CECOAL   02625
CENTRO DE ECOLOGIA APLICADA DEL LITORAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Effect of a naturally fragmented habitat on two owl monkey (Aotus azarai azarai) populations in the Argentinean Chaco
Autor/es:
CECILIA PAOLA JUÁREZ; EDUARDO, FERNANDEZ-DUQUE
Lugar:
Cancum
Reunión:
Congreso; XXIV Congress of the International Primatological Society; 2012
Institución organizadora:
International Primatological Society
Resumen:
In the Argentinean Chaco, owl monkeys inhabit both continuous gallery forests growing along rivers and naturally occurring ?forest islands? growing in a matrix of savannah. To evaluate the hypothesis that the demography of owl monkeys in forest islands is influenced by habitat quality and degree of isolation, we studied two populations inhabiting this naturally fragmented landscape. Between October 2006 and January 2011, we monitored 38 forest islands in the cattle ranch Estancia Guaycolec (EG) and 35 forest islands in Rio Pilcomayo National Park (PNS). At both sites, we only found monkeys in forest islands larger than 2.7 ha, we never found more than one group in any single island, and we did not find a relationship between the degree of isolation and the presence of owl monkey groups. The total number of individuals was similar in both populations (EG, n= 32 PNS, n= 37), and there were no marked differences in average group size between them (Mann-Whitney U Test = U=76, z=-0.434, p=0.664). Population density estimates (10-15 individuals/km2; 1.5 -5 groups/km2) were lower than those reported for continuous gallery forests. This is the first study to describe the demography of Azara?s owl monkeys in a naturally fragmented environment. Further studies of these populations will contribute to our understanding of population dynamics and demography of species inhabiting habitats fragmented through human activities.