Golden-headed lion tamarin research in the 21st century: Recent advances and potential areas of future research

On 7 and 8 December 2011, students, researchers, and conservationists with a vested interest in golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas; GHLTs) gathered at the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC; Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil) for the symposium `Golden-Headed Lion
Tamarin Research in the 21st Century: Recent Advances and Potential Areas of Future Research´ with the aim of sharing recent work and discussing potential future avenues for research. Within the last 5 years, several doctoral dissertations and masters theses were completed that focused on the biology, ecology, and/or conservation of GHLTs in addition
to the ongoing work of established scientists who have devoted their professional lives to the study of this species and the Atlantic Forest. However, language barriers and the fact that many members of the GHLT community are based at institutions throughout the world have complicated widespread access to these results and collaborations among researchers. The primary goals of this symposium were to (1) promote the exchange of existing information,
(2) contribute towards a better synchronization of research efforts, and (3) identify important steps for more efficient/ collaborative conservation efforts for GHLTs and their habitat. This symposium brought together 30 participants from 12 institutions in Brazil, Belgium and the USA and allowed for the dissemination of information to the global GHLT community, compilation of recent advances in research, and identification of gaps in knowledge of GHLT biology, ecology and conservation, which ultimately fostered discussions on how attendees could collaborate to fill
knowledge gaps.