Search

Individual behavioral differences may influence how animals cope with altered environments. Depending on their behavioral traits, individuals may thus vary in how their health is affected by environmental conditions. We investigated the relationship between individual behavior of free-living golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) responding to a novel object (to assess exploration-avoidance), and their habitat use and health status (endoparasitism; clinical measures: biometric data, heart rate, respiratory frequency, and temperature; fecal glucocorticoid metabolites). As parasite transmission can be affected by individual variation in social contact and social grooming, we also evaluated whether more sociable individuals show higher endoparasite loads compared with less sociable animals. Four groups living in landscapes with different levels of human disturbance were investigated: two in degraded forest fragments in an agricultural matrix (DFAM-higher disturbance), and two in a cocoa agroforestry system (cabruca-lower disturbance) in the Atlantic forest of South Bahia, Brazil. Using a subjective ratings approach, highly correlated adjective descriptors were combined to produce z-score ratings of one derived variable ("confidence"), which was selected to characterize the tamarins' exploration/avoidance responses during a novel object test. The higher the confidence score, the longer female tamarins spent foraging for prey independent of landscape, and the greater their body mass independent of sex and landscape. Only DFAM individuals showed intestinal parasite infection. Endoparasite loads were positively correlated with the number of grooming partners, suggesting an association between social grooming and transmission (more groomers = more endoparasites). Individual behavior, including in a test situation, may thus have some predictive value for behavior in a free-living context, and for its health consequences.

The current extinction and climate change crises pressure us to predict population dynamics with ever‐greater accuracy. Although predictions rest on the well‐advanced theory of age‐structured populations, two key issues remain poorly explored. Specifically, how the age‐dependency in demographic rates and the year‐to‐year interactions between survival and fecundity affect stochastic population growth rates. We use inference, simulations and mathematical derivations to explore how environmental perturbations determine population growth rates for populations with different age‐specific demographic rates and when ages are reduced to stages. We find that stage‐ vs. age‐based models can produce markedly divergent stochastic population growth rates. The differences are most pronounced when there are survival‐fecundity‐trade‐offs, which reduce the variance in the population growth rate. Finally, the expected value and variance of the stochastic growth rates of populations with different age‐specific demographic rates can diverge to the extent that, while some populations may thrive, others will inevitably go extinct.

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-04T12:32:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-01-01 Flemish Government the Lion Tamarins of Brazil Fund Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) This study evaluated the genetic structure of wild populations of the endangered primate, Leontopithecus chrysomelas. We tested the assumption that populations of L. chrysomelas, given their larger population size and a higher degree of habitat continuity, would have higher genetic diversity and less genetic structuring than other lion tamarins. We used 11 microsatellites and 122 hair samples from different locations to assess their genetic diversity and genetic structure, and to make inferences about the isolation by distance. The overall expected heterozygosity (0.51 +/- 0.03) and the average number of alleles (3.6 +/- 0.2) were relatively low, as is the case in other endangered lion tamarins. Genetic clustering analyses indicated two main clusters, whereas the statistical analyses based on genotype similarities and F-st suggested further substructure. A Mantel test showed that only 34% of this genetic differentiation was explained by the linear distance. In addition to linear distance, structural differences in the landscape, physical barriers and behavioural factors may be causing significant genetic structuring. Overall, this study suggests that these populations have a relatively low genetic diversity and a relatively high population genetic structure, putting in question whether the presence of agroforest systems (known locally as cabruca) is enough to fully re-establish functional landscape connectivity. Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Lab Ecol Espacial Conservat, Rio Claro, Brazil Univ Estadual Norte Fluminense, Ctr Biociencias Biotecnol, Programa Posgrad Ecol Recursos Nat, Goytacazes, Brazil Royal Zool Soc Antwerp, Ctr Res & Conservat, Antwerp, Belgium Univ Toronto, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Toronto, ON, Canada Univ Estado Rio de Janeiro, Fac Forma Professores, Dept Ciencias, Sao Goncalo, Brazil Univ Estadual Santa Cruz, Posgrad Ecol Conservacao Biodiversidade, Ilheus, Brazil Bicho Mato Inst Pesquisa, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil Univ Maryland, Program Behav Ecol Evolut & Systemat, College Pk, MD USA Golden Lion Tamarin, Silver Spring, MD USA Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Lab Ecol Espacial Conservat, Rio Claro, Brazil CAPES: 88881.068425/2014-01

