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Factors Involved in Variation in Tree and Species Use by Mantled Howler Monkeys: A Case Study of Resource Use in Sector Santa Rosa, Área de Conservación, Costa Rica

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Central American Biodiversity

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Abstract

This chapter introduces students to howler monkey feeding ecology, via a case study conducted at Sector Santa Rose, Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica. A variety of methods and analyses are used to answer questions related to the use of trees, food species, and home range, by a group of free-ranging mantled howler monkeys. Since howler monkeys are found throughout Central America and the methods can be used/adapted for any species of arboreal animal, this chapter will be useful to students learning to collect behavioral/ecological data in introductory field courses, as well as those conducting basic or advanced field projects. For those students studying or researching howler monkeys, the case study provides a review of the relevant literature, data collection and analytical methods, and known food species.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Since trees were mature, for the most part, it was fairly easy to estimate crown size of individual species, especially since crown size categories were in ordinal form.

  2. 2.

    While I do not have corresponding data on crop size in unused trees and thus cannot rule out the possibility that the animals may have avoided small crops in some species, I also found no preference for larger food crops in a less preferred leaf source species, H. courbaril (see Welker, 2004).

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the fieldwork was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Sigma Xi, SUNY Buffalo and Geneseo, and the Trimble Corp. Special thanks to the funding agencies; the administration of Sector Santa Rosa for permission to conduct research, guidance and support, and the use of the facilities; Carol Berman, Linda Fedigan, and Ken Glander for assistance in and out of the field; and my field assistants, Bertha Fearon, Graeme Hunt, and Tanya Smith.

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  1. SUNY at Geneseo, College Circle Geneseo, 14454, Geneseo, NY, USA

    Barbara J. Helm Welker

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  1. Barbara J. Helm Welker
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Correspondence to Barbara J. Helm Welker .

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  1. Dept. Biology & Wildlife, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

    Falk Huettmann

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Welker, B. (2015). Factors Involved in Variation in Tree and Species Use by Mantled Howler Monkeys: A Case Study of Resource Use in Sector Santa Rosa, Área de Conservación, Costa Rica. In: Huettmann, F. (eds) Central American Biodiversity. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2208-6_21

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