Cebus unicolor (Spix, 1823) (Cebidae, Primates), a vulnerable species in an anthropized igapó forest, Açutuba, central Amazonia, Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62015/np.2024.v30.833Keywords:
Cebidae, conservation, ecology, ecotourism, flooded forestAbstract
Cebus unicolor (Spix’s white-fronted capuchin, popularly called Cairara in Brazil) has a Central Amazonian distribution, and is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Here we present a study of C. unicolor in flooded forest (igapó) in Açutuba, municipality of Iranduba, Amazonas, Brazil. The species persists in anthropized igapó (coexisting with hunting and timber extraction), present during both flooded and low-water periods. Over 16 months, we conducted a primate census by river transect (136 km) by canoe during flooding and by land transect (68 km) during the low-water period. We recorded eight groups of C. unicolor (5.8 ± 2.3 ind), with an average sighting rate of 9.6 ind/km². The main global threat to the species is hunting. In this study, interviews confirmed that primates are hunted by the local community, but that C. unicolor was not among those species hunted. Habitat loss, fragmentation, and fire are the greatest regional threats, driven by logging and unplanned/uncontrolled human occupation. To mitigate these effects, educational measures are needed on the importance of primates and the conservation of flooded forests, as well as generation of employment and
income through observation and contemplation tourism.
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