Black-fronted titi monkey explained

The black-fronted titi monkey (Callicebus nigrifrons) is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey.

The black-fronted titi is a small diurnal primate.[1] The body of this primate is covered in grey to brown fur with black fur concentrated around the face, the tail is slightly orange in color.[2] [3] Body weight ranges from 1- and the head-body length is around 270mm450mm.[2] This species does not exhibit sexual dimorphism.[3] Members of this species can live up to 12 years of age in captivity.[4]

Habitat and distribution

The black-fronted titi is endemic to the Atlantic forest region of Brazil[5] [6] [2] and has a home range averaging . The black-fronted titi is arboreal and prefers the middle to upper canopy of the forest.[3] However, it will move to the forest floor at times to forage, travel, and play.[7] Play behavior on the forest floor has been documented between black-fronted titis and marmosets in Brazil.[8]

Ecology

Diet

The diet of the black-fronted titi is frugivorous and they forage in dense vegetation. They are also known to eat leaves, seeds, invertebrates, and flowers.[9] Due to their highly frugivorous diet, they play a key role in seed dispersion.[10]

Predation

Predators of the black-fronted titi include the harpy eagle, owls, hawks, falcons, tayra, jaguarundi, ocelot, margay, oncilla, pumas, jaguars, large snakes, and other, larger primates (such as howler monkeys).[1] Black-fronted titis are particularly vulnerable to harpy eagle attacks when they move to the upper portion of the canopy to sunbathe on cold mornings. After detecting a raptor, black-fronted titis alert the surrounding area quickly through alarm calls before hiding.

Behaviour

The black-fronted titi is socially monogamous[11] and is typically found in a group of two to six individuals, which includes the adult pair and their offspring. Females give birth to one offspring per year, usually in July or August.[12] Parental care and social activities with the offspring are carried out by the male of this species, while the female only provides milk. Both males and females disperse from their natal group at three years of age.

The black-fronted titi is territorial and will defend territories, food resources, and mates with loud calls individually or in duets or choruses. Loud calls are used for within and between group communication and have a high amplitude and a low frequency which allows them to be heard over long distances.[13] Loud calls are broadcast at dawn and when titis see or hear another group. When confronted by a predator, duets and choruses can last up to two hours, with group members alternating between soft and loud calls.[14] There are no sex differences in calling behavior during predator interactions, both males and females will call. The black-fronted titi can produce calls which encode the predator type (aerial or terrestrial) and predator location to nearby conspecifics.[15]

Characteristic of the Callicebinae subfamily, black-fronted titis can be observed with interwoven tails, a behavior thought to reinforce pair bonds and strengthen social relationships.[16] [17] [18]

Conservation

The black-fronted titi is classified as near threatened by the IUCN due to extensive habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and an estimated population decline of more than 20% in the past 24 years. Small, isolated populations are common due to fragmentation and in some areas this has led to the species going locally extinct. Noise pollution can also negatively impact this species. One study found that noise from mining operations restricted the black-fronted titis long-distance communication due to the overlap in frequency between mining noise and loud calls, this is significant for a species that relies heavily on vocal communication in social interactions.

