Postural and Locomotor Behavior of Alouatta palliata on Various Substrates

Mendel, Frank C.

doi:10.1159/000155728

Cited by 93 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Feeding on shrubs and herbs is uncommon for an arboreal primate; it forces howlers to descend to the lower levels of the canopy and sometimes to the ground. It seems that the food availability in their ecological niche (high canopy and emergents [Mendel, 1976]) is so reduced due to high density and large group size that the howlers are being forced to exploit alternate food sources.…”

Section: Agaltepec Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging Habits of Alouatta palliata mexicana in Three Forest Fragments

Asensio

Cristóbal‐Azkarate²,

Dias³

et al. 2007

IJFP

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The activity patterns and diet of howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata mexicana) were studied in 3 forest fragments in south-eastern Mexico: Playa Escondida (PLA), Agaltepec Island (AGA) and Arroyo Liza (LIZ). Intersite differences offered the opportunity to investigate the foraging adaptations of howler monkeys in response to population and habitat size. In the largest fragment (PLA), the howlers’ diet was based on high-quality items (fruit and young leaves). In AGA, where the density of howlers was the highest, their diet was mostly folivorous with a marked exploitation of uncommon food items such as vines, lianas, shrubs and herbs. The dietary differences in AGA were accompanied by more time spent travelling and less time spent resting. Although LIZ was the smallest fragment and had a high howler density, the small group size and the use of energy-minimizing strategies (less time spent travelling and more time spent resting) probably allowed howlers to maintain a frugivorous diet.

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Section: Agaltepec Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging Habits of Alouatta palliata mexicana in Three Forest Fragments

Asensio

Cristóbal‐Azkarate²,

Dias³

et al. 2007

IJFP

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“…More-over, most modes of brachiating locomotion in Lagothrix are half-stride (non-consecutive) brachiation (Cant et al, 2003). Alouatta seldom suspends itself using its forelimb(s) and, compared with Ateles and Lagothrix, more exclusively prefers above-branch quadrupedal locomotor modes (Mendel, 1976;Schön Ybarra and Schön, 1987;Gebo, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glenohumeral joint surface characters and its relation to forelimb suspensory behavior in three ateline primates, Ateles, Lagothrix, and Alouatta

Kagaya

2007

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Intergeneric morphological variation of the glenohumeral joint surface was investigated among three ateline genera (Ateles, Lagothrix, Alouatta) and compared with Cebus (an ancestral morphotype of atelines) and Hylobates (a specialized brachiator) to reveal characters associated with forelimb suspensory behavior. Seventy-six skeletal specimens were examined, and articular surface curvature was measured by a three-dimensional digitizer. It was found that Ateles exhibits joint features distinct from the other atelines, but resembles Hylobates in its large breadth-length ratio of the glenoid surface and the humeral head, a relatively spherical humeral head, and a dorsoventrally extensive humeral head relative to the glenoid surface. These morphologies are likely to be related to brachiation, rather than to climbing behavior. A dorsoventrally extensive glenohumeral joint is interpreted to facilitate an increased stride length during brachiation. Lagothrix was found to show many primitive features that are shared with Alouatta in spite of its forelimb suspensory behavior. This may be related to the less specialized mode of forelimb suspensory behavior in Lagothrix compared with Ateles. Those characters that apparently correspond to dependency on suspensory behavior can be useful in interpreting the positional behavior of extinct primate taxa.

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“…The positional behavior of atelids, including both Alouatta and Ateles, includes a high frequency of tail suspension and tail þ hindlimb suspension, postures in which the head is inferior to the body and the vertebral column is suspended beneath the tail (Schön-Ybarra and Schön, 1987). However, while tail/hindlimb suspension (without forelimb involvement) among Alouatta is high, averaging 15.4% of all posture in four studies (range: 3.8e30.7%), suspensory behavior involving a forelimb is rare, averaging only 0.6% (range: 0e2%) (Mendel, 1976;Schön-Ybarra, 1984;Schön-Ybarra and Schön, 1987;Bezanson, 2009) compared with 8.9% in Ateles (Youlatos, 2002;Cant et al, 2003). In forelimb-assisted suspensory modes, the spine is positioned more vertically and the head is superior to most of the body, thus requiring a more typical primate flexed neck/ shallow nuchal plane posture and morphology.…”

Section: Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 74%