Food availability, plant diversity, and vegetation structure drive behavioral and ecological variation in Endangered Coimbra-Filho's titi monkeys.

Abstract

There is wide variability in primate behavior and ecology. Understanding how frugivorous primates behave under different habitat fragmentation levels is key for effective conservation and management of species and their habitats. We evaluated the seasonality in activity budget, diet, and ranging behavior of two groups of Endangered Coimbra-Filho's titi monkeys (Callicebus coimbrai). One group inhabited a 14-ha forest fragment, whereas the other lived in a 522-ha fragment. We measured the monthly density of trees and lianas available as food sources over 8 months. We also collected behavioral and group location data every 5 min, from dawn to dusk, using the scan sampling method. The two forest fragments differed seasonally in the number of fruiting food-resource available. In the 14-ha fragment, we found that the time spent by titi monkeys feeding, foraging, resting, and traveling differed seasonally. In the 522-ha fragment, titi monkeys exhibited seasonal differences in time spent sleeping, socializing, foraging, and revisiting food sources. In both titi monkey groups, diets varied seasonally. Our findings indicate that Coimbra-Filho's titi monkeys can exhibit behavioral flexibility in their activity budgets, diets, and movement patterns. Such flexibility is important for this species to survive in fragmented habitats and may be linked to three key factors: species-specific resource availability, plant species diversity, and the vegetation structure of each forest fragment.