The Short-Term Effects of a Hurricane on the Diet and Activity of Black Howlers (Alouatta pigra) in Monkey River, Belize

Abstract

The diet and activity of a population of Alouatta pigra were compared before and immediately after a major hurricane to begin to explore how the monkeys cope with severe habitat destruction. Focal animal data were collected from January to April (dry season) for two seasons before (368 h) and one season after the storm (149 h) on a population of black howlers in Monkey River, Belize. During the first dry season after the storm, the monkeys changed their diet in direct accordance with the availability of food. The absence of fruit and flower production and the increase in new leaf availability forced the monkeys to adopt a completely folivorous diet. The activity budget of the monkeys also changed, and they spent more time inactive, which may be linked to the change in the distribution and type of food available. They also spent less time in social interactions, which may be due to the lower number of juveniles in the population or to the formation of new groups between unfamiliar individuals following the hurricane. The ability to live for long periods of time on leaves alone has allowed the remaining population to survive in the short term.

Taxonomic Tapestries: The Threads of Evolutionary, Behavioural and Conservation Research

“…Many trees regenerate new leaves immediately following a hurricane (Klinger, 2006;Zimmerman and Covich, 2007;Waide, 1991), while other food sources such as fruit or flowers take longer to return (Waide, 1991;Behie and Pavelka, 2005;Ratsimbazafy et al, 2002). After Hurricane Iris hit Monkey River there was a 52 per cent loss of major fruit trees and an 18 month absence in all fruit production forcing resident A. pigra groups to rely on a completely folivorous diet (Behie and Pavelka, 2005;Behie and Pavelka, in press Menon and Poirer, 1996) and black howlers (Alouatta pigra; Behie and Pavelka, 2005) altered their diets to include plant parts and species not previously ingested, some of which were exotic to the region or were located outside of the regular forest habitat.…”

“…Populations of A. pigra either decreased time spent travelling (from 9.52% to 5.45%), increased time spent inactive (from 69% to 77%) or did not adjust activity patterns in response to seasonal reductions in fruit intake (Behie and Pavelka, 2005;Silver et al, 1998;Pavelka and Knopff, 2004 Source: Data were obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and plotted in ArcGIS 10.1 (ESRI, 2012). Political boundary data of all Central American countries consisted of datasets from the Digital Chart of the World (Defence Mapping Agency, 1992).…”

Hurricanes and coastlines: The role of natural disasters in the speciation of howler monkeys

“…Many trees regenerate new leaves immediately following a hurricane (Klinger, 2006;Zimmerman and Covich, 2007;Waide, 1991), while other food sources such as fruit or flowers take longer to return (Waide, 1991;Behie and Pavelka, 2005;Ratsimbazafy et al, 2002). After Hurricane Iris hit Monkey River there was a 52 per cent loss of major fruit trees and an 18 month absence in all fruit production forcing resident A. pigra groups to rely on a completely folivorous diet Behie and Pavelka, in press).…”

“…After Hurricane Iris hit Monkey River there was a 52 per cent loss of major fruit trees and an 18 month absence in all fruit production forcing resident A. pigra groups to rely on a completely folivorous diet Behie and Pavelka, in press). Following natural disturbances ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta;LaFleur and Gould, 2009;Ratsambazafy et al, 2002), ruffed lemurs (Varecia v. editorium;Ratzimbazafy, 2006) lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus; Menon and Poirer, 1996) and black howlers (Alouatta pigra; Behie and Pavelka, 2005) altered their diets to include plant parts and species not previously ingested, some of which were exotic to the region or were located outside of the regular forest habitat.…”

Taxonomic Tapestries: The Threads of Evolutionary, Behavioural and Conservation Research

“…Populations of A. pigra either decreased time spent travelling (from 9.52% to 5.45%), increased time spent inactive (from 69% to 77%) or did not adjust activity patterns in response to seasonal reductions in fruit intake (Behie and Pavelka, 2005;Silver et al, 1998;Pavelka and Knopff, 2004). While some groups of A. palliata also did not show changes in activity that correspond to fruit production, the most common response reported in the literature is an increase in either travel time (from 18.6% to 35.8% in A. palliata in Nicaragua, Williams-Guillen, 2003) or ranging distance (from 114.05 m to 502.88 m for a population in Mexico, Estrada, 1984), which is a response that has never been reported for a population of A. pigra.…”