Habitat preferences, diet, feeding strategy and social organization of the black spider monkey [Ateles paniscus paniscus Linnaeus 1758] in Surinam

Abstract

(back cover) HABITAT PREFERENCES, DIET, FEEDING BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE BLACK SPIDER MON KEY, ATELES PANISCUS PANISCUS, IN SURINAM.A Socioecological Field Study.This monograph reports on a 26 month socioecological study of black spider monkeys (Ateies paniscus paniscus) in the Raleighvallen -Voltzberg Nature Reserve, Surinam. It recognizes the .fun damental importance of food to the behavior and the regulation of population density fox this primate. It clarifies the complex tempo ral and spatial effects of tropical rain forest food sources on the be havior of a group of spider monkeys, concentrating on food category, food plant identity and phenology, and quantity, density and dis persion of the most important food sources. In addition, the present study describes habitat choice, optimal feeding strategy and sexual behavior of the spider monkey, and discusses implications of diet for social behavior. This study is also fundamental to conservation. Specialized in eating mature fruits, the spider monkey is a very im portant dispersal agent for many trees and lianes, particularly ca nopy species. However, the spider monkey is probably the most vulnerable monkey species in Surinam and it is disappearing ra pidly throughout the remainder of its range. Unfortunately, it is lar ge and noisy and can be easily tracked and hunted. It is largely restricted to undisturbed high forest, and consequently habitat des truction has more effect on it than on most other species. Together with its slow reproductive rate (a female gives birth only once every four or five years), this means that the species is poorly adapted to recover from exploitation. In order to implement proper measu res for conservation, data on forest type preferences, diet and so cial behavior of the species, or on closely related species, in undisturbed areas, such as the one described in this monograph, are essential tools for assessing the potential of proposed protected areas.

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

“…We found group sizes ranging from one to 18 individuals, larger than groups reported by Andrade (2007) for the same region. Elsewhere, published data indicate group sizes varying from two to nine individuals (Roosmalen, 1980). We recorded smaller groups more often, which may represent smaller feeding sub-groups, as already reported in the literature (see Roosmalen and Klein, 1988).…”

“…Ateles paniscus is the largest species in this genus (Roosmalen and Klein, 1988), and probably due to size constraints, it requires mature primary forests, avoiding forest edges (Roosmalen, 1980). Indeed, throughout our study, as deforestation proceeded, the number of records decreased.…”

“…Further data were provided by interviews conducted with four agents from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), our field assistants (n = 10), and members of the local "Quilombo" community, descendents of runaway slaves which took to living in remote locations and are quite knowledgeable of local wildlife. During the interviews, we presented the interviewees with illustrations of fauna from Emmons and Feer (1997) and personal photos of primate species with possible occurrence in the region and those with improbable occurrence in the region. We then asked them to identify those that they had seen in the region.…”

Terrestrial Behavior of Ateles spp

“…Spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) are not only almost exclusively arboreal, but they spend most of their time in, and are highly adapted for, the upper canopy (van Roosemalen, 1985;Youlatos, 2002). Unlike Ateles, capuchins (Cebus spp.)…”

Überlebensstrategien und Diversität von Bäumen an einem Extremstandort - Ein Beispiel aus amazonischen Überschwemmungswäldern

“…Die verschiedenen Möglichkeiten der Diasporengröße und -ausbreitung, der Keimung und des frühen Wachstums, der morphologischen, physiologischen und phänologischen Anpassungen (ROOSMALEN 1985, TERBORGH 1990, AYRES 1993, PETERMANN 1997 …”