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Dietary Flexibility, Behavioral Plasticity, and Survival in Fragments: Lessons from Translocated Howlers

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Abstract

Examining the behavioral response of howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) to translocation may lend some insight into their ability to repopulate and persist in tropical forest fragments. In fragmented landscapes, forest patches may be large enough to sustain small numbers of individuals and social groups, but not at levels high enough for populations to persist solely in these patches. In fragmented forest landscapes, the ability to colonize unfamiliar forest patches is necessary to maintain demographic and genetic variability. In effect, translocated individuals successfully migrate to another fragment and have to depend upon their ability to include novel food items and strata. Survival depends on the level of dietary flexibility and behavioral plasticity.

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Silver, S.C., Marsh, L.K. (2003). Dietary Flexibility, Behavioral Plasticity, and Survival in Fragments: Lessons from Translocated Howlers. In: Marsh, L.K. (eds) Primates in Fragments. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3770-7_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3770-7_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-3772-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-3770-7

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