Landscape attributes affecting patch occupancy by howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata mexicana) at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez ◽  
Salvador Mandujano ◽  
Julieta Benítez-Malvido
Keyword(s):  
Alouatta Palliata ◽  
Los Tuxtlas ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Patch Occupancy ◽  
Alouatta Palliata Mexicana ◽  
Landscape Attributes

scholarly journals Interacting effects of forest fragmentation and howler monkey foraging on germination and disperal of fig seeds

Oryx ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Serio-Silva ◽  
Victor Rico-Gray
Keyword(s):  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Alouatta Palliata ◽  
Howler Monkey ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
Dispersal Distances ◽  
Alouatta Palliata Mexicana ◽  
Fragmented Forests ◽  
Individual Trees

We studied changes in germination rates and dispersal distance of seeds of Ficus perforata and F. lundelli dispersed by howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata mexicana), in a small (40 ha) ‘disturbed’ and a larger (>600 ha) ‘preserved’ tropical rainforest in southern Veracruz, Mexico. The interaction between A. p. mexicana and Ficus (Urostigma) spp. is beneficial for the interacting species and has important implications for their conservation. Howler monkeys gain from the ingestion of an important food source, germination rates of Ficus seeds are improved by passage through the monkeys' digestive tract, and the seeds are more likely to be deposited in a site suitable for germination and development. Seed dispersal distances are relatively larger in the preserved site, with both the size of the forest area and the spatial pattern of Ficus affecting the dispersal process. In a large forest fragment with ‘regularly’ distributed Ficus individuals the howler monkeys move away from the seed source, increasing the probability that the seeds are desposited on a tree other than Ficus, which is important for the germination and future development of a hemiepiphytic species. In a small forest fragment with trees distributed in clumps howlers repeatedly use the same individual trees, and faeces containing seeds may be dropped on unsuitable trees more often. These are key issues when addressing conservation policies for fragmented forests.

Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata mexicana) Produce Tannin-Binding Salivary Proteins

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1086-1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Espinosa Gómez ◽  
Juan Santiago García ◽  
Sergio Gómez Rosales ◽  
Ian R. Wallis ◽  
Colin A. Chapman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alouatta Palliata ◽  
Salivary Proteins ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Alouatta Palliata Mexicana

The role of Ficus (Moraceae) in the diet and nutrition of a troop of Mexican howler monkeys, Alouatta palliata mexicana, released on an island in southern Veracruz, Mexico

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 913-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Serio-Silva ◽  
Victor Rico-Gray ◽  
Laura Teresa Hernández-Salazar ◽  
Rene Espinosa-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
Alouatta Palliata ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Food Species ◽  
Alouatta Palliata Mexicana ◽  
Fig Trees

We analysed the selection of tree species consumed by an isolated troop of Mexican howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata mexicana) released in a translocation programme on Agaltepec Island, in Catemaco Lake, Veracruz, Mexico. During November 1989–December 1996, howlers used 36 of the 63 tree species present on the island as food. Selection ratios indicated that six Ficus species (particularly F. pertusa) were among the seven most important food species. Data on time spent feeding showed that the six Ficus species were among the eight most important food species for the monkeys. Howlers spent 64.2% of their feeding time on Ficus products with F. pertusa being consumed significantly more often than foods from other Ficus species. However, monkeys fed on only one third of the 81 adult Ficus trees on the island. No significant differences were found in various food constituents (water, ash, fibre, protein, carbohydrates, lipids) of the six Ficus and two other abundant species in the habitat, whether across species, plant parts (young leaves, mature leaves, fruits), or between seasons (wet, dry). Monkeys consumed Ficus fruits rather the leaves. Fruits showed a much higher energy content per g dry weight than leaves. We also estimated the average daily biomass of leaves and fruits of Ficus spp. consumed by howlers and their energetic contribution to the daily diet of these monkeys. We suggest that some of these tendencies to frugivory reflect the abundance of Ficus trees within the home ranges of the howlers; when few fig trees are present, folivory is the dominant tendency, whereas when many fig trees are present, frugivory is dominant.

Howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), dung beetles (Scarabaeidae) and seed dispersal: ecological interactions in the tropical rain forest of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Estrada ◽  
Rosamond Coates-Estrada
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Dung Beetles ◽  
Alouatta Palliata ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Los Tuxtlas ◽  
Howler Monkeys ◽  
Ball Rolling ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Number Of Seeds

ABSTRACTThe dispersal of seeds by howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) and the activity of dung beetles in modulating the fate of the dispersed seed were studied at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. Howlers consumed the fruits of 35 species of plants. The seeds of 28 of these were dispersed by the monkeys. The majority (≥90%) of the seeds dispersed by monkeys were destroyed by rodents. Rapid relocation and burial of dung by dung beetles resulted in accidental relocation and burial of large numbers of seeds shortly after deposition. Faecal clumps (20 mg) remained on the ground for an average of only 2.5 h (range 1–3 h). Ball rolling beetles transported balls up to 5.0 m from the site of deposition (range 1–5 m). Burrowing and ball-rolling dung beetles buried seeds at depths ranging from 2.5 to > 12.0cm. The deeper a seed is buried, the less likely it is to be found and eaten by rodents. Eighty percent of the species used by Alouatta as sources of fruit at Los Tuxtlas benefited by the dispersal and post dispersal service provided by howlers and dung beetles respectively. Seasonality in dung beetles abundance in the forest may influence the number of seeds per species escaping post-dispersal predation during the year. Dung beetles play not only an important ecological role in the recycling of matter and energy in the ecosystem, but also in the process of rain forest regeneration.

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