Publication Date

2025

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Porter, Leila M.

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Anthropology

Abstract

Researchers assume that small-bodied primates like the callitrichines are highly adaptable to environmental change and can increase their consumption of insects in disturbed habitats, however, these assumptions have rarely been tested. To better understand how habitat and other factors may influence the frequency of insect foraging, the type of prey capture techniques used, and prey capture success, I collected detailed observational data on one group of Weddell’s saddle-back tamarins (Leontocebus weddelli weddelli) in northwestern Bolivia in July and August 2022. I found that tamarins spent 62% of their total foraging and feeding time on insects. They spent 89% of their time in undisturbed forest, 8% in disturbed forest, and 3% in stream edge forest. Using Generalized Linear Models, I found that the habitat types the tamarins occupied did not significantly affect the frequency of insect feeding and foraging, the intensity of foraging effort, the substrate type they used for foraging, or foraging success. In contrast, I found that habitat type did predict the tamarins’ foraging height. These results indicate that habitat use had minimal effect on tamarin insectivory, and insect consumption did not occur at higher frequencies in disturbed habitats as compared to undisturbed habitats as expected. As callitrichines form stable long-term polyspecific associations, I also considered whether polyspecific association status influences insectivory. Some researchers have proposed that tamarins like L. weddelli which travel in the lower canopy and understory can capture insects that are flushed from above from tamarins like S. labiatus which travel in the middle canopy during associations. I found that L. weddelli did not increase their insect foraging activity while in association with S. labiatus. Lastly, I examined whether time of day determined what food items tamarins foraged on and found no significance. Given the importance of insect foraging and feeding to the tamarins during this study and many other small-bodied primates, additional research is warranted. I recommend further study of insectivory at sites with greater levels and varying types of disturbance to further evaluate if callitrichines can adapt to habitat disturbance by changing their insect foraging behaviors. Furthermore, extended research on insectivory done on multiple groups during different times of year is necessary to determine if there are intergroup differences, seasonal differences, and/or site differences.

Extent

60 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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