Evaluación del efecto de borde sobre el tamaño grupal del mono araña de cabeza café (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps) en el bosque río de Oro, provincia de Manabí

Abstract

Abstract: The brown-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps) is endemic to Ecuador andcurrently classified as critically endangered. Between June and August 2019, I examined theeffects of the forest edge associated with anthropic activities and a road running through a large humid forest fragment on the populations of A. f. fusciceps and the coastal howlermonkey (Alouatta palliata) inhabiting the fragment. Group size and the number of adult andsubadult females of A. f. fusciceps increased significantly and non-linearly with greaterdistance from the edge and road. In contrast, group size and number of adult/subadult femalesof A. palliata were significantly less affected by distance from the edge and road. These resultsimply that the edge and road are avoided by A. f. fusciceps, especially females, and provide insights into the complex behavioral responses of this primate to the negative pressuresimplied by forest fragmentation.