The Pitheciines include some of the most unusual and intriguing primates of the Neotropics. Several are threatened with extinction, and for many we lack all but the most basic information.
The Pitheciine Action Group (PAG) exists to promote the conservation of the genera Callicebus, Cacajao, Chiropotes and Pithecia. PAG's main objectives are to coordinate and encourage research, act as a clearinghouse for information and resource sharing, and provide scientific and technical information to guide conservation strategies and policy decisions.
Founded informally in 2005, PAG was launched officially at the Pitheciins: Ecology and Conservation symposium of the 2006 IPS Congress in Uganda, and is now part of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. PAG has an Executive Committee of four, a 25-member Coordinating Committee and Sub-Committees for each genus that includes pitheciine experts from all range countries. There is also the PAG-Network with an open-list membership; this is the information exchange facet of the Group, to which institutions, researchers and interested individuals are invited to contribute.
PAG will soon launch a dedicated website and an electronic newsletter. As well as information about current group activities, website resources will include lists of priority taxa and research topics, key literature, theses and dissertations, photos and videos, recordings of vocalizations and distribution of museum specimens.
Current PAG activities include a 45-chapter, 82-author book, Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of Titis, Sakis and Uacaris, to be published by Cambridge University Press, and participation, together with the Brazilian Government's Environmental Protection Agency (IBAMA), in the formulation of Action Plans for endangered Brazilian taxa.
For further information about PAG, please e-mail <coordination@pitheciineactiongroup.org> or visit < http://www.pitheciineactiongroup.org>.
Liza Veiga, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil, e-mail: <lizaveiga@pitheciineactiongroup.org> and Adrian Barnett, University of Surrey Roehampton, UK, e-mail: <adrian.barnett1@gmail.com>.
PAG Executive Committee — Liza Veiga, Adrian Barnett, Stephen Ferrari (Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil, e-mail: <ferrari@pesquisador.cnpq.br>) and Marilyn Norconk, Kent State University, USA, e-mail: <mnorconk@kent.edu>).
PAG Coordinating Committee — Liza Veiga; Adrian Barnett; Stephen Ferrari; Marilyn Norconk; Júlio César Bicca-Marques (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, e-mail: <jcbicca@pucrs.br>); Jean-Philippe Boubli (The University of Auckland, New Zealand, e-mail: <j.boubli@auckland.ac.nz>); Mark Bowler (University of Kent, UK, e-mail: <cacajaocalvusucayalii@hotmail.com>); Thomas R. Defler (National University of Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia, e-mail: <thomasdefler@gmail.com>); Anthony Di Fiore (New York University, USA, e-mail: <anthony.difiore@nyu.edu>); Maria Cecília Kierulff (Fundação Parque Zoológico de São Paulo, Brazil, e-mail: <kierulff@uol.com.br>); Eduardo Fernández-Duque (University of Pennsylvania, USA, e-mail: <eduardof@sas.upenn.edu>); Eckhard Heymann (Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Goettingen, Germany, e-mail: <eheyman@gwdg.de>); Shawn Lehman (University of Toronto, Canada, e-mail: <slehman@chass.utoronto.ca>); Laura Marsh (Global Conservation Institute, Santa Fe, USA, e-mail: <lkmarsh@global-conservation.org>); Marcelo Oliveira (IBAMA — Centro de Proteção de Primatas Brasileiros, João Pessoa, Brazil, e-mail: <Marcelo. Oliveira@ibama.gov.br>); Erwin Palacios (Conservation International Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia, e-mail: <epalacios@conservation.org>); Liliam Pinto (Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, e-mail: <liliamp@ uol.com.br>); Leila M. Porter (Northern Illinois University, USA, e-mail: <T20LMP1@wpo.cso.niu.edu>); Helder Queiroz (Mamirauá — Escritório Belém, Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil, e-mail: <helder@mamiraua.org.br>); José Silva Júnior (Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil, e-mail: <cazuza.junior@gmail.com>); Bernardo Urbani (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, e-mail: <urbaniglobal@yahoo.com>); Rob Wallace (Wildlife Conservation Society—Bolivia, La Paz, Bolivia, e-mail: <rwallace@wcs.org>); Kirsten Pullen (Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, Devon, U.K., e-mail: <kirsten.pullen@paigntonzoo.org.uk>); Rolando Aquino (Estación Experimental del IVITA, Iquitos, Peru, e-mails: <raquinoy2005@yahoo.es> and <ivitaiq@terra.com.pe>) and Bruna Bezerra (University of Bristol, UK, e-mail: <bzbmb@bristol. ac.uk>).
