Fundación ECO participates in and supports scientific activities that aim at developing a better understanding of the Chaco region abundant and diverse natural resources. The Owl Monkey Project has been a banner project in this quest.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The Owl Monkey Project on the Guaycolec Ranch
Under the direction of Dr. Eduardo Fernandez-Duque, the Owl Monkey Project studies the ecology and behavior of owl monkeys that inhabit the gallery and island forests of the Formosa dry-lands. Studies are conducted on population biology, demography, behavior, genetic, endocrinology and conservation in collaboration with numerous institutions and colleagues and with the support of international and Argentinean funding agencies.
Fernandez-Duque started owl monkey project in 1996 because he was interested in examining the roles that males and females have in the maintenance of a monogamous social system. Owl monkeys live in social groups that include one pair of reproducing adults and between one and four young. It was usually assumed that mates paired for life, but more recently we have learned that adults of both sexes are replaced regularly and violently by incoming adults.
Wild Animal Rescue of the Guaycolec Ranch
Fundación ECO’s Conservation Education Program currently collaborates with the Wild Animal Reserve on the Guaycolec Ranch. The Wild Animal Reserve, under the direction of the Provincial Subsecretary of Natural Resources, works to preserve the local ecology and fauna in Formosa.
Pilcomayo National Park
Fundación ECO supports the Owl Monkey Project in their investigations in the Pilcomayo National Park. Current research looks at population parameters of the owl monkey in the gallery and island forests along the Pilcomayo River. This work generates important information for the understanding of conservation in the nationally protected ecosystem of the Pilcomayo Park.
