Brown howler

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Brown howler [1]
Brown Howler Monkey 6.jpg
Brown howler monkey in Minas Gerais
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Atelidae
Genus: Alouatta
Species:
A. guariba
Binomial name
Alouatta guariba
(Humboldt, 1812)
Subspecies

Alouatta guariba clamitans
Alouatta guariba guariba

Brown Howler area.png
Brown howler range

The brown howler (Alouatta guariba), also known as brown howler monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey that lives in forests in south-eastern Brazil and far north-eastern Argentina (Misiones). [1] [2] It lives in groups of two to 11 individuals. [3] Despite the name "brown howler", it is notably variable in colour, with some individuals appearing largely reddish-orange or black. [4]

The two subspecies are: [1]

Range

The brown howler is found in the Atlantic forest of South America. The region spreads through the Brazilian states of Bahia and Espírito Santo through Rio Grande do Sul, and Misiones in Argentina. [5]

Diet

Brown howler monkeys are folivores and frugivorous. The diet of the brown howler monkey consists primarily of leaves and trees. Of the food sources it seems that the genera Ficus , Zanthoxylum , and Eugenia are the most significant types consumed. Brown howler monkeys that live in higher latitudes tend to eat a lower percentage of leaves in their diet. [6] Mature leaves are less nutritious and are more fibrous, than the preferred young leaves. A typical brown howler diet will also include mature fruit, wild figs, petioles, buds, flowers, seeds, moss, stems, and twigs [2] The Atlantic forest, where brown howlers tend to live, has an increasing forest fragmentation. [5] Forest fragmentation means that there would be a decrease in potential food supplies. The brown howler's feeding ecology, however, does not seem to be affected by the loss in habitat. [6]

Behavior

Howling

Brown howler monkeys are part of the group of monkeys known for their howls/roars. Howlers are able to create such loud and specific sounds by specific body shape and structures. The larynx is enlarged and they have an enlarged open chest that creates a resonating chamber to increase the sound produced. The howlers also have specialized vocal chords to produce the specific sound. [2] The most frequent reason for the howling is for mate defense. Howling occurs most when there are both female and male howlers present. The males are the dominant group as they begin all cases of howling. Females participate in howling much less than males. Howling can also occur in groups during the dry season. It is believed that this is due to food scarcity. The brown howlers use their sounds to show ownership over certain food or territory. [7]

Anti-predator behavior

The black hawk eagle is a predator of the brown howler monkey. The roars of the brown howler allow the black hawk eagle to determine their location. The brown howler's response has three parts. First, when one brown howler becomes aware of a black hawk eagle they will alarm the group and then they will immediately become silent. Next they descend in the understory of the trees, and finally they will all disperse in an organized manner. The adults will lead the young away from danger. The young are considered to be the primary target for the black hawk eagle. There is a more conservative response when adult brown howlers are without the young, and the black hawk eagle is present, thus indicating that the black hawk eagles are targeting the young howlers. When the brown howler monkey is threatened by terrestrial animals they will remain in the tree canopy and remain silent for 5–15 minutes. [8]

Rubbing

Brown howler monkeys rub one another for group communication. The rubbing can be used for various purposes. Males will rub their hyoid bone and sternum against each other to show agonistic and territorial signals. Males will also rub females for sexual intentions. The males are considered to be the dominant over females because they rub much more often than females. Dominate females will rub more often than non-dominate females, but still much less than males. [9]

Reproduction

An adult pair and a young, also showing some of the distinct color variations in this species Alouatta guariba clamitans Male and Females.jpg
An adult pair and a young, also showing some of the distinct color variations in this species

It is difficult to breed the genus Alouatta in captivity and therefore the reproduction is relatively unknown. [10] Brown howlers reproduce year round. There seems to be no correlation to birth rates in rainy or dry season or in times of increased fruit or leaves. It is thought that because the brown howler has a folivorous diet, conception is less dependent on maternal conditions. [11] The average interbirth interval (IBI) for the brown howler is 19.9 months, which is similar to other howler species. It does not seem that the sex of the infant or the number of females in the population has a significant effect on IBI. The death of an infant will shorten the mother's IBI and seems to be one of the few factors that affects IBI. [11]

