Alejandro Estrada is a primatologist and the author and editor of several books and articles about primates. He is a research scientist at the fieldresearch station Los Tuxtlas of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico He is executive editor of Tropical Conservation Science. Books he has authored or edited include New Perspectives in the Study of Mesoamerican Primates: Distribution, Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation, Frugivores and Seed Dispersal: Ecological and Evolutionary Aspects , Las Selvas Tropicales Humedas de Mexico: Recurso Poderoso pero Vulnerable and Comportamiento Animal: el Caso de los Primates.'' His most recent article published in 2017 in the journal Science Advances, Impending extinction of the Worlds primates: Why primates matter, is a ground-breaking call for conservation of the world's primates. A related publication of 2018 further examines this topics for the four countries richest in primate species. Dr. Alejandro Estrada received his Ph.D. in Primatology from Rutgers University in 1978.
Special projects
Global and regional patterns of primate conservation
Long-term studies of population, gene flow and genetic relatedness and habitat navigation and use of food resources by black howler monkey in southeast Mexico.
Rescue and rehabilitation of primates from the pet trade in Mexico.
Selected publications
Estrada et al. 2018 Primates in peril: the significance of Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for global primate conservation. PeerJ https://peerj.com/articles/4869/ Estrada, A., Garber, P.A, Anthony Rylands, et al. 2017. Impending extinction of the Worlds primates: Why primates matter. Science Advances Sci. Adv. 2017; 3 : e1600946
Garmendia, A., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Estrada, A., Naranjo, E. and Stoner, K. E. 2013. Landscape and patch attributes impacting medium- and large-sized terrestrial mammals in a fragmented rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 29:331–344.
Kopp A, Gillespie TR, Hobelsberger D, Estrada A, Harper JM, Miller RA, Eckerle I, Müller MA, Podsiadlowski L, Leendertz FH, Drosten C, Junglen S. 2013. Provenance and geographic spread of St. Louis encephalitis virus. MBio 4:e00322-13. doi:10.1128/mBio.00322-13.
Katherine R Amato, Carl J Yeoman, Angela Kent, Nicoletta Righini, Franck Carbonero, Alejandro Estrada, H Rex Gaskins, Rebecca M Stump, Suleyman Yildirim, Manolito Torralba, Marcus Gillis, Brenda A Wilson, Karen E Nelson, Bryan A White and Steven R Leigh. 2013. Habitat degradation impacts black howler monkey gastrointestinal microbiomes. ISME Journal 7: 1344-1353. doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.16
Van Belle, S., Estrada, A. and Garber, P. D. 2013. Collective group movement and leadership in wild black howler monkeys. BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY 67:31-41.
Scherbaum, C. and Estrada, A. 2013. Foraging preferences and ranging patterns in spider monkeys of northeastern Yucatán peninsula, Mexico. Current Zoology.59 : 125–134
Estrada, A. 2013. Socioeconomic contexts of primate conservation: population, poverty, global economic demands and sustainable land use. American Journal of Primatology 75:30-45.
Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., González-Perez, I. M., Garmendia, A., Solà, M. and A. Estrada.. Maintenance of black howler monkey populations in a fragmented rainforest: the relative impact of forest patch and landscape attributes. Landscape Ecol 28:1717–1727.
Laurance, W. et al. 2012. Long-term ecological changes and threats in tropical protected areas. NATURE 489:290–294.
Van Belle, S., Estrada, A., Strier, K. B., Di Fiore, A. 2012. Genetic structure and kinship patterns in a population of black howler monkeys, Alouatta pigra, at Palenque National Park, Mexico. American Journal of Primatology. 74:948-957.
Estrada, A., Raboy, B. and Oliveira, L. 2012. Agroecosystems and primate conservation in the tropics: a review. American Journal of Primatology. 74:696-711.
Trejo-Macías, G. and Estrada, A. 2012. Risk factors connected to gastrointestinal parasites in mantled and black howler monkeys living in continuous and in fragmented rainforests in Mexico. Current Zoology. 58: 375−383
de la Peña-Cuéllar, E., Stoner, K. E., Avila-Cabadilla, L. D., Miguel Martínez-Ramos, and Estrada. A. 2012. Phyllostomid bat assemblages in different successional stages of tropical rain forest in Chiapas, Mexico. Biodiversity and Conservation. 21:1381-1397.
Garber, P.A., Estrada, A., Bicca-Marques, J., Heymann, E., Strier, K... South American Primates: Comparative Perspectives in the Study of Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Springer Press, NY..
López-del-Toro, P., Andresen, E, Barraza, L, and Estrada, A.. Attitudes and knowledge of shade-coffee farmers towards vertebrates and their ecological functions. Tropical Conservation Science 2, 299-318.
Van Belle S., Estrada A., Ziegler T E. and Strier, K B.. Social and hormonal mechanisms underlying male reproductive strategies in black howler monkeys. Hormones and Behavior 56, 355-363.
Rodas-Trejo, J., Romero-Berny, E. I. and Estrada, A.. Distribution and conservation of the West Indian manatee in the Catazajá wetlands of northeast Chiapas, México. Tropical Conservation Science 4, 321-333.
Van Belle, S. and Estrada, A.. Group Size and Composition Influence Male and Female Reproductive Success in Black Howler Monkeys. American Journal of Primatology. 70, 1-7.
Rosales-Meda, M., Estrada A. and Lopez, J. R.. Demographic Survey of Black Howler Monkey in the Lachua´ Eco-Region in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. American Journal of Primatology. 69, 1–9.
Trejo-MacÃas, G. Estrada, A., y Mosqueda Cabrera, M. A.. Survey of helminth parasites in populations of two species of howler monkeys in continuous and in fragmented habitat in southern Mexico. International Journal of Primatology. 28, 931-945.
Estrada, A. '. Human and Non-human Primate Co-existence in the Neotropics: a Preliminary View of Some Agricultural Practices as a Complement for Primate Conservation. Ecological And Environmental Anthropology. 2, 17-29
Montiel, S., Estrada, A. Leon, P.. Bat assemblages in a naturally fragmented ecosystem in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico: species richness, diversity and spatio-temporal dynamics. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 22,'267–276.
