Site Fidelity in Space Use by Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Abstract

Animal home ranges may vary little in their size and location in the short term but nevertheless show more variability in the long term. We evaluated the degree of site fidelity of two groups of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) over a 10- and 13-year period, respectively, in the northeastern Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. We used the Local Convex Hull method to estimate yearly home ranges and core areas (defined as the 60% probability contour) for the two groups. Home ranges varied from 7.7 to 49.6 ha and core areas varied from 3.1 to 9.2 ha. We evaluated the degree of site fidelity by quantifying the number of years in which different areas were used as either home ranges or core areas. Large tracts were used only as home ranges and only for a few years, whereas small areas were used as either core area or home range for the duration of the study. The sum of the yearly core areas coincided partially with the yearly home ranges, indicating that home ranges contain areas used intermittently. Home ranges, and especially core areas, contained a higher proportion of mature forest than the larger study site as a whole. Across years and only in one group, the size of core areas was positively correlated with the proportion of adult males in the group, while the size of home ranges was positively correlated with both the proportion of males and the number of tree species included in the diet. Our findings suggest that spider monkey home ranges are the result of a combination of long-term site fidelity and year-to-year use variation to enable exploration of new resources.

Long‐term home range use in white‐handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

“…Recent studies examining home range stability within primates have focused on the role of resource distribution [Asensio et al, 2012;Ramos-Fernandez et al, 2013;Wallace, 2006] and individual knowledge of the home range [Brockelman, 2009;Janmaat et al, 2009]. For many of these studies, observers have found that primates shift their home range activities in response to changing ecological conditions, demonstrating considerable differences in areas of short-term use while maintaining fairly high stability in long-term home range size and location [Janmaat et al, 2009;Ramos-Fernandez et al, 2013].…”

“…For many of these studies, observers have found that primates shift their home range activities in response to changing ecological conditions, demonstrating considerable differences in areas of short-term use while maintaining fairly high stability in long-term home range size and location [Janmaat et al, 2009;Ramos-Fernandez et al, 2013]. Furthermore, it has been argued that home range stability may be maintained due not only to the predictability of food resources but also the benefits of spatial information in general, including knowledge of efficient travel routes, safe escape routes, and relationships with neighboring conspecifics [Bartlett, 2002;Fuentes, 2000;Janmaat et al, 2009;Wallace, 2006].…”

Which is the appropriate scale to assess the impact of landscape spatial configuration on the diet and behavior of spider monkeys?

“…As spider monkeys have home ranges that are usually smaller than 170 ha [e.g., Chaves et al, 2011a;Di Fiore & Campbell, 2007;Fedigan et al, 1988;Wallace, 2008], we predict that the scale of effect for most response variables and landscape attributes will be lower than 170 ha. This is because the diet and behavior of primates are expected to be more strongly affected by habitat characteristics within their home range (e.g., food availability) than by spatial attributes of the areas located outside their home ranges [Arroyo-Rodríguez et al, 2013;Asensio et al, 2012a,b;Ramos-Fernández et al, 2013]. Also, because this is a forest-dependent species, we predict that all response variables will be more strongly related to differences in landscape forest cover (a surrogate of habitat amount) than with fragmentation (i.e., number of forest patches in the landscape) or patch isolation [Fahrig, 2003[Fahrig, , 2013, being this pattern consistent across several spatial scales [Fahrig, 1998;Smith et al, 2011].…”

Ranging and site fidelity in northern pigtailed macaques (Macaca leonina) over different temporal scales

“…We used a novel site fidelity index that adds to the graphical method of Ramos-Fernandez et al [2013], as it quantifies fidelity, allowing comparison between species or groups and also between different periods. The site fidelity index may also be useful to investigate habitat use, allowing one to associate different habitat types with the degree to which particular areas are re-used.…”

“…Because Ramos-Fernandez et al [2013] method consists mostly of a visual assessment tool, we created an index to quantify its estimation of site fidelity. This index is based on the region size and the number of times that it is reused over time steps (i.e., months or days in our study).…”