Animal Biodiversity and Conservation (Dec 2003)
Activity patterns and diet of the howler monkey Alouatta belzebul in areas of logged and unlogged forest in Eastern Amazonia
Abstract
This work compared the activity patterns and diet of a group of Alouatta belzebul in areas of logged and unlogged forest in eastern Amazonia. An instantaneous scan sampling procedure was used for the behavioral study (9.3 ± 1.9 complete observation days/month) from February to November 2000. Fruit availability was estimated monthly. Activity budgets were not significantly different between sites. Rest was the predominant activity in both sites (53.6 % and 48.7 %, respectively). Average daily path length was 683.5 ± 215.1 m (n = 93), and the home range was 17.8 ha, including 7 ha in unlogged forest and 10.8 ha in the logged forest. Neither fruit availability nor diet varied significantly between sites. The diet was predominantly folivorous (43.4 % and 46.6 % in unlogged and logged forest, respectively) and frugivorous (43.9 % and 42.8 %). The spatial use by the group was positively related to fruit sources. This study documented the ability of a ranging group of A. belzebul to survive in a habitat influenced by reduced impact logging without dramatically influencing its activity patterns and diet