Archived Abstracts
Dietary Flexibility of the Brown Howler Monkey throughout its Geographic Distribution
Authors: ÓSCAR M. CHAVES, JÚLIO CÉSAR BICCA-MARQUES
Habitat loss and fragmentation constrain the survival of most forest-living mammals, particularly strictly- arboreal primates. Because fragment size directly affects food availability, primate survival in small fragments may depend on dietary flexibility. Here we review the literature on the diet of 29 wild groups of Alouatta guariba clamitans inhabiting forest fragments in Brazil and Argentina. We identify general feeding patterns and analyze the influence of fragment size and latitude on diet composition. Brown howlers presented a diet composed of 402 plant species belonging to 227 genera and 80 families. Rarefaction curves suggest that the richness of top food species is similar among groups living in larger (>100 ha), medium (11-100 ha) or small (1-10 ha) fragments. On average, only 12% of the plant species used as food sources by a given group was also consumed by groups from other sites. Brown howlers exploited a wide range of plant species, including 6 to 24 top food species. Leaves and fruits were the plant items most consumed (65 and 22% of the total feeding records, respectively). Leaf consumption was not affected by fragment size, but it was inversely related to latitude. We suggest that the ability of howlers to exploit a large number of plant food species, including native and exotic trees, shrubs, vines, and lianas, is an important trait that contributes to their survival in highly fragmented habitats along the Atlantic forest. Similar meta-analyses of data from other howler species are necessary to test whether such dietary flexibility is a genus-wide pattern.
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