Primate Update E-Newsletter, Vol. 2, Issue 11, Part 3

PPS INTERNSHIP

Pacific Primate Sanctuary is seeking New World Primate Caregiver/Office Assistant Resident Interns. We would welcome someone with a background in animal husbandry and an interest in animal welfare and conservation, who is a mature team player with respect for others. Qualified Applicants are invited to apply. Please click on the link here for more details, and e-mail us at pps@aloha.net

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Special Topic: Intern Lisa


Spider Monkeys, Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution of the Genus Ateles
Chapter 4: Diets of wild spider monkeys

C.R. Carpenter conducted the first comprehensive field study of wild spider monkey diets back in the 1930’s in Panama. He found that spider monkeys’ diet consist of 90% fruit. Since his studies in the 1930’s other subsequent studies have basically confirmed what Carpenter found out.

Overall, the bulk of their diet consists of fruits-mainly ripe fruits. To compliment the diet they also eat plant parts, such as leaves, flowers, and seeds. Spider monkeys tend to eat the fruit and the seeds whole. Spider monkeys typically eat over the course of the day, usually in the morning and afternoon, with less activity in the midday. After feeding, spider monkeys will usually rest for a long time and tend to defecate large numbers of indigestible seeds from their bowels- this makes them great plant dispersers.

The social organization of spider monkeys is tied closely to their diet. Spider monkeys are part of a large community that splits into smaller groups to travel and feed. This type of social structure is known as a fission-fusion society.

Spider monkeys are well adapted for their diet of fruit. Spider monkeys posses a simple unelongated digestive tract and have a fast gut passage time relative to their body size. This enables them to rapidly ingest larger numbers of fruit and get what they need from these fruits and clear away the indigestible seeds.

-Campbell, Christina J. Spider Monkeys: The Biology, Behavior, and Ecology of the Genus Ateles (Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology). UK. Cambridge University Press. 2008.


Special Topic: Intern Cheryl


The Complete Capuchin. The Biology of the Genus Cebus


Chapter 3: Community Ecology: How Do Capuchins Interact With Their Local Communities and Influence Their Environments?

Most of the protein in Capuchin diets comes from invertebrates, primarily insects and other arthropods like snails. Capuchins are the only species of primate known to specialize in finding and extracting hidden and embedded insects e.g. larvae of beetles. Much of their time is spent finding food that can be easily captured and eaten.

Capuchins are known to switch to alternative foods (as discussed last month) when fruit and insects are scarce. One alternative is vertebrate prey. It so happens that the main nesting periods for parrots and squirrels is during the dry season when fruits and caterpillars are less common for Capuchins. During this time they will take advantage of the availability of eggs and often the birds and squirrels.

 A Capuchin monkey at PPS eats a fig

It is widely believed that Capuchins are subject to predation by animals such as jaguars, pumas, coyotes and raptors. However, monkeys can thwart predation attempts in several ways: they can be cryptic and silent; they can run away from predators; they can give loud alarm calls to warn others and they can actively confront predators.

Although Capuchins don’t commonly consume flowers, they have been known to insert their faces deep into certain flowers to obtain the nectar within. The pollen dust, which then clings to their face, would allow for dispersion and give Capuchins the role of pollinators. They are also known to tap branches and listen to the sounds of embedded insects; they will then break off the branch and lick out the grubs. ‘Tree pruning’ is a sufficiently common activity during foraging that researchers on the ground must be constantly alert to the dangers of falling branches!

Capuchins have been found to live in the same Neotropical forest with many other New World species. Capuchins have been found to co-exist with many others of the same species, something found to be quite rare with other species. This is most likely due to their abilities to exploit many different food sources and habitats.

This genus of monkey preys on both invertebrates and vertebrates and in turn, is preyed upon by a wide variety of carnivores. While their preferred foods are fruit and insects, they also occasionally eat seeds and flowers. At other times Capuchins disperse seeds away from the parent tree, and they carry pollen from one flower to another. It has been argued that Capuchins lower the numbers of certain insects that infest trees. They occasionally take agricultural foods from fields and orchards, leading to conflict with farmers, who may hunt them in retribution. They sometimes forage in mixed species groups, benefiting the other types of monkeys that travel with them. Clearly, Capuchins participate fully in the many forms of competition and cooperation that characterize the dynamics of ecological communities.

Fragaszy, D.M., Visalberghi, E., Fedigan, L.M. (2004) The Complete Capuchin: The Biology of the Genus Cebus. UK. Cambridge University Press


Special Topic: Infant Care: Marmosets and Tamarins

Both marmosets and tamarins provide communal infant care, which includes infant carrying and provisioning. Most species carry their infants for greater than 90% of the time for the first four weeks of its life. The amount of time an infant is carried varies among different species. For example, Callithrix (marmosets) carry and support infants for a shorter period of time than Saguinus (tamarins) do. The differences aren't due to variations in body sizes or growth rates, but because of ranging patterns, which impact energetics and group dynamics.

In many marmoset and tamarin species the mothers aren't the primary source of solid food for the infants. The mothers already expend energy for the infants through lactation, so additional foraging pressures would greatly decrease the mothers' energy. Ranging patterns are key to the varying degrees of communal infant care. With greater foraging distances, more communal effort is given to infant care.

-. Rylands, Anthony B. Marmosets and Tamarins: Systematics, Behaviour, and Ecology.1993: Oxford University Press; Oxford. 220-34.

“I want to realize brotherhood or identity, not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life...”
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Pacific Primate Sanctuary’s E-Newsletter. Thank you for your support of our life saving work. Because of compassionate people, the Sanctuary can continue to provide a place of peace and happiness for 74 primates saved from research laboratories, animal dealers, and smugglers. Here they can heal, form families, and live free from exploitation.

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