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Functionality of two canopy bridge designs: successful trials for the endangered black lion tamarin and other arboreal species

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Abstract

Canopy bridges are crossing structures specific to mitigate the impact of roads on arboreal animals. Long-term monitoring of such infrastructures together with the analysis of design preferences has never been done in South America. To avoid the roadkills of a threatened primate species, the black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus), in Guareí, São Paulo, Brazil, we installed two designs of canopy bridges: a wood pole bridge and a rope bridge. We aimed to (1) evaluate the functionality (number of species and events) of both designs, (2) test the design preference of each species, and (3) determine if there were seasonal differences in the use of canopy bridges. We monitored the canopy bridges continuously since their installation with camera traps during 3 years. We recorded nine mammal and one lizard species crossing on the canopy bridges as well as 13 bird species using them as perches. Overall, the probability of crossing was higher on the wood pole bridge and the number of crossings, considering both designs, was higher during the dry season. One lizard and seven mammal species used the wood pole bridge, including the black lion tamarin, and six mammal species used the rope bridge. Four out of five species tested, including the black lion tamarin, preferred the wood pole bridge. While replications of this experimental design are necessary to obtain a more robust evaluation of the effectiveness of these canopy bridges, our study suggests that wood pole bridges might be an effective tool to reduce roadkills of the endangered black lion tamarin and possibly other arboreal species.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the Prefeitura Municipal of Guareí, especially to Mayor of Guareí José Amadeu de Barros and Secretary for Environment Francisco Luiz Momberg; Angatuba Ecological Station – Forestry Institute (IF), a department of Secretary of the Environment of the State of São Paulo; Alvorada Group Ltda.; researchers Dr. Marcel Huijser from University of Montana and Dra. Fernanda Abra from University of São Paulo for partial support to the implantation of the rope bridges. We are grateful to Bárbara Prado, Sabrina Oliveira, Neli Rodrigues, Dileu Soares, Everaldo Meira, Valdir Francisco, and Sueli Pires for constant support and active collaboration during our research. We also thank Elias Momberg and Samuel Silva for helping in the construction of the canopy bridges and Dr. Augusto Piratelli for identifying the birds.

Funding

Francini Garcia was supported by a grant from the Zoological Park Foundation of São Paulo (FPZSP) and Laurence Culot was supported by a grant from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP 2014/14739–0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Wildlife Conservation – Universidade Federal de São Carlos e Fundação Parque Zoológico de São Paulo, SP, São Carlos, Brazil

    Francini de Oliveira Garcia

  2. Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biodiversidade, Laboratório de Primatologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil

    Laurence Culot & Rafaela Endrika Wolf Ferreira de Carvalho

  3. Departamento de Ciências da Natureza, Matemática e Educação, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Laboratório de Fauna, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Araras, SP, Brazil

    Vlamir José Rocha

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  1. Francini de Oliveira Garcia
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  2. Laurence Culot
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  4. Vlamir José Rocha
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Contributions

All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Elaboration of study design and material preparation were performed by Francini de Oliveira Garcia and Vlamir José Rocha. Data collection performed by Francini de Oliveira Garcia and Rafaela Endrika Wolf Ferreira de Carvalho. Data analyses were performed by Francini de Oliveira Garcia, Vlamir José Rocha, Laurence Culot, and Rafaela Endrika Wolf Ferreira de Carvalho. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Francini de Oliveira Garcia and all the authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Francini de Oliveira Garcia.

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Garcia, F.d., Culot, L., de Carvalho, R.E.W.F. et al. Functionality of two canopy bridge designs: successful trials for the endangered black lion tamarin and other arboreal species. Eur J Wildl Res 68, 20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-022-01569-8

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