Yellow fever

Brown howlers are highly susceptible to the yellow fever virus and have a high mortality rate when infected. When mass amounts of brown howlers are found dead it is a good indication that there may be a yellow fever outbreak occurring. Since the brown howlers have such a high mortality rate they are not considered to maintain the virus in their population. Communities that live near the brown howler populations have previously held the belief that the brown howlers were the cause of the disease, and would kill them to stop the spread of disease. In order to protect the brown howlers the local communities should limit their killing and become vaccinated to prevent the disease from spreading. [7] The transmission of yellow fever is through mosquito vectors. In South America the known mosquito vectors of yellow fever are in the genera Haemagogus and Sabethes . In Argentina, the species that has been shown to carry the yellow fever virus (YFV) is Sabethes albiprivis. [5]

In 2008–2009 there was a yellow fever outbreak among a brown howler study group in the protected Misiones, El Piñalito Provincial Park. The brown howler is not abundant in Argentina and any outbreak could have a detrimental effect on the population. A group of researchers have created the Brown Howler Conservation Group to continue to study and monitor yellow fever in the brown howler populations. [5]

Related Research Articles

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Black-and-white colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus Piliocolobus. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subspecies. They are generally found in high-density forests where they forage on leaves, flowers and fruit. Social groups of colobus are diverse, varying from group to group. Resident-egalitarian and allomothering relationships have been observed among the female population. Complex behaviours have also been observed in this species, including greeting rituals and varying group sleeping patterns. Colobi play a significant role in seed dispersal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howler monkey</span> Genus of mammals

Howler monkeys are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (Brachyteles), the spider monkeys (Ateles) and woolly monkeys (Lagotrix). The monkeys are native to South and Central American forests. They are famous for their loud howls, which can be heard up to three miles away through dense rain forest. Fifteen species are recognized. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae. They are primarily folivores but also significant frugivores, acting as seed dispersal agents through their digestive system and their locomotion. Threats include human predation, habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade, and capture for pets or zoo animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atelidae</span> Family of New World monkeys

The Atelidae are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly, and woolly spider monkeys. They are found throughout the forested regions of Central and South America, from Mexico to northern Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pig-tailed langur</span> Species of Old World monkey

The pig-tailed langur, monotypic in genus Simias, is a large Old World monkey, endemic to several small islands off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its face is black, its fur is black-brown and it has a relatively short tail. It is a diurnal species, feeding in the rainforest canopy on leaves, and to a lesser extent, fruit and berries. Little is known of its natural history, but it is heavily hunted, its populations have been declining rapidly and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "critically endangered". It has been included on a list of the World's 25 Most Endangered Primates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colombian red howler</span> Species of monkey

The Colombian red howler or Venezuelan red howler is a South American species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, found in the western Amazon Basin in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. The population in the Santa Cruz Department in Bolivia was split off as a separate species, the Bolivian red howler, in 1986, and more recently, splitting off the population in northeastern South America and Trinidad as the Guyanan red howler has occurred. All howler monkeys belong to the family Atelidae and the infraorder Platyrrhini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black howler</span> Species of New World monkey

The black howler or black-and-gold howler, is among the largest New World monkeys and a member of the Alouatta genus. The black howler is distributed in areas of South America such as Paraguay, southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Uruguay. This species is sexually dimorphic, with adult males having entirely black fur and adult females and babies of both sexes having an overall golden colouring; which emphasizes black-and-gold in the name. The IUCN Red List has classed the black howler as Near Threatened as a result of a recent population reduction due to a variety of human-caused factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped squirrel monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The black-capped squirrel monkey is a species of New-World monkey native to the upper Amazon basin in Bolivia, western Brazil and eastern Peru. They weigh between 365 and 1,135 g and measure, from the head to the base of the tail, between 225 and 370 mm. Black-capped squirrel monkeys are primarily tree-dwelling and are found in both native and plantation forests as well as some farmed areas near running water. Their diet is omnivorous and mostly consists of flowers, fruit, leaves, nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids, eggs and small vertebrates. They mostly live in female-dominated troops of around 40 to 75 monkeys, with males having been observed to disperse to live in all-male troops after reaching sexual maturation. Their current conservation status according to the IUCN is 'Least Concern'. The species belongs to the genus Saimiri and has two subspecies, S. b. boliviensis and S. b. peruviensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black capuchin</span> Species of New World monkey

