Bee fears heighten

a group of animals under such a high level of threat is, quite frankly, unlike anything we have recorded among any other group of species to date. " Elsewhere, species from tiny mouse lemurs to massive mountain gorillas face challenges to survive in Africa. Eleven out of the thirteen kinds of red colobus monkey assessed were listed as critically endangered or endangered. Two species may already be extinct: Bouvier's red colobus (Procolobus pennantii bouvieri) has not been seen in 25 years, and no living Miss Waldron's red colobus (Procolobus badius waldroni) has been seen by primatologists since 1978, despite occasional reports that some still survive. " Among the African species, the great apes such as the gorillas and bonobos have always tended to grab the limelight and, even though they are deeply threatened, it is smaller primates, such as the red colobus, that could die out first, " says Richard Wrangham, president of the International Primate Society. Non-human primates are important to the health of our surrounding ecosystems. Through the dispersal of seeds and other interactions with their environments, primates help support a wide range of plant and animal life in the world's tropical forests. Healthy forests provide vital resources for local human populations and also absorb and store carbon dioxide that causes climate change. Meanwhile scientists continue to learn more about primates and their role in the world. Since 2000, 53 species of primates previously unknown to science have been described — 40 from Madagascar, two from Africa, three from Asia and eight from Central and Southern America. In 2007, researchers found a long-rumoured population of critically endangered greater bamboo lemurs (Prolemur simus) in a Madagascan wetland 400 km from the only other known home of the species. The species numbers only around 140 individuals in the wild. Despite the overall gloomy assessment, conservationists point to a notable success in helping targeted species recover in Brazil. The black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) was downlisted from critically endangered to endangered as was the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) in 2003, as a result of three decades of conservation efforts involving numerous institutions. Populations of both animals are now well protected but remain very small, says Anthony Rylands, deputy chair of the IUCN primate specialist group. " The work with lion tamarins shows that conserving forest fragments and reforesting to create corridors that connect them is not only vital for primates, …