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Potential effects of brown howler monkey extinction on dispersal services in fragmented forests void of large dispersers

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Abstract

The dispersal of large-seeded species strongly depends on medium-sized and large frugivores, such as primates, which are highly susceptible to population declines. In the Atlantic Forest, brown howler monkeys Alouatta guariba are medium-sized folivorous-frugivorous species that are likely to occur in small to large fragments where the largest frugivores are extinct. However, populations of this primate have been suffering from forest fragmentation, habitat loss, hunting, and the direct and indirect effects of yellow fever outbreaks, which increase the importance of understanding their role as seed dispersers and the impacts of their potential loss. The richness and abundance of large-seeded species might also be reduced in smaller fragments, which could directly affect the magnitude of the potential impact of disperser extinction on plant recruitment. Here, we tested the following mutually exclusive predictions on the effect of fragment size on plant richness and relative density of medium- and large-seeded species consumed by brown howler monkeys in fragments smaller than 1500 ha: the number and the relative density of plant species potentially affected by the local extinction of these monkeys will be (1) directly related to forest fragment size, or (2) not related to forest fragment size. Plant richness and the relative density of large- and medium-sized seed species consumed by brown howler monkeys did not vary with fragment size, corroborating our second prediction. Thus, the local extinction of brown howler monkeys would have a similar potentially negative impact on plant regeneration for the range of tested fragment sizes. We discuss the limitations of our results and suggest other lines of enquiry for the refinement of our conclusions.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, TN, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge CAPES for providing a scholarship to develop this research. LC is in receipt of a Research Productivity Fellowship from CNPq (no. 314964/2021-5). We thank the two anonymous reviewers for insightful comments, which greatly helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia, Evolução e Conservação de Anfíbios e Répteis, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Thays Natani

  2. Departamento de Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio Mesquita, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil

    Laurence Culot

  3. Laboratório de Ecologia de Fragmentos, Instituto de Ciências da Natureza, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Rogério Grassetto Teixeira da Cunha

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  1. Thays Natani
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  2. Laurence Culot
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by TN. The first draft of the manuscript was written by TN, and RC and LC commented on previous and final versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Thays Natani.

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Natani, T., Culot, L. & da Cunha, R.G.T. Potential effects of brown howler monkey extinction on dispersal services in fragmented forests void of large dispersers. Primates (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-024-01128-6

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