Open AccessSurvey and Conservation of a Relict Population of Spider Monkeys (Ateles Geoffroyi) in the Sumidero Canyon, Mexico
Author(s) -
David Muñóz,
Alejandro Estrada,
Yasminda García del Valle
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
tropical conservation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.718
H-Index - 28
ISSN - 1940-0829
DOI - 10.1177/194008290800100207
Subject(s) - canyon , rainforest , national park , spider , geography , population , habitat , ecology , vegetation (pathology) , primate , biology , cartography , demography , medicine , pathology , sociology
Habitat loss, hunting and the pet trade have caused significant reductions in the original distribution of spider monkeys ( Ateles spp.) in the Neotropics. Mexico harbors the northernmost distribution of this primate in the Neotropics, and information on the current location of remnant populations and on their demographic features in particularly scarce. In this paper we report the results of a month-long survey during the dry season of a population of spider monkeys ( Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus) existing in the rainforest vegetation of the Sumidero Canyon National Park in central Chiapas, Mexico. The 23km-long canyon was divided into five 5km-long segments and the rainforest vegetation at the edges of the river canyon was surveyed from a boat and on the ground for presence of spider monkeys. Surveys resulted in the detection of nine subgroups of spider monkeys in four of the 5km-long segments, for an estimated total population of 36 individuals. Average subgroup size ranged from 3−7 individuals, 28% of these were adult males, 36% were adult females, 28% were juveniles and 8% were infants. Relative abundance was estimated at 1.8 monkeys/km of river. The rainforest vegetation along the river canyon has a patchy distribution and patches are separated by the steep and very tall walls of the canyon. Spider monkeys were observed to move from patch to patch by climbing the walls of the canyon. This unusual behavior allows individual spider monkeys to secure food resources and to meet other conspecifics. Additional surveys are necessary to map annual fluctuations in the size and distribution of the spider monkey population in the canyon.