Terrestriality of Wild Sapajus cay (Illiger, 1815) as Revealed by Camera Traps

Abstract

Although primarily arboreal, the capuchin monkey (Sapajus cay) descends to the ground for several reasons. We used terrestrial records obtained by camera-trapping surveys to investigate seasonality in the terrestriality of capuchin monkeys, reasons to descend to the ground, and periods of the day when terrestriality was more pronounced. We carried out the study in the Urucum Massif, Brazilian Pantanal. We obtained data from 2 camera-trapping surveys carried out in the dry and rainy seasons. Terrestrial behaviours were categorized, and terrestrial activity patterns were described using a kernel density approach. We observed a seasonal effect on the frequency of terrestrial behaviours of capuchin monkeys, who used the ground more during the dry season. We identified 6 different types of terrestrial behaviour, but travelling (33.3%), foraging (23.3%), and drinking water (23.3%) were the most frequently observed. All records occurred during the day, with 2 peaks in terrestrial activity. Seasonal terrestriality was mainly linked to ecological needs during periods of scarce food and water.

Trypanosoma rangeli Genetic, Mammalian Hosts, and Geographical Diversity from Five Brazilian Biomes

“…The capuchin monkey displays arboreal habits, although the young monkeys go to the ground to play and live in small groups [47][48][49][50][51]. Moreover, they can also use the ground in the Pantanal biome [52]. Capuchin monkeys are considered a generalist opportunistic species and present a variable diet that includes primarily fruits; however, they also feed on seeds, nuts, flowers, gums, nectar, fungi, sap, eggs, insects, small vertebrates, and even some oysters and crab species in mangrove regions [48,53].…”

Terrestrial Behavior in Titi Monkeys (Callicebus, Cheracebus, and Plecturocebus): Potential Correlates, Patterns, and Differences between Genera

“…obs. Mourthé et al (2007) Callithrix flaviceps Ferrari and Hilário (2012) Sapajus cay Porfírio et al (2017) Visiting mineral licks Alouatta pigra Pozo-Montuy and Serio-Silva (2007) Alouatta seniculus Link et al (2011) Ateles spp. Campbell et al (2005); Link et al Alouatta pigra Pozo-Montuy and Serio-Silva (2007) Cacajao ouakary Barnett et al (2012a) Cebus yuracus S. Shanee, pers.…”

“…Despite the absence of morphological specializations for terrestriality (Aversi-Ferreira et al 2013), ground use is widespread in Neotropical primates as an occasional, although potentially important, part of their behavioral repertoire. The frequency, duration, and context of terrestriality can vary substantially between Neotropical primate species, and such behavior is relatively more common in genera such as Cebus and Sapajus (Ottoni and Izar 2008;Porfírio et al 2017), and rarer in such genera as Cacajao, Chiropotes and Pithecia (Barnet et al 2012a) (Table 1). As in other species, the availability of arboreal food resources and forest strata potentially influences the nature and extent of terrestrial behaviors in Neotropical primates (Campbell et al 2005;Cant 1992).…”

Medium- And Large-Sized Mammals at the Urucum Massif in the Brazilian Pantanal: Camera Trap as an Effective Sampling Method to Estimate Species Richness, Relative Abundance, and Activity Patterns

“…Additionally, S. paraguensis and T. terrestris are nocturnal, as observed for other regions (Gómez et al 2005, Maffei et al 2002, Porfirio et al 2016, 2017b, and C. thous followed the crepuscular pattern found in the Cerrado (Oliveira et al 2019). Porfirio et al (2017a) and Rucco et al (2019) discuss the activity patterns of Sapajus cay, Mazama americana and M. gouazoubira. Considering that (i) the observed patterns were similar to those reported in the literature, and (ii) since the samplings were carried out in a mining, agricultural area, we suggest that neither of the activities seem to exert direct influence on the activity patterns of the most detected species; however, it is worth further exploring their impact on a spatial scale.…”