https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8130-8810
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Poirier, A.C., J.S. Waterhouse, M. Watsa, G. Erkenswick, L. Moreira, J. Tang, J. Dunn, A. Melin, and A.C. Smith. 2021. On the trail of primate scent signals: a field analysis of callitrichid scent-gland secretions by portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. American Journal of Primatology. DOI
Aliaga‐Samanez, G.G., Lescano, J., Quevedo Urday, M.J., Salvatierra Rodríguez, G.S., Erkenswick Watsa, M., Calderon Escalante, J.E. and Erkenswick, G.A., 2021. First detection of antibodies against Leptospira among free‐ranging neotropical non‐human primates in the Peruvian Amazon lowland rainforest. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. DOI
Gerson, J. R., N. Szponar, A. A. Zambrano, B. Bergquist, E. Broadbent, C. T. Driscoll, G. Erkenswick, D. C. Evers, L. E. Fernandez, H. Hsu-Kim, G. Inga, K. N. Lansdale, M. J. Marchese, A. Martinez, C. Moore, W. K. Pan, R. P. Purizaca, V. Sánchez, M. Silman, E.A. Ury, C. Vega, M. Watsa, E. S. Bernhardt. Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining. Nature Communications, 2022, 13(1), 1–10. DOI
Schweizer, R.M., N. Saarman, K.M. Ramstad, B.R. Forester, J.L. Kelley, B.K. Hand, R.L. Malison, A.S. Ackiss, M. Watsa, T.C. Nelson, A. Beja-Pereira, R.S. Waples, W. C. Funk and G. Luikart. Big Data in Conservation Genomics: Boosting Skills, Hedging Bets, and Staying Current in the Field. Journal of Heredity, 2021, esab019, DOI
Watsa, M., and the Wildlife Disease Surveillance Focus Group. (2020). Response to Vanhove et al. and Colella et al. Science, 370(6518), pp.774-774. DOI
Watsa M., and the Wildlife Disease Surveillance Focus Group. (2020). Rigorous wildlife disease surveillance. Science 369 (6500), pp 145-147 DOI
Watsa M., Erkenswick G., Pomerantz A., Prost S. (2020). Portable sequencing as a teaching tool in conservation and biodiversity research. PLOS Biology Community Pages. 18 (4), e3000667 DOI
Sacco, A.J., Mayhew, J.A., Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. and Binder, A.K. (2020). Detection of neopterin in the urine of captive and wild platyrrhines. BMC Zoology, 5(1), pp.1-8. DOI
Erkenswick G., Watsa M, Gozalo A.S., A.S., Dudaie, S., Bailey, L., Muranda, K.S., Kuziez, A. and Parker, P.G. (2019). A multiyear survey of helminths from wild saddleback (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor (Saguinus imperator) tamarins. Amer. J. Primatol. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23063 pdf summary
Souza-Alves JP, Watsa, M, 62 other authors & Barnett AA. (2019) Terrestrial behavior in titi monkeys (Callicebus, Cheracebus and Plecturocebus): Potential correlates, patterns and differences between genera. International Journal of Primatology. pp1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-019-00105-x pdf summary
Robakis, E., Watsa, M., and Erkenswick, G. (2018). Classification of producer characteristics in primate long calls using neural networks. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 144 (1), 344-353. doi.org/10.1121/1.5046526 pdf summary
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G.A., and Robakis, E. (2017). Modelling developmental class provides insights into individual contributions to infant survival in callitrichids. International Journal of Primatology, 38(6): 1032-1057 doi.org/10.1007/s10764-017-9995-4 pdf
Erkenswick, G.A., Watsa, M., Pacheco, M.A., Escalante, A.A. and Parker, P.G., 2017. Chronic Plasmodium brasilianum infections in wild Peruvian tamarins. PloS one, 12(9), p.e0184504. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184504 pdf
Adams, D. B., Rehg, J. A., & Watsa, M. (2017). Observations of termitarium geophagy by Rylands’ bald-faced saki monkeys (Pithecia rylandsi) in Madre de Dios, Peru. Primates, 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s10329-017-0609-8 pdf
Erkenswick, G. A., Watsa, M., Gozalo, A. S., Dmytryk, N., & Parker, P. G. (2017). Temporal and demographic blood parasite dynamics in two free-ranging neotropical primates. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 6(2), 59-68. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2017.03.004 pdf
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. A., Halloran, D., Kane, E. E., Poirier, A., Klonoski, K., Cassalet, S., Maciag, E., Mangalea, M. R., Dinsmore, M. P., McCready, H., Boughan, B. K., Parker, C., Hickmott, A., Nole, I. E., & Zuñiga, A. 2015. A field protocol for the capture and release of callitrichids. Neotropical Primates 22 (2): 59-68 pdf summary
