Habitat preference in the critically endangered yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) at La Esperanza, Peru

Abstract

Habitat loss is one of the main threats to wildlife. Therefore, knowledge of habitat use and preference is essential for the design of conservation strategies and identification of priority sites for the protection of endangered species. The yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda Humboldt, 1812), categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, is endemic to montane forests in northern Peru where its habitat is greatly threatened. We assessed how habitat use and preference in L. flavicauda are linked to forest structure and composition. The study took place near La Esperanza, in the Amazonas region, Peru. Our objective was to identify characteristics of habitat most utilized by L. flavicauda to provide information that will be useful for the selection of priority sites for conservation measures. Using presence records collected from May 2013 to February 2014 for one group of L. flavicauda, we classified the study site into three different use zones: low‐use, medium‐use, and high‐use. We assessed forest structure and composition for all use zones using 0.1 ha Gentry vegetation transects. Results show high levels of variation in plant species composition across the three use zones. Plants used as food resources had considerably greater density, dominance, and ecological importance in high‐use zones. High‐use zones presented similar structure to medium‐ and low‐use zones; thus it remains difficult to assess the influence of forest structure on habitat preference. We recommend focusing conservation efforts on areas with a similar floristic composition to the high‐use zones recorded in this study and suggest utilizing key alimentation species for reforestation efforts.

Expanded distribution and predicted suitable habitat for the critically endangered yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Perú

“…The species has commonly been observed consuming Ficus spp. fruits (Almeyda‐Zambrano et al, 2019; Luna, 1980; S. Shanee, 2014), which have inter‐ and intraspecific asynchronous fruiting. The frequent and abundant fruit production of Ficus spp.…”

“…This presumably makes food tree density and phenology important factors for sustaining viable populations and, thus, for consideration for habitat protection. Therefore, their preferred habitat—which have relatively higher densities of food trees with high fruit yield—depends on local climate and forest composition (Almeyda‐Zambrano et al, 2019; S. Shanee, 2016), and the structure of tree community likely determines the local‐level distribution of the species.…”

Expanded Distribution and Predicted Suitable Habitat for the Critically Endangered Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru

“…Moreover, L. flavicauda have commonly been observed consuming Ficus spp. fruit (Leo Luna 1980;Shanee 2014;Almeyda-Zambrano et al 2019), which have inter-and intra-specific asynchronous fruiting; together with abundant production, this accounts for the genus' importance for many frugivores (Bronstein et al 1990;Kattan and Valenzuela 2013). Overall, while modelling with bioclimatic variables can aid in determining areas with suitable niche conditions, these models do not provide clear explanations for a given species' presence or absence.…”

“…2014; Paterson and Lopez Wong 2014). Their preferred habitat depends on local climate and forest composition (Shanee 2016; Almeyda-Zambrano et al . 2019), and they are able to survive at least for a time in moderately disturbed habitats when hunting pressure is low (Aquino et al .…”

“…along the eastern slopes of the Andes (Aquino et al 2017, Shanee 2011, with occasional occurrences below this elevation (Allgas et al 2014;Paterson and Lopez Wong 2014). Their preferred habitat depends on local climate and forest composition (Shanee 2016;Almeyda-Zambrano et al 2019), and they are able to survive at least for a time in moderately disturbed habitats when hunting pressure is low (Aquino et al 2015;. This may be, in part, due to a flexible diet consisting of flowers, leaf petioles, epiphytic roots, vertebrates, and soil, although they are predominantly frugivorous.…”