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A new distribution range of Ateles chamek (Humboldt 1812) in an ecotone of three biomes in the Paraguay River Basin

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Abstract

Historical records of Ateles chamek (black-faced black spider monkey) suggest that the species range extends further south of the known species distribution, within an ecotonal region between the Amazonia, Cerrado and Pantanal biomes in Brazil. Ecotones are zones of habitat transition with high species richness that remain undersampled as conservationists often prioritize biodiversity hotspots. Thus, distribution ranges may be inaccurately measured when species occur in ecotonal zones. We report the first precise records of A. chamek in 24 new localities surveyed in the ecotonal zone of the Upper Paraguay River Basin, and we present subgroup encounter rates in the 11 largest patches (>70 ha) along 207 km of the line transects surveyed. The new records represent an expansion of the distribution of A. chamek approximately 200 km to the south, increasing the known extent of its occurrence by 10.8%. Local tributaries may not be barriers for spider monkeys, which are able to swim and cross slow-moving rivers. However, the dry forests of the Cerrado and the flooded areas of the Pantanal, formed by grassland and scarce trees, may be habitat barriers for A. chamek. The populations living in this ecotonal zone are relatively abundant (1.1–6.67 subgroup sightings/10 km) compared to the heavily hunted continuous forests of northern Amazonia. Furthermore, these values are similar to those for other Ateles spp. inhabiting forests with low or no hunting pressure. We highlight the need for specific conservation action to protect the spider monkeys living in these landscapes, which are threatened by agriculture expansion.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the landowners for permission to work within their landholdings. We thank Giovanna C. Olinto for proofreading the manuscript. We also acknowledge Dr. Phyllis C. Lee and Dr. Collen M. Schaffner for their valuable comments and suggestions regards this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programas de Pós Graduações em Ciências Ambientais e Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Mastozoologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, 78280-000, Brazil

    Manoel dos Santos-Filho, Christine Steiner São Bernardo, Henry Willian Van der Laan Barbosa & Almério Câmara Gusmão

  2. Programa de Pós Graduação em Genética, Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Jequié, Bahia, 46206-510, Brazil

    Christine Steiner São Bernardo

  3. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Primatas Brasileiros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Brasília, Distrito Federal, 58010-480, Brazil

    Leandro Jerusalinsky

  4. Núcleo de Estudos da Amazônia Meridional, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Humanas e Sociais, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Sinop, Mato Grosso, 78557-267, Brazil

    Gustavo Rodrigues Canale

  5. Centro de Pesquisa de Limnologia, Biodiversidade e Etnobiologia do Pantanal, Av. Santos Dumont, s/n, Cidade Universitária, Bloco II, Cáceres, MT, CEP 78.200-000, Brazil

    Manoel dos Santos-Filho

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  1. Manoel dos Santos-Filho
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  2. Christine Steiner São Bernardo
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Correspondence to Manoel dos Santos-Filho.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Cooordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (A. C. G, H. W. V. L. B. and C. S. S. B.) and financial support from FAPEMAT (Edital—UNIVERSAL, DOUTOR/FAPEMAT no. 005-2012).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

In adhering to the legal requirements of Brazil, no animals were captured or harmed during this research. The interviews were conducted in accordance with Brazilian legislation (law no. 5197 of 3 January 1967).

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dos Santos-Filho, M., Bernardo, C.S.S., Van der Laan Barbosa, H.W. et al. A new distribution range of Ateles chamek (Humboldt 1812) in an ecotone of three biomes in the Paraguay River Basin. Primates 58, 441–448 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-017-0601-3

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