Predation risk may affect the way species use their habitat. Interspecific associations can help to improve predator detection and avoidance. The golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) is an endangered primate of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest whose geographical range is dominated by shaded cacao agroforest (cabruca), where predation risk is high and mainly due to raptors. We investigated whether predation risk affects vertical stratum use and time spent traveling by tamarins, and the role of interspecific association with Wied’s marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii) in shaping these activities. We compared the behavior of three tamarin groups in cabruca (March 2010–June 2011) with that of three groups in mosaic forests (January 2007–December 2008), where predation risk is lower. We predicted that tamarins would use the higher strata level less in cabruca than in mosaic forests, and would use it less after encounters with predators than before such encounters. We also predicted increased use of the higher level and increased travel during interspecific associations than when tamarins were alone. We found that tamarins avoided the higher level regardless of habitat, but used it more often in cabruca than in mosaic forest, and did not avoid it after encounters with predators. Interspecific associations did not influence tamarins’ activities, except for the smallest group of tamarins in mosaic forest, which decreased its use of the lower level when in an interspecific association. Our results suggest that the benefits of interspecies association are not related to the activities investigated here, and that predation risk can influence habitat use but vegetation structure may constrain its optimal use by primates, increasing their vulnerability to predation.

To investigate the practice of hunting by local people in the southern Bahia region of Brazil and provide information to support the implementation of the National Action Plan for Conservation of the Central Atlantic Forest Mammals, we conducted 351 interviews with residents of three protected areas and a buffer zone. Thirty-seven percent of respondents stated that they had captured an animal opportunistically, 16% hunted actively and 47% did not hunt. The major motivation for hunting was consumption but people also hunted for medicinal purposes, recreation and retaliation. The most hunted and consumed species were the paca Cuniculus paca, the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus and the collared peccary Pecari tajacu; threatened species were rarely hunted. Opinions varied on whether wildlife was declining or increasing; declines were generally attributed to hunting. Our findings suggest there is illegal hunting for consumption in and around protected areas of the region. Management efforts should prioritize fairness in the expropriation process for people who must be relocated, and adopt an approach to wildlife management that involves residents living around the protected areas, and considers their needs.

Golden-headed lion tamarins (GHLTs; Leontopithecus chrysomelas) are endangered primates endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, where loss of forest and its connectivity threaten species survival. Understanding the role of habitat availability and configuration on population declines is critical for guiding proactive conservation for this, and other, endangered species. We conducted population viability analysis to assess vulnerability of ten GHLT metapopulations to habitat loss and small population size. Seven metapopulations had a low risk of extirpation (or local extinction) over the next 100 years assuming no further forest loss, and even small populations could persist with immediate protection. Three metapopulations had a moderate/high risk of extirpation, suggesting extinction debt may be evident in parts of the species’ range. When deforestation was assumed to continue at current rates, extirpation risk significantly increased while abundance and genetic diversity decreased for all metapopulations. Extirpation risk was significantly negatively correlated with the size of the largest patch available to metapopulations, underscoring the importance of large habitat patches for species persistence. Finally, we conducted sensitivity analysis using logistic regression, and our results showed that local extinction risk was sensitive to percentage of females breeding, adult female mortality, and dispersal rate and survival; conservation or research programs that target these aspects of the species’ biology/ecology could have a disproportionately important impact on species survival. We stress that efforts to protect populations and tracts of habitat of sufficient size throughout the species’ distribution will be important in the near-term to protect the species from continuing decline and extinction.

Universidade Federal do Piau? - Campus Professora Cinobelina Elvas. Bom Jesus, PI, Brazil / Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Virologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. Centre for Research and Conservation. Antwerp, Belgium / Saint Louis Zoo. Institute for Conservation Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ci?ncia Animal. Ilh?us, BA, Brazil. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ecologia e Conserva??o da Biodiversidade. Ilh?us, BA, Brazil / Bicho do Mato Instituto de Pesquisa. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil/ Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Faculdade de Forma??o de Professores. Departamento de Ci?ncias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. Centre for Research and Conservation. Antwerp, Belgium Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ci?ncia Animal. Ilh?us, BA, Brazil. Saint Louis Zoo. Institute for Conservation Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ci?ncia Animal. Ilh?us, BA, Brazil. Parasite prevalence and abundance are important factors affecting species' conservation. During necropsies on a free-living golden-headed lion tamarin ( Leontopithecus chrysomelas ) and two Wied's marmosets ( Callithrix kuhlii ) in the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil, we collected a large number of adult intestinal parasites that we identified as Prosthenorchis elegans. This parasite is pathogenic for neotropical primates. Prosthenorchis spp. infestation is influenced by diet with increased risk of exposure from ingesting invertebrate intermediate hosts. The biological similarities and sympatric nature of these two nonhuman primates support that they may harbor similar infectious and parasitic agents.

