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Increased folivory in brown spider monkeys Ateles hybridus living in a fragmented forest in Colombia

2016; Inter-Research; Volume: 32; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/esr00787

1863-5407

Ana Gabriela de Luna, Alissa R. Link, Ana Lucía Sánchez Montes, F. Alfonso, Luz Enith Guerrero Mendieta, Anthony Di Fiore,

Child and Animal Learning Development

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 32:123-134 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00787 Increased folivory in brown spider monkeys Ateles hybridus living in a fragmented forest in Colombia Ana Gabriela de Luna1,2, Andrés Link2,3,*, Andrés Montes2,4, Felipe Alfonso2,5, Leonardo Mendieta2,6, Anthony Di Fiore2,7 1Departamento de Biología y Antropología Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Calle Jose Antonio Novais No. 2, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid 28040, Spain 2Fundación Proyecto Primates, Cra. 11A No. 91-55 Bogota, Colombia 3Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Facultad de Administración, Universidad de Los Andes, Cra. 1 No. 18A-12 Bogota, Colombia 4Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Tolima, Barrio Santa Helena Parte Alta 730006299 Ibague, Tolima, Colombia 5Departamento de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Carrera 7 No. 40-62 Bogota, Colombia 6Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Caldas, Calle 65 No. 26-10 Manizales, Colombia 7Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA *Corresponding author: a.link74@uniandes.edu.co ABSTRACT: Brown spider monkeys Ateles hybridus are one of the most threatened primates in the Neotropics. Most of the remaining populations of this species already live either in forest fragments or in areas that face imminent anthropogenic disturbance. Understanding how these animals cope with the challenge of living in small fragments, while at the same time being a large, frugivorous mammal is crucial to design effective conservation and management strategies. We studied the diet of wild A. hybridus and measured forest productivity in a small (~65 ha) fragment in the Magdalena Region of northern Colombia over a period of 26 mo. Spider monkeys at this site spent far less time feeding on fruits than reported in previous studies of Ateles spp. living in less fragmented sites. Moreover, we registered a high consumption of leaves in every month (on average 37% of their feeding time) as well as the consistent inclusion of decayed wood in the diet. Ficus trees can be considered staple feeding items, as they were present in high proportions in the monkeys' diet throughout the study. Although wild populations of spider monkeys can have flexible diets that include large proportions of leaves over long periods of time, they may also be exposed to a suboptimal diet which may have negative implications for their reproduction and well-being in the long run, further compromising the viability of wild populations living in disturbed habitats. KEY WORDS: Behavioral flexibility · Ficus · Habitat fragmentation · Leaf consumption Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: de Luna AG, Link A, Montes A, Alfonso F, Mendieta L, Di Fiore A (2017) Increased folivory in brown spider monkeys Ateles hybridus living in a fragmented forest in Colombia. Endang Species Res 32:123-134. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00787 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 32. Online publication date: February 07, 2017 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.