Bearded Capuchin

activity

Activity patterns. The activity budget of a group of Bearded Capuchins at Fazenda Boa Vista was foraging (searching for, handling, and eating food) ¢. 49 %, traveling ¢. 37 %, resting ¢. 10 %, and other behaviors such as grooming, play, and soliciting the sexual attentions of dominant males c ¢. 4 %. More time is spent foraging in the dry season when palm fruits, which take some time to process, assume a larger proportion of the diet. The caatinga group of Bearded Capuchins at the Fazenda Boa Vista spends much of its time on the ground, or very near to it, in vegetation that is very open compared with tall forest, and they are correspondingly more skittish. In a direct comparison with Black-horned Capuchins (S. nigritus) living in tall forest, rate of alarm calling was higher: 0 - 2 alarms / hour for Bearded Capuchins compared to 0 - 1 alarms / hour for Black-horned Capuchins.

Cebidae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Two distinct vegetation types in Brazil: dry xerophytic caatinga forest and scrub in the north-east and the cerrado (bush savanna) of central Brazil. In the caatinga, annual rainfall is often below 200 m and rarely above 1000 mm. Bearded capuchins are found in the arboreal caatinga, a dense, tall, closed-canopy, deciduous forest, once widespread but now largely destroyed and degraded. They are also found in shrubby caatinga, low xerophytic, spiny scrub of profusely branched bushy vegetation mixed with prickly succulent cacti, and spiny, rigid-leaved bromeliads, reaching 8 - 10 m in height. Elevations are 300 - 600 m above sea level. Bearded Capuchins are generally associated with rocky escarpments and hillsides in mountainous regions. Legumes (Fabaceae) and Euphorbiaceae dominate the flora. The cerrado is a mosaic of savanna and savanna forest (“ cerradao ”) of twisted and gnarled low trees, often with thick, waxy, xeromorphic leaves, 5 - 15 m tall, forming a discontinuous canopy, and dry, dense semi-deciduous forest patches. The so-called “ campo cerrado ” is more open grassland with frequent but isolated trees. Elevations are generally above 500 m, and annual rainfall is

Cebidae

biology_ecology

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Group sizes of Bearded Capuchins in the caatinga of Serra da Capivara National Park in Piaui State average nine individuals with a maximum of 16. One group of ten had two males, five females, and three juveniles. Two groups in Fazenda Boa Vista had eight individuals and the other had 19 individuals, with home ranges of ¢. 300 ha. A very large group of 53 individuals was found in the arboreal caatinga in the western part of Rio Grande do Norte. Groups of Bearded Capuchins are cohesive and do notsplit into subgroups. Groups of Black-horned Capuchins spread out while foraging, but Bearded Capuchins in these caatinga groups feed from concentrated small clumps of palm fruits, and rates of foodrelated aggression are correspondingly higher. Unlike Black-horned Capuchins, female Bearded Capuchins establish a clear dominance hierarchy.

Cebidae

breeding

Breeding. Aspects of reproduction and breeding of Bearded Capuchins are undoubtedly similar to, or the same as, other species of Sapajus, but studies are lacking. As in other Sapajus capuchins, females show proceptive sexual solicitation of the group’s dominant male, who is not aggressive toward females and does not coerce them into mating. Interbirth intervals recorded for four females at the Fazenda Boa Vista averaged 22 months.

Cebidae