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G., Rehg, J. Leite Pitman, R. 2012. Distribution and new sightings of Goeldi’s monkey (Callimico goeldii) in Amazonian Perú. International Journal of Primatology 33(6): 1477-1502 doi:10.1007/s10764-012-9632-1 pdf
Manuscripts in Review
Sayers, C.J., Evers, D.C,Ruiz-Gutierrez, V., Adams, E., Vega, C.M., Pisconte, J., Tejeda, V., Regan, K., Lane, O.P., Tear, T.H., Ash, A.A., Cal, R., Reneau, S., Martínez, W., Welch, G., Hartwell, K., Teul, M., Tzul, D., Arendt, W.J., Tórrez, M.A., Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G, Moore, C.E., Gerson, J., Sánchez, V., Purizaca, R.P., Martínez, A.E., Bernhardt, E.S., Taylor, R.J., Fernandez, L.E. (In Review). Mercury exposure in Neotropical birds: A review and prospectus. Science of the Total Environment
Steinhardt, G., Broadbent, E.N., Almeyda Zambrano, A.M., Watsa, M., and Erkenswick, G. (In Review). Integration of spatially-explicit behavioral data and drone-based lidar mapping reveals divergent use of secondary and primary forests in sympatric Amazonian primates. Scientific Advances
Asangba, A.E., Mugisha, L., Rukundo, J., Lewis, R.J., Halajian, A., Cortés-Ortiz, L., Junge, R. E., Irwin, M.T., Karlson, J., Perkin, A., Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G., Bales, K.L., Leigh, S., and Stumpf, R. (In Review) Large comparative analyses of primate body site microbiomes indicate that the oral microbiome is unique among all body sites and conserved among non-human primates. Spectrum Microbiology
First Author Manuscripts in Preparation
Watsa, M. Erkenswick, G., Swamy, V., Pomerantz, A., Hill, K.C., Aguilar, A. P. P., Diaz, G. I., Prost, S. (In prep). Decoding the Amazon: A field DNA barcoding protocol using portable sequencers. For submission to Conservation Biology.
Watsa, M., Moreira, L.A.A., Erkenswick, G. A. and Melin, A. (In prep) Visual cues of age and breeding status in callitrichids. American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Other Selected Publications
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. A., & Halloran, D. 2016. Capture-and-release protocol for the Callitrichidae and other small mammals. Technical Report. Field Projects International
Watsa, M. 2015. 200,000 of Peru’s primates trafficked for the pet trade or bushmeat yearly. Mongabay Series: Latin American Wildlife Trade; http://bit.ly/2ejfv7f
Watsa, M. 2015. Policing domestic wildlife trafficking in Peru. Mongabay Series: Latin American Wildlife Trade; http://bit.ly/2dZmoam
Watsa, M. 2015. Mining at the heart of the Mother of God: Peru’s gold rush claims more forest. Mongabay.org; http://bit.ly/2eqeWD2
Watsa, M. 2015. Fracas over Costa Rican shark-fin exports leads American Airlines to stop shipping fins. Mongabay.org; http://bit.ly/2dZmlvb
Watsa, M. 2015. One of Brazil’s rarest primates still holds out in single patch of rainforest. Mongabay.org; http://bit.ly/2eitk20
Abstracts and Professional Presentations (*presenter in bold)
Watsa, M. 2022. Panelist on Roundtable Beyond best practices: finding ways to make primate capture and release safer. January 11, 2022
Watsa, M. 2022. Portable Sequencing for Biomonitoring and Capacity Building in the Peruvian Amazon. Getting the Data. January 11, 2022
Gerson, J. R., N. Szponar, A. A. Zambrano, B. Bergquist, E. Broadbent, C. T. Driscoll, G. Erkenswick, D. C. Evers, L. E. Fernandez, H. Hsu-Kim, G. Inga, K. N. Lansdale, M. J. Marchese, A. Martinez, C. Moore, W. K. Pan, R. P. Purizaca, V. Sánchez, M. Silman, E.A. Ury, C. Vega, M. Watsa, E. S. Bernhardt. 2022. Gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon leads to high levels of mercury deposition in forests and enhanced methylation in aquatic ecosystems. International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant.
Watsa, M., Erkenswick G , Pomerantz A & Prost S. 2020. Portable sequencing for biomonitoring and capacity build- ing in the Peruvian Amazon. In 4th Annual Meeting in Conservation Genetics, February 26-28, 2020.
Steinhardt, R.G., Fannin, L., Watsa, M. and Erkenswick, G., 2020, March. Space use in solitary tamarins. In American Journal of Primatology (Vol. 82).
Moreira, L.A., Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. and Melin, A.D., 2019, December. Evaluating visual cues of breeding status in a New World Monkey (NWM) species, the saddleback tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis). In American Journal of Primatology (Vol. 81).