Seed dispersal by small primates may be particularly relevant in areas where populations of larger frugivores have been reduced or extinguished by hunting and/or habitat disturbance. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the golden-headed lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas as a seed disperser in Atlantic forest remnants in Brazil. To this end, we opportunistically collected feces deposited during observations on the feeding behavior of two groups of golden-headed lion tamarins ranging in the degraded areas of the Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil, from February 2006 to January 2007. We collected 587 fecal samples, of which 524 contained seeds from 24 plant species, distributed over 13 families. Disregarding seeds of < 3 mm, the majority of seeds recovered were bromeliad seeds. In general, ingestion of seeds by golden-headed lion tamarins did not improve the germination proportion or decrease the germination delay of seeds, with the exception of Aechmea spp. seeds. The tamarins encountered different habitats during their daily activity period, while feeding and defecating. Consequently, some seeds were transported to different habitats including disturbed areas. Thus, the role of seed dispersal in combination with the daily movement pattern of L. chrysomelas contributes to the persistence of fruit plants and epiphyte species and to the natural regeneration process within Atlantic forest remnants.

Universidade Federal do Piau?. Bom Jesus, PI, Brasil / Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Virologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil / Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. Centre for Research and Conservation. Antwerp, Belgium. Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. Centre for Research and Conservation. Antwerp, Belgium / Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ecologia e Conserva??o da Biodiversidade. Ilh?us, BA, Brasil. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Zoologia. Ilh?us, BA, Brasil. Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. Centre for Research and Conservation. Antwerp, Belgium. Abstract: Habitat disturbance alters plant diversity and food resource availability, affecting the ecology, and ultimately the survival and reproduction, of species depending on those plants. Studies in degraded areas serve to improve our understanding of the consequences of habitat modification for endangered species and to guide conservation actions. We studied diet composition, monthly variation in feeding behavior and fruit feeding time, and dietary diversity in two golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) groups ranging in a degraded area of the Atlantic Forest in South-Bahia, Brazil, over a 12-mo period. We recorded feeding behavior and food items consumed through continuous observations and focal animal sampling, and performed dietary analyses on samples from consumed fruits. Substrate manipulation to search for animal prey was the feeding activity most frequently observed, followed by fruit consumption. We observed nectar drinking and exudate feeding at low frequencies from April through July. Bromeliads were the principal foraging substrate. We observed the use of 114 plant species, confirming the large dietary diversity reported for the species. Individual trees from the family Melastomataceae, common in degraded forests, accounted for the highest visiting frequencies (40 percent). Fruit availability was the main factor explaining variation in monthly fruit feeding time, despite the absence of climatic seasonality. Nutritional or energetic characteristics did not affect fruit choice. Differences in floristic composition appear to be a major determinant of the species? diet in different study areas. Regional forest restoration programs should consider including advanced forest species, to improve both forest quality and animal mobility between fragments.

In Callitrichidae, reproduction in subordinate females is generally inhibited but occurs in rare cases, possibly in association with the presence of an unrelated male, important food resources or low dispersal opportunities. This study investigates the occurrence of groups with multiple breeding females in captive golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas), the factors leading to their formation and the consequences for the group. Information obtained from studbook data on the world captive population during 1984–1998 revealed that polygynous groups in captivity are very rare: only 7 cases were discovered. Family groups in which daughters started breeding with a related male were larger than average, had a high number of sexually mature sons and eldest offspring that were well past the age of sexual maturity. Following a breeding attempt, severe aggression frequently occurred, especially if the infants were liveborn. Polygynous groups composed of two related females and an unrelated male tended to remain stable for a longer period than families with breeding daughters. Competition for infant care is probably an important factor determining whether the polygynous situation can persist and for how long.