This study examined the foraging locations of lactating female and pre-breeding adult male South American sea lions Otaria¯avescens in the Patagonian continental shelf, south-west Atlantic ocean. Research on females included the diving pattern, and was conducted during the 1994±98 breeding seasons in ®ve northern and central Patagonian rookeries. Twenty females were satellite-tracked using the Argos system and yielded 1558 locations at sea. Satellite transmitters were also deployed on two adult males tracked for a total of 94 days (n = 364 locations) before the onset of the 1999 breeding season. Foraging trips for both sexes were con®ned to the temperate waters of the Patagonian continental shelf although males travelled greater distances than females, and arrived close (c. 80 km) to the edge of the shelf. Females from the same rookery dispersed widely and locations at sea often overlapped. Individual differences were apparent between coastal and pelagic animals. Trips lasted a mean of 3.4 days (sd = 1.3, n = 115 trips). Mean travel distance per trip was 206 km (sd = 117 km, maximum 864 km, n = 115 trips). Females reached further distances by travelling faster rather than by extending the duration of trips. Consistent with the shallow continental shelf, 65% of 75 087 dives recorded for nine animals were in the range of 2±30 m. Males alternated periods on the coast with trips to sea lasting a mean of 5.7 days (sd = 3.0, n = 8 trips). Mean travel distance exceeded 591 km (1 sd = 301 km, n = 8 trips). Results are consistent with sex differences reported from diet studies. Locations overlap with the summer operation of shelf ®sheries targeting species that are also part of the sea lion diet.

No abstract

\Ve developed a new technique to quantify home ranges by using coordinate-based data that were collected at srnall time intenals and entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS). We used this technique (digitized polygons [DP]) and 4 other established methods to estimate home range sizes of groups of black howler monkeys (Alorrana pigra). \Ve calculated the size of the area used by the study groups during the study period. The D P niethod used all available data points, excluded lacunae within home ranges, and accounted for spread of the group. The D P estimates of home range size were compared with 4 widely used methods: n~inimunl convex polygon (MCP), grid-cell (G C) ,95% Ilarmonic mean (HM), and 95% adaptive kernel (AK!. Sizes of home ranges ranged fro,* 1 to 62 ha. Results of all procedures were strongly correlated tP < 0.001), altholigh each gave very different estimates of home range sizes. The D P estimates were smaller than AK (P < 0.039) and hiCP (P < 0.002) estimates and consistently (although not significantly) larger than GC: niethods (P = 0.99). There was no statistically significant or consistent difference behveen DP and Hki estimates. Digitized polygons required the investigator to select path width and size of lacunae to exclude, but these decisions can be based upon biologicrtl information. This method may be the most appropriate technique to deter~nirle Ilorne range size with autocorrelated location data that can be converted to day-range paths.

ABSTRACT. Feeding trials were conducted with a troop of six proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) at the New York Zoological Park to quantify aspects of digestive physiology. Diets consumed comprised, on an as-fed basis, 55~ browse and green produce, 1107o fruit, 9070 commercial primate diets, 9070 root vegetables, and 1607o miscellaneous items. Total feed intake averaged 1207o of body mass; dry matter intake was 307o. Dry matter and plant cell wall disappearance exceeded 80070. Passage marker studies (three 6-day trials) revealed: transit time = 14 hr; mean passage time = 49 hr; and 5-8007o retention time = 52 hr. Digestion coefficients and retention times were greater than expected based on body size. These results might reflect the low fiber content of the diets fed, or alternatively, provide evidence that proboscis monkeys are efficient digesters of cell wall constituents.

Although shade coffee plantations are potentially valuable habitats for wildlife conservation, little information exists on the extent to which they provide resident wildlife populations with resources necessary for survival and reproduction. A 14-month study of the ecology of mantled howling monkeys Alouatta palliata living in a Nicaraguan shade coffee plantation was therefore conducted. Trees were surveyed at randomly located enumeration points in the coffee plantation and monitored for phenophase production to characterize resource availability. Day-long focal animal follows were used to characterize the ranging and habitat preferences of the howlers. The study site had a diverse canopy, with over 60 tree species providing shade for coffee cultivation; high tree diversity ensured yearround availability of the howlers' preferred foods. Howlers did not avoid feeding or ranging in areas of shade coffee cultivation. However, when foraging in coffee they favored large shade trees for feeding and were less likely to use areas of shade coffee with small trees and fewer arboreal pathways. Results suggest, in conjunction with controls on hunting and protection of nearby forests, that shade coffee can serve as alternate wildlife habitat and corridors between forest fragments for howling monkeys and possibly other forest mammals. Specific management recommendations to improve the conservation value of shade coffee for primates are made and the potential role of coffee plantations in primate conservation at a regional scale are discussed.