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Martins WP, Izar P, Araujo WS, Rodrigues FH, Lynch JW. Diet, activity patterns, and home range use in forest and cultivated areas for one wild group of endangered crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus) in Reserva Natural Vale, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23413. [PMID: 35700318 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Robust capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) are distributed widely in the Neotropics and may be able to survive in modified landscapes because of their omnivorous, opportunistic diet. The poorly known and endangered crested capuchin monkey (Sapajus robustus) is endemic to the Atlantic Forest in Bahia, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states, Brazil. We collected data on diet and home range for a crested capuchin group with access to forest and cultivated areas. We hypothesized that with access to cultivated exotic fruit, capuchins would use cultivated areas more for feeding during the season of fruit scarcity in the surrounding forest and have a small home range size because of higher fruit availability. Both the forest and the cultivated areas peaked in fruit availability in the wet season, with a low proportion of trees producing fruit in the dry season; cultivated areas had a higher proportion of trees in fruit compared to the forest throughout the study. While monkeys consumed exotic fruits like jackfruit and oil palm, we recorded more samples of them eating forest fruits than exotic fruits in all but 1 month, and they consumed a more diverse array of forest fruits (56 species) but only six exotic species. Home range size was relatively small compared with other studies: 120.5 ha across the year (wet season 102 ha, dry season 111.5 ha). Natural and human-intensified fruit sources in a protected area without hunting may have allowed monkeys to maintain a smaller home range size. The group composition changed during the study; this also likely influenced home range use. Studies focused on robust capuchin groups that utilize agricultural or cultivated foods may underestimate home range needs for groups without access to human-intensified food sources. Studying crested capuchin ecology in additional locations will be important for establishing a sound species conservation program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waldney P Martins
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Uso dos Recursos Naturais, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Patrícia Izar
- Departamento de Psicologia Experimental, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Walter S Araujo
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Uso dos Recursos Naturais, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Flávio H Rodrigues
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Jessica W Lynch
- Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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