Agricultural crops in the diet of bearded capuchin monkeys, Cebus libidinosus Spix (Primates: Cebidae), in forest fragments in southeast Brazil

Capuchin monkeys occupy a wide range of habitats where they feed on fruits, arthropods, and vertebrates. Their large home ranges (80-900 ha) suggest that living in forest fragments may challenge their adaptability. We identified and quantified the main food items of Cebus libidinosus Spix, 1823 in forests fragments (100 ha) in southeastern Brazil. We recorded the feeding activities of two groups using scan sampling over a 13-month period. The diet was composed of fruits, crops, animal prey, seeds, plant matter and undetermined. Fruit was eaten more in the wet season than in the dry season, and maize and sugar cane consumption peaked in the early dry season. The proportion of fruit in the diet was positively correlated with fruiting intensity of zoochorous trees. The plant diet included 54 species, with maize, Rhamnidium elaeocarpus, Acrocomia aculeata, Guazuma ulmifolia and Cariniana, being most important. Although dietary composition and diversity were similar to capuchins in larger forest fragments, feeding on crops attained higher percentages at times when zoochorous fruit production was low in fragments.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Freitas,Carlos Henrique de, Setz,Eleonore Z. F., Araújo,Alba R. B., Gobbi,Nivar
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia 2008
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-81752008000100006
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