PRIMEIRO REGISTRO DE DESCASCAMENTO DE <i>Eucalyptus </i>spp. POR MACACOS-PREGO (<i>Sapajus nigritus</i>, PRIMATES: CEBIDAE)

Abstract

Conflicts involving wild animals and forest plantations are registered all over the world, including the barkstripping of native and exotic tree species by primates. In Southern Brazil, the Brown-capuchin monkey (Sapajus nigritus) is well-known for damaging commercial plantations of Pinus spp. and Araucaria angustifolia. In this paper, however, we report, for the first time in the literature the bark-stripping of Eucalyptus spp. by these monkeys. Considering the growing areas of eucalypt plantations in Brazil and neighboring countries, the information presented here is of great importance to the economy of Forestry. It also enhances the need of scientific studies aimed to minimize the damage for the production without jeopardizing wildlife conservation, as those designed to monitor the availability of food resources (mainly fruits) in native forest remnants and to improve it through the restoration of degraded forests or even those that seek for natural deterrents. Keywods: damages; eucalypt; feeding behavior; wildlife conservation. RESUMOConflitos envolvendo animais selvagens e plantios comerciais têm sido comumente registrados em todo o mundo, incluindo o descascamento de árvores nativas ou exóticas por primatas. No sul do Brasil, o macacoprego (Sapajus nigritus) é responsável por provocar danos em plantios comerciais de Pinus spp e Araucaria angustifolia. Nesse artigo, apresentamos de forma inédita na literatura o descascamento de Eucalyptus spp. por macacos-prego. Considerando o crescimento das áreas com plantios de eucaliptos no Brasil e países vizinhos, a informação apresentada aqui é de grande importância para a economia florestal. Ele também ressalta a necessidade de estudos científicos que visem minimizar os danos causados à produção sem comprometer a conservação da vida selvagem, como aqueles que visam monitorar a disponibilidade de recursos alimentares (principalmente frutos) em fragmentos de floresta nativa e incrementá-la por meio da recuperação de áreas depauperadas ou ainda aqueles que buscam compostos naturais deterrentes. Palavras-chave: danos; eucalipto; comportamento alimentar; conservação biodiversidade.

Exploration of sugarcane crops by Sapajus flavius inhabiting a fragment of Atlantic Forest in State of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil

“…The species of Sapajus genus show some behavioral flexibility and can adjust their behavior in response to changes in habitat, allowing them to occupy a variety of environments, including disturbed forest fragments (Fragaszy et al, 2004;Spagnoletti et al, 2017). Their manual dexterity, a large, heavy, and circumvolution brain (Auricchio, 1995), high sociability and terrestriality (Freese and Oppenheimer, 1981;Visalberghi et al, 2005) enable them to acquire food resources through complex foraging (Ludwig et al, 2006;Freitas et al, 2008;Lacerda, 2013;Liebsch and Mikich, 2015). In addition, they employ several strategies to obtain food resources during the period of fruit scarcity, including the exploration of underground and encapsulated items, or difficult to access items (Canale et al, 2009;Ferreira et al, 2009;Souto et al, 2011;Falótico et al, 2018Falótico et al, , 2019.…”

“…In addition, they employ several strategies to obtain food resources during the period of fruit scarcity, including the exploration of underground and encapsulated items, or difficult to access items (Canale et al, 2009;Ferreira et al, 2009;Souto et al, 2011;Falótico et al, 2018Falótico et al, , 2019. Some populations benefit from food sources in anthropic environments, such as fruits in orchards and monocultures of pine, cassava, sugarcane, corn and eucalyptus (Ludwig et al, 2006;Lacerda, 2013;Rodrigues, 2013;Liebsch and Mikich, 2015). The proximity of cropped areas to forest edges (Spagnoletti et al, 2017), as well as the loss of natural habitat due to the increased commercial agriculture (Presotto et al, 2020), have allowed primates to access to anthropogenic resources; prompting them to forage on crops outside the forest (Hill, 2018).…”

“…and even pinus (Pinus spp. and Araucaria angustifolia), among other native and exotic trees, being consumed by species of the Sapajus genus (Ludwig et al, 2006;Mikichand Liebsch, 2009;Liebsch and Mikich, 2015). More specifically, there are records of Sapajus nigritus consuming cassava (Manihot esculenta), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.…”

“…More specifically, there are records of Sapajus nigritus consuming cassava (Manihot esculenta), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp. ), and corn (Zea mays) (Ludwig et al, 2006;Lacerda, 2013;Liebsch and Mikich, 2015); Sapajus libidinosus consuming corn and sugarcane (Freitas et al, 2008); and Sapajus flavius consuming sugarcane (Valença-Montenegro, 2011;Rodrigues, 2013;Santos, 2013;Lins and Ferreira, 2019).…”