Diet diversity and seasonality of robust capuchins (Sapajus sp.) in a tiny urban forest

Abstract

Capuchins are omnivorous neotropical primates that can survive in urban forests by supplementing their diet with human foods. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of these resources on their diet diversity and feeding seasonality. We aimed to assess the patterns of foraging, feeding, and diet diversity of urban capuchins (Sapajus sp.) that live in a tiny urban forest in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, where humans frequently feed them. We predicted that forest degradation and human foods could decrease diet diversity, though capuchins may, conversely, reduce their selectivity and expand their food repertoire. We followed the animals from dawn to dusk between May 2018 and April 2019 to list and quantify the species and items consumed. We used diversity indexes and cluster analysis to understand similarities and differences in the diet composition over the study period. We recorded 58 plant species (being 14 exotics) consumed by the monkeys, and nonconventional items, with low diet diversity overall. The diet consisted mainly of plants (69.8%), animal matter (20.6%), and processed foods (9.5%). Capuchins consumed more food from the anthropic environment (57.5%) than from the forest (42.4%), while their food from the forest included more invertebrates (47.8%) than fruits (40%). The cluster analysis showed two main groups of feeding months, in accordance with the seasons of high and low food production in local forests. Monkeys did not vary the frequencies of foraging or feeding between seasons, probably due to the omnipresent availability of human foods. Despite the high consumption of human foods, capuchins responded to the seasonality of the forest, expanding their feeding diversity in the drier period. Future studies should analyze the correspondence between food consumption and local phenology, as well as the potential role of capuchins as seed dispersers in this depauperate community.

Plant diversity in the diet of Costa Rican primates in contrasting habitats: a meta-analysis

“…: [63,64], Sapajus spp. [11,65]). Overall, the eclectic feeding behavior of tropical NHP is frequently associated with three main factors.…”

Plant Diversity in the Diet of Costa Rican Primates in Contrasting Habitats: A Meta-Analysis

“…[91,92], Sapajus spp. [11,93]). Overall, the diverse diets of tropical NHPs are frequently associated with three main factors.…”

Consumption of muscovy duck eggs by brown capuchin monkeys in a peri-urban forest in the Amazon

“…For example, reduced forest fragments with anthropic disturbance or resource-poor can enhance the capture of marmosets by capuchins monkeys (Albuquerque et al 2014;Costa et al 2020). In urban habitats, human provisioning increments the diet with calorie items (but non-nutritive), which can alter the minimum amount of habitat needed (Suzin et al 2017;Gonçalves et al 2022). Taking advantage of anthropic resources, such as domestic-farm animals and their related items, can be essential to capuchins' maintenance in anthropogenic environments.…”

“…In urban areas, human-capuchin monkey interactions are relatively common. Under these circumstances, capuchins monkeys benefit from human provisioning (Suzin et al 2017;Gonçalves et al 2022), which can habituate the animals to human food or human resources. The subsequent dependence on human resources is so relevant that it can affect the social structure of capuchin monkey groups (Back et al 2019;Lousa et al 2022).…”