Navegando por Assunto "Macaco-aranha"

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Acesso aberto (Open Access)
Comportamento e dieta de um grupo de macacos-aranha-da-cara-branca, Ateles marginatus (É. Geoffroy, 1809), no sul da Amazônia
(Universidade Federal do Pará, 2014-12-17) SOARES, Paola Cardias; LOPES, Maria Aparecida; http://lattes.cnpq.br/3377799793942627
The distribution of precipitation over the months, influences on annual distribution of food resources and how these resources can be found in an environment causes primates to adopt different strategies in order to gain access to them. In our study, we evaluated the variations in behavior and diet of the white whiskered spider monkey (Ateles marginatus) at the Cristalino Private Reserve. The primates were followed and behavioral and diet data was systematically collected over nine months, between September 2011 until May 2012, through the scan sampling method. The variation concerning activity budget, use of space and diet was analyzed for three periods characterized by distinct rainfall amounts (early rains, rainfall peak and transition from rain to drought). At the peak of the rains, the primates apparently maximized its energy consumption, moving more (43.8%) so as to have more access to fruits, which were probably more available in the environment, eating more fruits (96.5%) and resting less (18.5%). Upper height classes (>20 to 30 meters) were most widely used during periods of rain, both at the beginning and in the peak, at least in part as a way to shelter from the rain and the ranging area and daily journey lengths were higher at the early rains period. There was a predominance of females in the subgroups, with males being more recorded (36.2%) at the beginning of the rainy season, probably to copulate, an activity that had most of their records occurring in one month (December) for that same period. Largest subgroups were recorded during periods of increased precipitation, and smaller sub-groups in drier times seem to be part of the strategy to avoid intraspecific competition. The diet was mostly frugivorous, being distinguished in the transition from rain to drought, not only by the lower contribution of ripe fruits (54.3%) as well as the contribution of young leaves (35.8%), when compared to the other two periods, when ripe fruits composed more than 70% of the diet. Diet diversity of ripe fruit was concentrated in a small number of key species of fruit trees and the fruits used to be swallowed whole, with the disposal of seed being unusual and occurring only for few species. Seeds ingested passed intact by the digestive tract of spider monkeys and caterpillars’ consumption was limited to a short period of time, constituting an alternative source of protein. Alternative items like decaying wood and earth from termite nests in months of low rainfall seem to complement the diet at the same time that also supply the primates’ diet with nutrients such as sodium, calcium and phosphorous, which are less present in ripe fruits, and the consumption of Eichhornia sp., although little recorded, suggests that these aquatic plants are important nutritional content in the diet of these primates. High frugivory of spider monkeys and their ability to disperse intact seeds away from the parent plants, reinforce its importance in the regeneration of forests and justify their conservation and their habitats. Information regarding the behavioral ecology and diet of these primates, though basic, are pioneering and essential to understand the adaptive strategies of the species.
Acesso aberto (Open Access)
Dimorfismo sexual em espécies de macacos-aranha, gênero Ateles É. Geoffroy, 1806 (Atelidae), com distribuição amazônica
(Universidade Federal do Pará, 2008) MONTEIRO, Dijane Pantoja; SILVA JÚNIOR, José de Sousa e; http://lattes.cnpq.br/4998536658557008
The study of the secondary sexual differences in spider monkeys (Ateles É. Geoffroy gender, 1806) has shown controversial results, mainly concerning the body weight. Results range from positively dimorphic, where males are larger than females, to negatively dimorphic, with females larger than males. However, it is known that the group presents the lowest degree of dimorphism amongst the Atelid species. Considering that sexual differences related to body mass directly influence on the skull measurements of the individual, comparisons have been made from 25 skull measurements and 03 body measurements from three species of primates of the Ateles gender with Amazon distribution, A. paniscus, A. marginatus and A. chamek. Samples of adults from three Brazilian museums were used. There were not samples enough from species A. belzebuth for the performance of the analysis. Besides the morphometric analyses, it was performed an age comparison as for the size of the white hair stripe on the face of the A. marginatus. Skull measurements have been compared between sexes through multi-varied analyses, (analysis of the main-ACP components and discriminator-AD analysis), whilst the measurements of the body and the frontal spot have been compared through the ANOVA. The A. marginatus species did not present sexual differences in the pattern of distributions of the white hair on the face, but it seems to be influenced by aging. For the measurements related to the body, only the species A. paniscus and A. marginatus presented samples enough to the performance of statistical analyses. For both species it was not observed differences between sexes, except as for the length of the tail of A. paniscus, which was negatively dimorphic. However, such a result may be the reflex of mistakes at the measurement of the individuals at the moment of data collecting. To the skull and jaw measurements, all species presented few dimorphic variables, but, as for the size of the canine tooth, the differences between males and females were highly significant. Other measurements which were recognized as dimorphic were those ones related to the masticator apparatus. Considering that these structures participate directly on the relationships of competition and hierarchy, the low degree of sexual dimorphism associated to the Ateles gender may be the result of its social system of the fission-fusion type. A comparison has been performed with literature data about chimpanzees that pursue the same system of social organization, but present more dimorphism. It was verified that differences of the foraging, organization and use of the habitat by the females may determine a differentiated growth of the males and, consequently, have influence in the degree of dimorphism presented by these species. In spite of being considered, in the present study, as a monomorphic group, the sexual differences in Ateles seem to be more evident at the sub-adult age. Hence, it is necessary an ontogenetic study that shall perform a better refining for the adult class in order to determine, approximately, in what period of the life cycle of these primates such a differentiation occurs and what ecological or behavioral factors may be associated to this characteristics.