A simple suitability index to guide site selection for primate translocations: an example from northeastern Brazil

Establishing clear, rationales for conservation actions is critical to optimizing the chances of rescuing threatened species worldwide. We propose a simple habitat suitability index, a trade-off between occupancy probability and extinction risk, to guide conservation actions for the blond capuchin monkey (Sapajus flavius), whose distribution spans the contrasting but adjacent Atlantic Forest and Caatinga phytogeographic domains of northeastern Brazil. Our objective was to create a map to spatially coordinated management options considering both domains under two divergent but plausible scenarios assuming contrasting conservation outcomes: (1) active conservation efforts, in which government agencies/communities agree to invest and participate in conservation actions; and (2) no intervention and no additional effort. Based on the habitat suitability index, sites were classified into three types: A (protected and suitable, n = 3); B (suitable but under high extinction risk, n = 9); and C (unsuitable and highly defaunated, n = 75). Our results show that under Scenario 1 it would be possible to fund an active taskforce to improve forest quality in habitat remnant types B and C while supporting monitoring and protection of type-A sites. However, little can be done under Scenario 2 without successful educational programs to raise awareness and change the perception of local stakeholders. This study introduces a spatial index to prioritise conservation actions at key sites, providing a practical approach to effective resource management in a changing environment. Our protocol may be useful in guiding conservation action in the face of resource constraints and rapid environmental and climatic change in increasingly threatened biodiversity hotspots.