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Female Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) Cope with Anthropogenic Disturbance Through Fission–Fusion Dynamics

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Abstract

Most primates live in habitats with some level of anthropogenic disturbance, and such disturbances have a larger impact on frugivorous primates that are more sensitive to ecological disruptions than folivores. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites provide insight into how the external environment affects internal physiological state, and thus provide information on how anthropogenic pressures become embodied. Here, I examine how subgroup size and glucocorticoids vary with high and low fruit abundance, and how fruit abundance, subgroup size, and activity budget affect fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in female spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) living in an anthropogenically disturbed habitat. I measured these variables via behavioral, ecological, and fecal sampling for 15 months in 17 female spider monkeys at El Zota Biological Field Station. Subgroup size was significantly larger during periods of high fruit abundance, but glucocorticoids did not differ between periods of low and high fruit abundance. Monthly fruit abundance predicted subgroup sizes significantly, but did not predict fecal glucocorticoid concentrations. Increased resting time and reproductive state predicted fecal glucocorticoid concentrations significantly, but travel and foraging time had no significant effect on glucocorticoid concentrations. Individual resting time over the study period correlated negatively with glucocorticoid concentrations. These results suggest that spider monkeys cope with variation in fruit abundance by adjusting subgroup size, and that these adjustments may mitigate environmental stress in this mildly seasonal environment. The large, relatively productive forest size at this site, and the availability of anthropogenic food sources, enable this population of spider monkeys to cope with human-induced habitat disturbance.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Fund, the Ohio State Alumni Grant, and the Ohio State chapter of Sigma Xi. Hormonal assays were partially supported by an NIH grant RR000167 to Toni Ziegler, and performed by Dan Wittwer at the Wisconsin National Primate Center. I thank Hiner Ramirez, his family, and the El Zota staff for their hospitality and Israel Mesen for logistical support. I appreciate the guidance of Dawn Kitchen in all aspects of this project, Jill Pruetz and Erin Ehmke for methodological advice, and Matthew Lattanzio for statistical advice. I am especially grateful to Emily Stulik, Anna Kordek, and Lindsay Mahovetz for their efforts in collecting and processing samples in the field, and Jason Ferrell for assistance in setting up transects. This manuscript benefited from comments from Dawn Kitchen, Scott McGraw, Randy Nelson, Douglas Crews, Stacy Lindshield, Tracie McKinney, Laurie Kauffman, Erin Kane, Cathy Cooke, and Summer Sanford, and was strengthened by suggested revisions from Paul Garber, Joanna Setchell, and several anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Michelle A. Rodrigues

  2. Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Michelle A. Rodrigues

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Rodrigues, M.A. Female Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) Cope with Anthropogenic Disturbance Through Fission–Fusion Dynamics. Int J Primatol 38, 838–855 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-017-9981-x

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