Foraging Decisions During Nectar Feeding by Tamarin Monkeys (Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis, Callitrichidae, Primates) in Amazonian Peru

Biotropica ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Garber
Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. WENZ ◽  
E. W. HEYMANN ◽  
T. N. PETNEY ◽  
H. F. TARASCHEWSKI

SUMMARYAlthough there is a growing recognition that the transfer of diseases between humans and non-human primates can be of great significance for conservation biology, there have been only a few studies focusing on parasites. In this study, saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and moustached tamarin (Saguinus mystax) from the rainforest of the Peruvian lowlands were used as models to determine helminth parasite associations between canopy-dwelling primate species and a nearby human settlement. The human population showed high prevalences of infestation with a number of nematodes, including Ascaris lumbricoides (88·9%), Trichuris trichiura (37%) and hookworms (55·6%). However, the ova of these geohelminths were not detectable in tamarin faeces. Thus, no direct parasite transfer from humans to non-human primates could be documented. However, tamarin groups with more frequent contact to humans and their facilities had significantly higher prevalences and egg output of Prosthenorchis elegans, an important primate pathogen, than a forest group. In contrast, a cestode was significantly more common with more egg output in sylvatic than in human-associated groups. Human alteration of the habitat is likely to play a major role in determining the occurrence, prevalence and intensity of helminth infestation of wild non-human primates.


Behaviour ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 123 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 220-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Peres

AbstractGroups of saddle-back (Saguinus fuscicollis) as moustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax) in a western Amazonian forest jointly defended home ranges larger than 100 ha, which were held in common throughout the year. Resources were defended by direct exploitation in extensive areas shared with other groups, or through intensive and frequent intergroup interactions along territorial boundaries. These interactions were expressed primarily during intergroup encounters, and affected the use of space, movements, time budget, and foraging success of tamarins. During encounters, animals of both species spent more time in energetically costly activities, such as rapid travel and intergroup chases, and less time in energetically positive activities, such as feeding and foraging. In addition, foraging success per unit of foraging effort within overlapping areas of the range periphery was lower than in exclusive areas of the range centre, particularly for saddle-back tamarins. The time and energy allocated by moustached tamarins to boundary contests was considerably greater than that of saddle-backs, despite the fact that only the latter species increased its foraging efficiency by shifting from exclusive areas in the group's range to those shared by other groups. This is probably because of saddle-back's greater use of depletable food supplies, such as small fruit patches and small microhabitats containing embedded prey items. These benefits are likely to justify the substantial amount of time and energy invested in territorial defence for both saddle-backs and moustached tamarins, but appeared to be highly asymmetric between species.


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