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Arboreal Primates (arboreal + primate)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Spread of a Terrestrial Tradition in an Arboreal Primate

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2009
Fernanda P. Tabacow
ABSTRACT We present data on the spread of terrestrial activities in one group of wild northern muriqui monkeys (Brachyteles hypoxanthus). Both males and females consumed fruit, drank, rested, traveled, and socialized terrestrially, but proportionately more males spent significantly more of their time on the ground than females, and females were more likely to engage in terrestrial activities when accompanied by males than when by themselves. Terrestrial activities occurred in both open and closed habitats where arboreal substrates were available and utilized by other individuals engaged in similar activities. Ecological and demographic factors may have stimulated the muriquis' vertical niche expansion, but increases in the frequency and diversity of terrestrial activities, the high proportion of group members that engage in terrestriality, and its diffusion along male-biased social bonds are consistent with the development of a local terrestrial tradition similar to other types of traditions described in other primates. [Key words: terrestriality, ecology, predation, tradition] [source]

Forest fragmentation and primates' survival status in non-reserved forests of the ,Kampala area', Uganda

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2004
D. BarangaArticle first published online: 17 AUG 200
Abstract Previous primate studies have concentrated on the effects of forest disturbance on primate populations residing mainly in natural forest reserves. The present study was conducted in 20 non-reserved forest patches in the ,Kampala area', a forest-savanna-agricultural mosaic, to investigate the effects of forest fragmentation on the distribution and survival status of arboreal primates in the patches. Mpanga Forest Reserve, as the nearest to the forest patches, was used as a control. Primate census data revealed that the black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza) was restricted in its distribution while redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) were cosmopolitan. There was no significant relationship between forest patch size and red-tail population size, number of groups and group density decreased. Of the trees sampled, 70% were food species while 30% were nonfood species. Basal area of food tree species significantly increased with forest patch size (R2 = 0.5885) but its relationship with red-tail population size and group density (B = ,0.42784, R2 = 0.18305, P >,0.05) was not significant. [source]

Brief communication: Forelimb compliance in arboreal and terrestrial opossums

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Daniel Schmitt
Abstract Primates display high forelimb compliance (increased elbow joint yield) compared to most other mammals. Forelimb compliance, which is especially marked among arboreal primates, moderates vertical oscillations of the body and peak vertical forces and may represent a basal adaptation of primates for locomotion on thin, flexible branches. However, Larney and Larson (Am J Phys Anthropol 125 [2004] 42,50) reported that marsupials have forelimb compliance comparable to or greater than that of most primates, but did not distinguish between arboreal and terrestrial marsupials. If forelimb compliance is functionally linked to locomotion on thin branches, then elbow yield should be highest in marsupials relying on arboreal substrates more often. To test this hypothesis, we compared forelimb compliance between two didelphid marsupials, Caluromys philander (an arboreal opossum relying heavily on thin branches) and Monodelphis domestica (an opossum that spends most of its time on the ground). Animals were videorecorded while walking on a runway or a horizontal 7-mm pole. Caluromys showed higher elbow yield (greater changes in degrees of elbow flexion) on both substrates, similar to that reported for arboreal primates. Monodelphis was characterized by lower elbow yield that was intermediate between the values reported by Larney and Larson (Am J Phys Anthropol 125 [2004] 42,50) for more terrestrial primates and rodents. This finding adds evidence to a model suggesting a functional link between arboreality,particularly locomotion on thin, flexible branches,and forelimb compliance. These data add another convergent trait between arboreal primates, Caluromys, and other arboreal marsupials and support the argument that all primates evolved from a common ancestor that was a fine-branch arborealist. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Trapper profiles and strategies: insights into sustainability from hunter behaviour

ANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 6 2009
N. F. Kümpel
Abstract Hunters are the critical link between demand and supply of bushmeat. An understanding of the incentives that drive hunter behaviour might thus help to predict the impacts of hunting and inform management of bushmeat hunting systems. However, hunter behaviour has been generally under-represented in studies of exploitation, in particular trapper behaviour, despite the fact that trapping is the most common form of hunting in central Africa. We collected data on hunter profiles and measures of catch and effort over 15 months in the Monte Mitra area of continental Equatorial Guinea, through interviews, hunter follows and an offtake survey. Younger trappers, and those not born in the village, were found to expend the greatest trapping effort. Trappers operated under three distinct strategies, reflecting different levels of effort and impact: low-impact village trappers, medium-impact forest trappers and high-impact forest trappers. Among different measures of effort, time expended and distance travelled were found to be less important in predicting trapping success than the number of effective traps, a measure that incorporates trap age. Regular checking of traps was found to be important in reducing wastage and therefore increases trapping success. Trapping is currently the main hunting method in Monte Mitra, due to lower barriers to entry and higher profits compared with gun hunting, but increasing affordability and availability of guns and cartridges warns of a possible future switch to gun hunting in the area, which is likely to have adverse impacts on vulnerable species, particularly arboreal primates. An understanding of the influence of a hunter's profile on hunting effort and success enables a prediction of the impacts of socioeconomic changes on wildlife populations and management actions to improve hunting sustainability. [source]