Keywords :
Anura; Atlantic Forest; Callitrichidae; Hylidae; seasonality; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract :
[en] Although lion tamarins (Leontopithecus spp.) are known to prey upon frogs, no study has attempted to document the frequency and seasonal patterns of such events. In this study, we compiled data on frog predation by black lion tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysopygus, in south-eastern Brazil between 2014 and 2020. We investigated the effects of seasonality on predation rate and described the behaviour of the lion tamarins. In 1972 observation hours, we recorded 49 frog predation events. Predation was more intense in the beginning (April and May) and the end (August and September) of the dry season, suggesting seasonal variation. The observed pattern may be related to a combination of increased fruit availability in the rainy season and decreased frog activity in the height of the dry season. Compared to Saguinus mystax, the only other tamarin species for which there is available data, predation rate of anurans by black lion tamarins is five times higher. We suggest that frogs are an important item in the diet of black lion tamarins and reinforce the idea that vertebrate predation in some primates is seasonal.
Funding text :
GSTG was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) (Grant code 001); GCR received fellowships from FAPESP (process no. #2017/11962–9) and CAPES (code 001); FB was supported by CNPq (133172/2018-0 and 443489/2020-3); RGA received a fellowship from FAPESP (process no. #2019/11102–5); ASAS received a fellowship from CNPq (141813/2017-2) and a Small Grant from the Rufford Foundation (29108-1); OK received funding from the National Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS, Belgium). Fieldwork was financed by a Young Investigator grant from FAPESP given to LC (#2014/14739–0) and by the Disney Conservation Fund and the Sustainable Lush Fund granted to the Black Lion Tamarin Conservation Program. LC receives a Research Productivity Fellowship from CNPq. We are most grateful to José Wilson Alves and Andre P. de Albuquerque for their invaluable assistance in the field. Thank you also to Amandine Lambot, Mirela Alcolea, Miguel Rangel, Yness Messaoudi and Vinicius José Alves Pereira for their assistance in the field. Lisieux Fuzessy and Eduardo Zanette gave useful insights on the subject of the paper. Henrique Costa and Renan Lieto sent important literature on Atlantic Forest anurans. Gustavo Simões Libardi made the drawing in Figure 2.
Young Investigator grant from FAPESP given to LC
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