Name: Leticia Almeida Moura
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 06/06/2019
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Karen Barbara Strier | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Albert David Ditchfield | Internal Alternate * |
| Carla de Borba Possamai | External Alternate * |
| Fabiano Rodrigues de Melo | External Examiner * |
| Karen Barbara Strier | Advisor * |
| Sérgio Lucena Mendes | Internal Examiner * |
Summary: Understanding the ecological factors that influence the daily routes of animals provide us
with valuable information on how they invest their time and energy in their daily decision
making. The proportion of time invested in the development of each activity may change
according to the social system of the group, climatic variations and conditions of the
environment, influencing the daily distance traveled. In this sense, primates are great
models to be studied because they can respond to environmental conditions in various
ways. For example, the use of terrestrial strata by arboreal primates represents a way of
acquiring resources, especially in fragmented habitats WHERE opportunities to expand their
range are constrained. In this study, we investigate how ecological factors, including
ground use, can influence the daily distance traveled by a group of Northern Muriquis
(Brachyteles hypoxanthus). The study was conducted at RPPN - Feliciano Miguel Abdala,
MG, Brazil, from August 2015 to July 2016. We used 99 days with > 8 hours of observation
on one study group, called the Matão group, totaling 1,776 scans, 9,610 records and
859.34 observation hours, including ground use on 46 days and over 102 events
(including scan samples and ad libitum observations). Most of the activities were carried
out mainly in the middle canopy, with only drinking water occurring primarily on the ground.
The daily distances traveled were not significantly different between the days with and
without observations of ground use. However, contrary to our prediction, the trajectories
were longer on days with observations of feeding on the ground. Similarly, the daily
distances traveled were greater on days with ingestion of water on the ground,
corroborating our alternative prediction. These results suggest that the energy or
nutritional value of food can offset the energy costs of the longer routes. In addition, the
need for important resources such as the water sources found on the ground can
contribute to the greater daily distances traveled.
Keywords: Ground use, pathways, energy minimization, energy maximization.
