Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, CFS, Bloco G, 1° andar, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Departamento de Zoologia, Laboratório de Ecologia, Comportamento e Conservação, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Am J Primatol. 2024 Sep;86(9):e23665. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23665. Epub 2024 Jul 15.
The dietary ecology of a species can provide information on habitat requirements, food resources, and trophic interactions, important to guide conservation efforts of wildlife populations in endangered habitats. In this study, we investigated the dietary ecology of bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Brasilia National Park, in the endangered Cerrado biome of central Brazil. To obtain diet composition and evaluate the role of these primates as seed dispersers of local tree species, fecal sample collections and feeding observations were performed for a 7-month period. To determine whether seeds germinated better after passing through a primate gut, we conducted germination trials with (i) pulped seeds from trees, (ii) depulped seeds from trees, (iii) seeds from feces planted with feces, and (iv) seeds from feces planted without feces. During experimental procedures, 7308 seeds from 8 families and 10 species were planted. We found that S. libidinosus spent more time feeding on fruits than on any other food item and the diet consisted of 33 plant species from 21 families. However, 20% of their diet consisted of anthropic food. Most seeds planted with feces germinated faster compared to seeds in other experimental treatments, suggesting that passing through the gut and being deposited with fecal material is advantageous. The bearded capuchins also defecated many medium- (5 species) and large-sized (2 species) seeds that may be inaccessible to smaller arboreal frugivores. The results obtained emphasize the important role of bearded capuchins as seed dispersers for the maintenance and conservation of the endangered Cerrado biome.
一个物种的饮食生态可以提供关于栖息地需求、食物资源和营养相互作用的信息，这些对于指导濒危生境中野生动物种群的保护工作非常重要。在本研究中，我们调查了巴西利亚国家公园（Brasilia National Park）中长须僧面猴（Sapajus libidinosus）的饮食生态。为了了解这些灵长类动物作为当地树种传播者的作用，我们在巴西中部的塞拉多生物群落中进行了为期 7 个月的粪便收集和觅食观察，以获取饮食组成，并评估这些灵长类动物作为当地树种传播者的作用。为了确定种子是否在经过灵长类动物肠道后更容易发芽，我们进行了发芽试验，包括：（i）从树上磨碎的种子，（ii）从树上去除果肉的种子，（iii）用粪便种植的种子，以及（iv）没有粪便种植的种子。在实验过程中，我们种植了来自 8 科 10 种的 7308 颗种子。我们发现，长须僧面猴花在取食水果上的时间多于任何其他食物，其饮食由 21 科 33 种植物组成。然而，它们的饮食中有 20%是人为食物。与其他实验处理相比，用粪便种植的种子发芽更快，这表明通过肠道并与粪便一起沉积是有利的。长须僧面猴还排出了许多中等大小（5 种）和大尺寸（2 种）的种子，这些种子可能无法被体型较小的树栖食果动物取食。研究结果强调了长须僧面猴作为塞拉多生物群落中濒危物种传播者的重要作用。
