Student Prize Award Abstract 2000 Poster Paper Honorable Mention
CALLIMICO GOEDLII: UNDERSTORY MONKEYS OF NORTHERN BOLIVIA
L. M. Porter
Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook
Goeldi's monkeys (Callimico goeldii) are understory specialists in their models
for travel, substrate use and diet. Data are collected on one group of habituated
Goeldi's monkeys in northern Bolivia from March, 1998-April, 1999. They are most
commonly observed at heights between 0-5mm (80% of all scans). They travel
principally by vertical clinging and leaping (46% of all travel), and quadrupedally
along lianas and branches (30% of all travel). During travel, small tree trunks
(DBH < 8cm) are the most common substrates used (39% of all scans), but small
branches are also used frequently (33% of all scans). Although they descend to the
ground to retrieve food items, they never stay on the ground to feed or rest.
Goeldi's monkeys have traditionally been considered bamboo specialists but they are
found infrequently in true bamboo forest (10% of all scans). They spend the most
time in primary forest with dense understory (76% of all scans), a habitat that
provides them with fungus, an important food resource. Fungus comprises, 28% of
their diet and is obtained from rotting branches and tree falls and from bamboo
stalks and stems. These specializations for life in the understory distinguish
Goeldi's monkeys from sympatric tamarins (Saguinus labiatus and Saguinus fusciollis)
which spend more time traveling, foraging and resting at higher levels of the canopy.
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