The Effects of a Hurricane and Fire on Feeding Ecology, Activity Budget, and Social Patterns of Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Central Belize.
Date
2013-07-10
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Abstract
Studying the effects of hurricanes on primate populations provides valuable insight into species adaptability and their resiliency to major climatic events. On October 25, 2010 Hurricane Richard hit a spider monkey research site in Belize and was followed by a extensive forest fire 6 months later. Utilizing this rare opportunity and 44 months of data, this study examined activity, diet, and grouping patterns in a group of spider monkeys in multiple time period comparisons. The monkeys showed behavioural, dietary, and grouping flexibility in the aftermath of the storm and fire. Although spider monkeys are generally considered to be ripe fruit specialists, they showed increased folivory after the hurricane. In the shorter term, the monkeys travelled less and spent more time foraging, however that trend did not hold. Subgrouping patterns were not consistent across all time periods examined; however in some comparisons, daily subgroups were more spatially cohesive with fewer changes in membership after the disturbances. Aggression rates significantly decreased after the hurricane, presumably due to an increase in the consumption of evenly distributed, non-defensible leaves. Dietary, behavioural, and grouping flexibility are critical to mitigating the after-effects of major habitat disturbances. However, the coping mechanisms vary when examining different time periods and negative consequences may not present themselves in shorter-term studies.
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Anthropology--Physical, Anthropology--Physical, Anthropology--Physical
Citation
Champion, J. (2013). The Effects of a Hurricane and Fire on Feeding Ecology, Activity Budget, and Social Patterns of Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Central Belize. (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28094