Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: JOAO VITOR CHAVES DOS SANTOS

THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF TITI MONKEYS (Plecturocebus caligatus) IN THE PURUS-MADEIRA INTERFLUVIE AMAZÔNIA-AM

 

 

 

 

 

Passive acoustic monitoring, primates, Amazon, environmental variables

The use of space by species is influenced by complex interactions between species and the environment, which  impact population dynamics and community structure. In the Amazon biome, one of the most biodiverse in the world, environmental variables such as tree density, DBH and canopy opening affect forest structure and resource distribution, creating micro-habitats that increase ecological complexity. The present study analyzed the influence of environmental variables on the spatial distribution of Plecturocebus caligatus (zogue-zogue) in the Purus-Madeira interfluve, Amazon, along the BR-319 highway. For this, autonomous recorders were used that were installed in four research modules along a gradient of environmental characteristics. The variables analyzed include Diameter at Breast Height (DBH), tree and palm density, litter depth and canopy opening. Of the 9,954 recordings analyzed, we found only 26 records of Plecturocebus caligatus. No significant relationship was found between the occurrence of Plecturocebus caligatus and the variables studied. This lack of significance may be related to the ecological flexibility of the species, which allows it to occupy habitats with different structural compositions, including areas with variations in tree density and canopy opening. The cryptic behavior of Plecturocebus caligatus, characterized by intermittent vocalizations, may also have contributed to the low detection rate in the sampled areas. It is important to highlight the need to expand the analysis to include other environmental variables that may influence the presence of the species, such as the availability of food resources, the structure of the understory, the presence of lianas and the proximity of streams. The inclusion of these variables can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors determining the distribution of Plecturocebus caligatus, contributing to the development of more effective conservation strategies in the Amazon region.