Identifying and mitigating the impacts on primates of transportation and service corridors

Abstract Most primate populations are declining; 60% of species face extinction. The expansion of transportation and service corridors (T&S) (i.e., roads and railways and utility and service lines) poses a significant yet underappreciated threat. With the development of T&S corridors predicted to increase across primates' ranges, it is necessary to understand the current extent of its impacts on primates, the available options to mitigate these effectively, and recognize research and knowledge gaps. By employing a systematic search approach to identify literature that described the relationship between primates and T&S corridors, we extracted information from 327 studies published between 1980 and 2020. Our results revealed that 218 species and subspecies across 62 genera are affected, significantly more than the 92 listed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The majority of studies took place in Asia (45%), followed by mainland Africa (31%), the Neotropics (22%), and Madagascar (2%). Brazil, Indonesia, Equatorial Guinea, Vietnam, and Madagascar contained the greatest number of affected primate species. Asia featured the highest number of species affected by roads, electrical transmission lines, and pipelines and the only studies addressing the impact of rail and aerial tramways on primates. The impact of seismic lines only emerged in the literature from Africa and the Neotropics. Impacts are diverse and multifaceted, for example, animal–vehicle collisions, electrocutions, habitat loss and fragmentation, impeded movement and genetic exchange, behavioral changes, exposure to pollution, and mortality associated with hunting. Although several mitigation measures were recommended, only 41% of studies focused on their implementation, whereas only 29% evaluated their effectiveness. Finally, there was a clear bias in the species and regions benefiting from research on this topic. We recommend that government and conservation bodies recognize T&S corridors as a serious and mounting threat to primates and that further research in this area is encouraged.