Frugivory patterns and seed dispersal by golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil
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Nayara A. Cardoso
,
Yvonnick Le Pendu
Abstract
This study identified fruit species eaten by Leontopithecus chrysomelas (golden-headed lion tamarins; GHLTs) and related their consumption to seed dispersal. Two GHLT groups were monitored from September 2006 through August 2007 in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil. GHLTs consumed fruit from 71 species, preferred mature fruit and swallowed the seeds of most species (76.8%). Smaller seeds were swallowed and larger seeds were generally discarded. GHLTs defecated in low quantities and more than 50% of the faeces contained seeds from only one species. Most faeces were deposited far from the parental tree (>20m) and only 24.2% under the parental tree. The defecation pattern of L. chrysomelas could reduce competition between seeds and facilitate the establishment of seedlings from the most consumed species. Faeces were deposited widely throughout home ranges and away from a seed's parental tree increasing the chances that seeds reach favourable environments and avoid competition with other seedlings. Additionally, defecations also occurred in the same habitat type as a seed's parental tree, keeping species within their typical habitat. GHLTs in Una Biological Reserve were efficient dispersers and might play an important role in the maintenance of floristic composition and regeneration of habitat.
©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Original Studies
- A test of Allen’s rule in subterranean mammals: the genus Ctenomys (Caviomorpha, Ctenomyidae)
- Effect of seed availability on hoarding behaviors of Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) in semi-natural enclosures
- Frugivory patterns and seed dispersal by golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil
- Abundance of Callicebus barbarabrownae (Hershkovitz 1990),(Primates: Pitheciidae) and other nonvolant mammals in a fragment of arboreal Caatinga in northeastern Brazil
- Medium to large-sized mammals in agricultural landscapes of south-eastern Brazil
- Distribution, population size and morphometrics of the giant-striped mongoose Galidictis grandidieri Wozencraft 1986 in the sub-arid zone of south-western Madagascar
- Selectivity of mammalian predator control in managed hunting areas: an example in a Mediterranean environment
- Short Notes
- Dense-sampling reveals a complex distributional pattern between the southernmost marsupials Lestodelphys and Thylamys in Patagonia, Argentina
- Occurrence of Marmosa waterhousei in the Venezuelan Andes, with comments on its biogeographic significance
- High elevation records of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Jalisco, Mexico
- The influence of habitat structure on the European brown hare Lepus europaeus food habits in mountainous areas of northern Greece
- Sites with reduced predation risk to young hares within an agricultural landscape
- Book Reviews
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