The black capuchin, also known as the black-horned capuchin, is a capuchin monkey from the Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil and far north-eastern Argentina. Historically, it was included as a subspecies of the tufted capuchin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-fronted titi monkey</span> Species of mammal

The black-fronted titi monkey is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvery woolly monkey</span> Subspecies of New World monkey

The silvery woolly monkey, also known as Poeppig's woolly monkey or the red woolly monkey, is a subspecies of the common woolly monkey from South America. Named after the German zoologist Eduard Friedrich Poeppig, it is found in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mantled howler</span> Species of New World monkey

The mantled howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America. It takes its "mantled" name from the long guard hairs on its sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yucatán black howler</span> Species of New World monkey

The Yucatán black howler, or Guatemalan black howler, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America. It is found in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, in and near the Yucatán Peninsula. It lives in evergreen, semideciduous and lowland rain forests. It is also known as the baboon in Belize, although it is not closely related to the baboons in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern muriqui</span> Species of New World monkey

The northern muriqui is one of two species of muriqui. They are also known as woolly spider monkey because they exhibit the woollen pelt of woolly monkeys and the long prehensile tail of spider monkeys. Muriquis are the largest extant New World monkeys. They can reach 4.3 feet or 1.3 metres long and weight up to 7 to 10 kilograms. The northern muriqui is a critically endangered species, it is estimated that there are less than 1000 mature individuals in the wild. The species is unusual among primates in that they display egalitarian tendencies in their social relationships. This species is endemic to the Atlantic Forest region of Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Bahia. Their diets, travel patterns and reproductive cycles are seasonally determined. The size of each group can fluctuate as females will move between groups of monkeys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican howler</span> Subspecies of New World monkey

The Mexican howler is a subspecies of the mantled howler, A. palliata. This subspecies is found predominantly in forests between south eastern Mexico and north eastern Peru. Typical of its species, the Mexican howler monkey has a prehensile tail, a deep jaw, and a large pharynx which it uses to make characteristically deep and resonating howls. Mantled howler monkeys are known for forming unusually large cohorts averaging 14 members and sometimes extending to 40 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spix's red-handed howler</span> Species of New World monkey

Spix's red-handed howler is a species of Howler monkey native to the southeastern Amazon in Brazil. It is threatened by deforestation and hunting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern brown howler</span> Subspecies of New World monkey

The southern brown howler is a monkey subspecies of brown howler native to southeastern Brazil and far northeastern Argentina (Misiones). Gregorin, 2006, considered the southern brown howler to be a separate species, Alouatta clamitans, but this has not been universally accepted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern brown howler</span> Subspecies of New World monkey

The northern brown howler is the type subspecies of the brown howler, native to Brazil. It is listed as critically endangered, with fewer than 250 individuals restricted to the vicinity of the Jequitinhonha River. The species feeds on fruits, flowers, and by preference immature leaves which are easier to digest than mature leaves; foraging for these foods in hillside habitats was shown to require more energy expenditure than in valley habitats.

The Maderas Rainforest Conservancy is a nonprofit organization which was established to promote the conservation, protection, and management of Mesoamerican forests and animal and plant biodiversity through education, reforestation, preservation, and by working with local communities, and national and international institutions and universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scent rubbing</span> Behaviour where a mammal rubs its body against an object in their environment

Scent rubbing is a behavior where a mammal rubs its body against an object in their environment, sometimes in ones covered with strongly odored substances. It is typically shown in carnivores, although many mammals exhibit this behavior. Lowering shoulders, collapsing the forelegs, pushing forward and rubbing the chin, temples, neck, or back is how this act is performed. A variety of different odors can elicit this behavior including feces, vomit, fresh or decaying meat, insecticide, urine, repellent, ashes, human food and so on. Scent rubbing can be produced by an animal smelling novel odors, which include manufactured smells such as perfume or motor oil and carnivore smells including feces and food smells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humboldt's white-fronted capuchin</span> Species of New World monkey

Humboldt's white-fronted capuchin is a species of gracile capuchin monkey. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and potentially the island of Trinidad.

References

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  3. Emmons, Louise & Feer, Francois (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals.
  4. Gregorin, R. (2006). (in Portuguese) Taxonomia e variação geográfica das espécies do gênero Alouatta Lacépède (Primates, Atelidae) no Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 23(1).
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