Watsa, M., and Raghunandan. I. 2019. Conservation Technology: The Naturechip and Biscuit. Conservation Technologies in the Andes Amazon. June 24-28, 2019.
Watsa, M. 2019. #JungleGenomics: Conservation Genomics in the Amazon Rainforest. Conservation Technologies in the Andes Amazon. June 24-28, 2019.
Watsa, M. 2018. #Junglegenomics: Teaching Tropical Biology and Genetics in the Amazon Rainforest. National Association of Biology Teachers, San Diego, November 9.
Robakis, E., Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. 2017. Group membership, individual identity, and sex encoded in Saguinus imperator long calls. American Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Meeting, April 19-22
Watsa, M., and Erkenswick, G. Tamarin hips don’t lie: modelling breeding status from reproductive morphology in the saddleback (Saguinus weddelli) and emperor (S. imperator) tamarin. 2016. International Primatological Society/American Society of Primatology Joint Meeting, August 21-27
Banda, K., Erkenswick, G., Watsa, M., and Stryker, G.A. 2016. An investigation of the effects of seasonality on the parasite richness of saddleback tamarins (Saguinus weddelli). International Primatological Society/American Society of Primatology Joint Meeting, August 21-27
Erkenswick, G., Watsa, M., Estrada, G. R., Robakis, E., de Vries, M., and Anderson, J. A. 2016. An analysis of spatial associations by home range overlap and land-use densities between free-ranging groups of saddleback (Saguinus weddelli) and emperor (S. imperator) tamarins in Peru. International Primatological Society/American Society of Primatology Joint Meeting, August 21-27
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. and López Clinton, S. Reproductive status affects scent-marking behavior in a free-ranging group of saddleback tamarins (Saguinus weddelli) with multiple breeding females in Peru. 2016. International Primatological Society/American Society of Primatology Joint Meeting, August 21-27
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G. A., Rasmussen, D. T. 2015. Age belies reproductive status in a wild population of Saguinus fuscicollis and S. imperator in southeastern. American Association of Physical Anthropologists Meetings, March 25-28.
Honap, T.P., Housman, G., Erkenswick, G., Malukiewicz, J., Boere, V., Machado Periera, L., Grativol, A.D., Ruiz-Miranda, C.R., De Oliviera E Silva, I., Watsa, M., Stone, A.C. 2015. Investigating the presence of mycobacterial pathogens in New World primates. American Association of Physical Anthropologists Meetings, March 25-28.
Honap, T.P., Pfister, L-A, Erkenswick, G., Watsa, M., and Stone, A. 2015. Analysis of a nonhuman primate Mycobacterium leprae strain: implications for zoonotic transmission of mycobacterial pathogens. Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Meetings, July 12-16
Honap, T. P., Housman, G., Erkenswick, G., Malukiewicz, J. Boere, V., Pereira, L. C. M., Grativol, A. D., Ruiz-Miranda, C. R., E Silva, I. D. O, Watsa, M., and Stone, A. C. 2015. Investigating the presence of mycobacterial pathogens in New World primates. American Association of Physical Anthropologists Meetings, March 25-28.
Robakis, E., Watsa, M., and Erkenswick, G. 2015. Preliminary Analysis: The Vocal Repertoire of the Emperor Tamarin (Saguinus imperator). 2015. American Association of Physical Anthropologists Meetings, March 25-28.
Watsa, M. A revision of field methods for capturing and marking free-ranging saddleback tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) and emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator). 2012. International Primatological Society Meetings, August 13-17
Leite Pitman, R., Adams, D.B., Watsa, M. 2012. A lethal case of malignant lymphoma in a wild squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis), in the Peruvian Amazon. American Journal of Primatology. 147(S54): 237-238.
Erkenswick, G.A., Watsa, M., Rheg, J. A., Pitman, R. L. 2012. Distribution and new sightings of Goeldi’s monkey (Callimico goeldii) in Amazonian Peru. International Primatological Society Meetings, August 13-17
Rehg, J.A., Watsa, M., and Erkenswick, G. A. 2011. Demografía, ecología, y comportamiento de los calitriquideos al Centro de Investigación y Capacitación Rio Los Amigos en Madre de Dios, Peru. Primatologia en el Perú: Historia, Estado Actual y Perspectivas, October 19-22
Adams, D.B., Rehg, J.A., Watsa, M. 2011. Observations of termitarium geophagy by Pithecia irrorata, monk saki monkeys, in Madre de Dios, Peru [abstract] American Journal of Primatology. 73 (S1): 18
Watsa, M., H. Pontzer. 2008. Does increased ranging effort result in fewer wasted menstrual cycles? [abstract]American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 135 (S46): 218
Watsa, M. 2007. Identification of polymorphic markers in the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) genome [abstract]. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 132 (S44):245
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