Habitat use by Chiropotes satanas utahicki and syntopic platyrrhines in eastern Amazonia

Abstract

Primates were surveyed at two sites in the Xingu-Tocantins interfluvium, in eastern Amazonia, where at least eight platyrrhines are known to occur, including the endemic Chiropotes satanas utahicki, vulnerable to extinction. Only three other forms; Alouatta belzebul belzebul, Cebus apella apella, and Saguinus midas niger; were recorded at both sites. Data on habitat use (forest type and strata) were collected in standard line transect surveys and analyzed with relation to the availability of forest types, as well as between sites and species. The smallest- (S. midas) and largest-bodied (A. belzebul) species were relatively common at the continuous forest site, where they exhibited a significant preference for primary terra firme forest. At this site, Cebus demonstrated a significant preference for liana and flooded forest in contrast with primary or secondary terra firme forests. The medium-sized Cebus and Chiropotes were more common in the isolated forest fragment (where they were also observed together frequently), but no clear habitat preferences were found at this site for any species. A. belzebul occupied significantly higher forest strata than other species, which all used relatively similar levels. C.s. utahicki was active in much lower forest strata than other bearded sakis, whereas S. midas was observed at much higher levels than at other sites in eastern Amazonia. It remains unclear whether and to what extent observed patterns are determined by differences between taxa, populations, or ecosystems, but the data indicate that C.s. utahicki is relatively tolerant of habitat disturbance.

Monitoring mammals in the Caxiuanã National Forest, Brazil – First results from the Tropical Ecology, Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) program

“…Of the mammalian fauna, order Chiroptera was sampled reasonably well by Marques-Aguiar and Aguiar (2002), order primates has received greater attention (Bobadilla 1998;Bobadilla and Ferrari 2000;Jardim 1997;Jardim andOliveira 1997, 2002;Moegenburg and Jardim 2002;Pina 1999;Pina et al 2002;Souza 1999;Souza et al 2002;Tavares 1999;Tavares and Ferrari 2002), and other mammals have been inferred to be present based on interviews and observations of hunters Santana and Lisboa 2002). As a result of the present study the presence of 11 non-volant mammal species has been confirmed.…”

Primate community of the tropical rain forests of Saracá-Taqüera National Forest, Pará, Brazil

“…In our study, the genus Ateles, Alouatta and Chiropotes presented a greater number of sightings than those presented by Peres (1997) for terra firme sites although greater values for A. paniscus and A. maconnelli were recorded by Parry et al, (2007). Sighting rates of between 0.2 and 0.5 groups per 10 km are common in surveys of Chiropotes populations, although greater values have also been recorded (see Bobadilla and Ferrari 2000). Low sighting rates for the genus Ateles, Alouatta and Chiropotes seem to be common in Amazonian terra firme sites (Peres 1997;see Bobadilla and Ferrari, 2000 for the genus Chiropotes).…”

Abundance, habitat use and diet of Callicebus nigrifrons Spix (Primates, Pitheciidae) in Cantareira State Park, São Paulo, Brazil

“…The dominant habitat observed along each 50-m interval of the transects was assigned to one of these categories, providing an estimate of the relative cover of each forest type. Habitat preferences were assessed by comparing observed visitation rates (sightings) with those expected according to the relative availability of different habitat types (corrected by sampling effort), and tested by chi-square ( 2 ), following the studies of PERES (1993), BOBADILLA & FERRARI (2000), and PORT- CARVALHO & FERRARI (2004).…”

“…Analysis of the use of vertical space was based on 5-m height classes, following PERES (1993) and BOBADILLA & FERRARI (2000). Survey data on the diet of C. nigrifrons were complemented by ad libitum observations throughout the study period.…”