. leucogenys and N. siki (ranging north and south of the river, respectively). However, in central Laos the distribution range limit between the two species remains uncertain, preventing appropriate conservation planning. Gibbon songs are taxonomically distinct between species. To investigate the distribution of N. siki and N. leucogenys, we collected and obtained from partner institutions a total of 896 gibbon songs from sites in central Laos and Vietnam. We compared these recordings with 213 vocal recordings of genetically screened gibbon individuals of both species from zoological facilities in Europe. Our dataset contains 674 records from males and 222 records from females. We performed the Kruskal-Wallis test to select acoustic parameters. We used cluster analysis to identify differences in vocalization among the gibbon populations. Cluster analysis is a multivariate method useful for identifying the same individuals based on the acoustic parameters they assign into clusters. The preliminary results showed that in the area north of the Nam Kading-Nam Theun are groups similar to N. siki while groups south of the river show a mixture of the two species. The results of our research will lead to re-evaluating the global distribution of both species and adapt national conservation prioritization.