Dados do Trabalho

Título

Understanding drivers of primate movements in fragments: insights from an agent-based simulation model

Resumo

Since tropical forests are increasingly altered and destroyed by humans, arboreal primates must adjust their patterns of movement and habitat use . However, several factors resulting from these disturbances, such as fragment size and shape, resource distribution, and interactions with conspecific groups are frequently intertwined . Hence, the understanding of the effect of these factors from field-based data is a challenging task. One approach to tackle this limitation is to develop simulation models. We adapted an agent-based model (ABM) previously developed for tamarins in a continuous forest in Peru to the black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus), a frugivorous-insectivorous and highly territorial species inhabiting small to large fragments of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. In the model, tamarins can choose between traveling, foraging, feeding, and resting behavior, according to their energy level, and direct their movement goals to feeding trees according to a memory rule. We simulated the movement within a 100-ha forest fragment for which we have empirical data. The model successfully predicted daily path length (mean±sd; Observed = 1697±415 m; Simulated = 1681±311 m), as well as home-range size (Kernel 95%, Observed = 46.9 ha; Simulated = 42.8±7 ha) and core area (Kernel 50%, Observed = 15.4 ha; Simulated = 12.6±2.3 ha). The best approximations to the empirical data were obtained when considering a constant velocity of 4 m/min. However, simulated tamarins tend to spend more time travelling, but this can be a direct consequence of the constant speed in the model. Further simulations in fragments with varying size, shape and resource distribution will elucidate the model generality. As tamarins’ role as seed dispersers is inherently dependent on their daily trajectories, the model has the potential to predict the seed dispersal distances and therefore tamarins’ potential role in promoting forest regeneration.

Financiadores

CNPq (130909/2020-3) and FAPESP (2020/11129-8 and 2021/10284-2)

Palavras-chave

Black lion tamarin; Daily path length; Home range

Área

Área 1 – Ecologia