Habitat Use and Ranging Behavior of the Silvery Marmoset (Mico argentatus) at Caxiuanã National Forest (Eastern Brazilian Amazonia)

Abstract

This work describes the ranging behavior and the habitat preferences of a wild group of silvery marmosets studied in the eastern Brazilian Amazonia for 11 months. The study group used secondary growth forests (capoeiras) for 78% of the observation time, flooded forest and terra firme forest for 9% of the time and edge areas for the rest of the time, without a significant seasonal variation. The Mico argentatus home range was 15.5 ha with an overlap of 24.2% with other groups. The area they used exclusively was situated in the center of the home range and included gum and fruit sources mainly. Variation in ranging behavior was observed among seasons. The study group ranged over a larger area in the early wet and late dry seasons. The estimated distance traveled by the group during the day varied from 630 m to 1710 m (average 1042 m, n = 83) and the mean day range used was 2.73 ha. The group used 14 different sleeping sites; the more frequented were localized near their major food patches. The distribution of feeding trees had a major influence on the patterns of home range use. The more intensively used areas contained major exudate resources.