Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co‐occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

Wild primates can spend up to half of their lives sleeping, during which time they are subjected to many of the same selective pressures that they face when awake. Choosing an appropriate sleeping site can thus have important fitness consequences. We examined the sleeping site preferences of wild hooded capuchins (Sapajus cay) in a small degraded fragment of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest at Rancho Laguna Blanca (RLB) in eastern Paraguay. Sleeping trees and sites were identified during 5 months of field observations and their physical characteristics were compared to those of non-sleeping trees and sites. Capuchins preferred larger emergent trees with more main and forked branches, no lianas and denser undergrowth directly below. These were found in sites of more mature forest with fewer small trees, less liana coverage and denser undergrowth but more fruiting trees. The species composition of the sleeping sites differed from that of the non-sleeping sites and was dominated by Albizia niopoides (Mimosaceae) as well as Peltophorum dubium (Fabaceae) and Anadenanthera colubrina (Fabaceae). The capuchins were found to sleep most often in these three tree species: 69.23% in Albizia niopoides (Mimosaceae), 11.54% in Peltophorum dubium (Fabaceae) and 11.54% in Anadenanthera colubrina (Fabaceae). We found evidence for the predator avoidance, thermoregulatory, social contact and feeding site proximity hypotheses. We found no support for parasite avoidance, given the reuse of sites, although the small size of the forest fragment may have restricted this. Their preference for older-growth forest suggests that selective logging impacts hooded capuchins. However, their persistence in a disturbed fragment shows they are highly adaptable, providing support for the value of conservation and reforestation of even small fragments of the Paraguayan Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest.

One of the main threats to wild primates is habitat alteration, fragmentation and destruction. Therefore it is crucial to understand the ability of those species to adapt to human-induced habitat changes to prevent extirpation. Key to this is a species diet plasticity. In Paraguay over 91% of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest has been destroyed to expand agricultural land. We determined the diet composition of three Sapajus cay groups in degraded and near-pristine Atlantic Forest in eastern Paraguay to assess whether the diet composition of this species changes with habitat degradation. We accounted for diet variability associated with demographic traits and forest characteristics using multinomial linear models. Once the effect of age, sex, and season were accounted for, we found that the diet of capuchins was plastic and shifted to adapt to studied degraded forest conditions. The results showed that (as expected) the capuchins have a generalist and flexible diet, including opportunistically taking advantage of crop plants, particularly Slash Pine plantations, when the risks were lower. The capuchins ability to adjust their diet in different habitat fragments demonstrates that small islands of Paraguayan Atlantic Forest are valuable for their persistence. This insight can be used to create applied conservation strategies, such as using the existing Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) legislation to provide an opportunity to begin reconnecting fragments using native trees bordered by Slash Pine plantations. Using the capuchins as an umbrella species would increase public support of the program, while compensation through the PES scheme and profiting from the timber would encourage landowner participation.

Infanticide is the killing of infants by conspecifics, and may be direct or indirect; and parental or non‐parental. Explanations for such behaviours range from forcing females with young back into heat, resource recycling in times of shortage and elimination of competitors. Though moderately well understood in some mammal groups, reports of infanticide in hystricomorph rodents are often contradictory and invariably based on captive observations, raising questions about the naturality of the behaviour and the conclusions derived from them. Here, we report the first wild observation of direct infanticide and cannibalism of two juvenile Azara's Agoutis Dasyptocta azarae by a group of adults in Paraguay, confirming that such behaviours also occur under natural conditions.

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The most frequently used environmental attitude scalethe New Environmental Paradigm scalemay be woefully dated. The scale was designed to measure adherence to a paradigm of environmentally focused ethics and beliefs. However, scale items drawn on a not-yet-solidified worldview have led to issues of reliability and validity.

The majority of reports of self-medication in capuchins focus on fur-rubbing behaviours (Fragaszy et al., 2004; Paukner & Suomi, 2012; Meuner et al., 2008). Here, we report on observations of Hooded Capuchins in Rancho Laguna Blanca (RLB), feeding on the bark of the tree Albizia niopoides (Mimosaceae), a possible case of self-medication.

In order to probe how social movement messages foster participant mobilization, this study utilized an experimental design to investigate collective action frames, core messaging tasks that define problems, assign blame, convey a plan of action, and inspire participation. The study compared the effects of climate change messages that contain motivational frames with those that do not, incorporating the influence of resonance, and exposure to competing and counter frames. Results revealed that motivational frames contributed to mobilization, especially intention to act, under conditions of resonance and with exposure to counter frames. Salience primed participants to respond to motivational frames, however for some, motivational frames decreased intention to act. As social movements and climate