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Pygmy tarsiers (Tarsius pumilus) of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia are the only species of tarsier known to live exclusively at high altitudes. This study was the first to locate and observe multiple groups of this elusive primate. This research tested the hypothesis that variation in pygmy tarsier behavior and morphology correlates with measurable ecological differences that occur along an altitudinal gradient. As a response to decreased resources at higher altitudes and the associated effects on foraging competition and energy intake, pygmy tarsiers were predicted to exhibit lower population density, smaller group sizes, larger home ranges, and reduced sexually selected traits compared to lowland tarsiers. Six groups containing a total of 22 individuals were observed. Pygmy tarsiers were only found between 2000 and 2300 m, indicating allopatric separation from lowland tarsiers. As expected, the observed pygmy tarsiers lived at a lower density than lowland tarsier species, in association with decreased resources at higher altitudes. The estimated population density of pygmy tarsiers was 92 individuals per 100 ha, with 25 groups per 100 ha. However, contrary to expectation, home range sizes were not significantly larger than lowland tarsier home ranges, and average NPL was smaller than those of lowland tarsiers. The average home range size for the observed pygmy tarsiers was 2.0 ha, and the average nightly path length (NPL) was 365.36 m. Pygmy tarsiers exhibited a nonrandom, clumped distribution near forest edges. While insect abundance and biomass were found to decrease as altitude increased, insect abundance and biomass was higher along anthropogenic edges. Thus, tarsiers within the study area may mitigate the decreased availability of insects at high altitudes by remaining close to forest edges, which in turn may be related to smaller than expected home range sizes. Further, estimates of pygmy tarsier abundance may be inflated because of increased insect abundance along anthropogenic edges. Contrary to the prediction for smaller group sizes as a response to feeding competition, the observed pygmy tarsiers lived in relatively large groups with multiple adult males. However, in support of the prediction for energetic constraints on body proportions, the observed pygmy tarsiers did not exhibit sexually selected traits. The pygmy tarsiers exhibited low sexual dimorphism and small relative testes mass, a trend opposite from lowland tarsier species, which may indicate a constraint on the development of those traits. Considered together, these results suggest that the observed pygmy tarsiers have adapted to life in an environment with limited resources. Future studies should explore the possible contributing effects of seasonality and topography.

The establishment of protected areas (PAs) has been the key national strategy in biodiversity conservation, through preserving the unique wildlife and ecosystems in Indonesia. As well as their status as sites rich in biodiversity, PAs are also important for socio-economic interactions. Hence the management of PAs has been fraught with technical, social and economic problems. To ensure greater local participation and support in tropical forest conservation initiatives, it is vital to understand how local stakeholders perceive them. This research was undertaken in Gorontalo Province by examining the views of local stakeholders through a combination of qualitative interviews and quantitative ranking exercises. The findings revealed that respondents only understood the concept of biodiversity on a general level. Most respondents defined biodiversity in terms of its elements; only a few were able to describe the interactional attributes, by which biodiversity functions within the ecosystems. Their appreciation of forest biodiversity was primarily due to economic and ecological benefits they derive from local forests. Accordingly, respondents ranked the provision of ecological services from the forests as the strongest reason for protecting it. Using Wood et al. (2000) analytical framework to examine the root causes of biodiversity loss, the findings indicated respondents’ familiarity with human-induced forces resulting in the degradation and loss of natural forests, and they understood how these affect local biodiversity, both within and beyond the forest. Some critical disconnections between national policy in forest conservation and the reality of the local use of forest resource became apparent. At the core of these disconnections was an unequal share of benefits of such policy to local stakeholders. They identified extraction of species and physical alteration of the forest ecosystem as direct drivers of forest loss; these were perceived as rooted in poverty, institutional failures in forest management, ignorance of the wider forest functions, and conflict of development policies at the local level. The main reason for biodiversity loss can be summed up as widespread and persistent failure to properly understand, quantify, or value the goods, services, functions and capital value of the natural forests, at both national and local levels. Overall, most respondents held negative attitudes towards protected forests and their positive attitudes towards conservation activities were linked with tangible benefits they enjoy from the forest. A key finding of this study is that the conservation of biodiversity cannot be considered in isolation from broader patterns of natural resource use and the socio-political context in which people carry out their lives. This study suggests that the implementation of the centrally-controlled and preservationist conservation approach in Gorontalo has been ineffective in achieving conservation goals. This is due to the lack of a clear connection between this policy and the reality of local forest users.

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