Notes and References

  1. Caselli . Christini B. . Gestich . Carla C. . Nagy-Reis . Mariana B. . 2017-08-01 . Sleeping above the enemy: Sleeping site choice by black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) . American Journal of Primatology . 79 . 10 . e22688 . 10.1002/ajp.22688 . 28763579 . 3863454 . 0275-2565.
  2. dos Santos . Glênio Pereira . Galvão . Cristiane . Young . Robert J. . 2012-02-05 . The diet of wild black-fronted titi monkeys Callicebus nigrifrons during a bamboo masting year . Primates . 53 . 3 . 265–272 . 10.1007/s10329-012-0295-5 . 22311072 . 16700262 . 0032-8332.
  3. Book: Cäsar, Cristiane . Anti-predator behaviour of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons). . 2012 . University of St Andrews . 806194348.
  4. Berthet . Mélissa . Mesbahi . Geoffrey . Duvot . Guilhem . Zuberbühler . Klaus . Cäsar . Cristiane . Bicca‐Marques . Júlio Cèsar . 2021-10-05 . Dramatic decline in a titi monkey population after the 2016–2018 sylvatic yellow fever outbreak in Brazil . American Journal of Primatology . 83 . 12 . e23335 . 10.1002/ajp.23335 . 34609763 . 10023/26129 . 238356438 . 0275-2565. free .
  5. Caselli . Christini Barbosa . Setz . Eleonore Zulnara Freire . 2011-08-23 . Feeding ecology and activity pattern of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) in a semideciduous tropical forest of southern Brazil . Primates . 52 . 4 . 351–359 . 10.1007/s10329-011-0266-2 . 21861115 . 23317950 . 0032-8332.
  6. Duarte . M. H. L. . Kaizer . M. C. . Young . R. J. . Rodrigues . M. . Sousa-Lima . R. S. . 2017-09-11 . Mining noise affects loud call structures and emission patterns of wild black-fronted titi monkeys . Primates . 59 . 1 . 89–97 . 10.1007/s10329-017-0629-4 . 28894994 . 22866221 . 0032-8332.
  7. Berthet . Mélissa . Mesbahi . Geoffrey . Duvot . Guilhem . Zuberbühler . Klaus . Cäsar . Cristiane . Bicca‐Marques . Júlio Cèsar . 2021-10-05 . Dramatic decline in a titi monkey population after the 2016–2018 sylvatic yellow fever outbreak in Brazil . American Journal of Primatology . 83 . 12 . e23335 . 10.1002/ajp.23335 . 34609763 . 10023/26129 . 238356438 . 0275-2565. free .
  8. Souza-Alves . João Pedro . Mourthe . Italo . Hilário . Renato R. . Bicca-Marques . Júlio César . Rehg . Jennifer . Gestich . Carla C. . Acero-Murcia . Adriana C. . Adret . Patrice . Aquino . Rolando . Berthet . Mélissa . Bowler . Mark . 2019-10-01 . Terrestrial Behavior in Titi Monkeys (Callicebus, Cheracebus, and Plecturocebus): Potential Correlates, Patterns, and Differences between Genera . International Journal of Primatology . en . 40 . 4 . 553–572 . 10.1007/s10764-019-00105-x . 10923/19198 . 201671105 . 1573-8604. free .
  9. Nagy-Reis . Mariana B. . Setz . Eleonore Z. F. . 2016-08-02 . Foraging strategies of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) in relation to food availability in a seasonal tropical forest . Primates . 58 . 1 . 149–158 . 10.1007/s10329-016-0556-9 . 27485746 . 20019302 . 0032-8332. free .
  10. Gestich . Carla Cristina . Nagy-Reis . Mariana B. . Caselli . Christini Barbosa . October 2019 . From dropping to dropping: The contribution of a small primate to seed dispersal in Atlantic Forest . Acta Oecologica . 100 . 103464 . 10.1016/j.actao.2019.103464 . 2019AcO...10003464G . 202854598 . 1146-609X.
  11. Souza-Alves . João Pedro . Caselli . Christini B. . Gestich . Carla C. . Nagy-Reis . Mariana B. . 2019-02-20 . Should I store, or should I sync? The breeding strategy of two small Neotropical primates under predictable resource availability . Primates . 60 . 2 . 113–118 . 10.1007/s10329-019-00716-1 . 30788624 . 67788608 . 0032-8332.
  12. Cäsar . Cristiane . Young . Robert John . 2007-10-16 . A case of adoption in a wild group of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) . Primates . 49 . 2 . 146–148 . 10.1007/s10329-007-0066-x . 17938856 . 11927244 . 0032-8332.
  13. Caselli . Christini . Mennill . Daniel . Bicca-Marques . Júlio César . Setz . Eleonore . 2014-03-03 . Vocal behavior of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons): Acoustic properties and behavioral contexts of loud calls . American Journal of Primatology . 76 . 8 . 788–800. 10.1002/ajp.22270 . 24591251 . 24816221 .
  14. Narbona Sabaté . Lara . Mesbahi . Geoffrey . Dezecache . Guillaume . Cäsar . Cristiane . Zuberbühler . Klaus . Berthet . Mélissa . 2022-01-09 . Animal linguistics in the making: the Urgency Principle and titi monkeys' alarm system . Ethology Ecology & Evolution . 34 . 3 . 378–394 . 10.1080/03949370.2021.2015452 . 248421107 . 0394-9370. 10023/26711 . free .
  15. Cäsar . Cristiane . Zuberbühler . Klaus . Young . Robert J. . Byrne . Richard W. . 2013-10-23 . Titi monkey call sequences vary with predator location and type . Biology Letters . 9 . 5 . 20130535 . 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0535 . 3971693 . 24004492.
  16. Moynihan . M. . 1966 . Communication in the Titi monkey, Callicebus . Journal of Zoology . en . 150 . 1 . 77–127 . 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1966.tb02999.x . 1469-7998.
  17. Web site: 2016-04-25 . Titi monkey . 2022-02-09 . Smithsonian's National Zoo . en.
  18. News: Bezerra . BM . Ferrari . S . Boyle . SA . Veiga . LM . August 2009 . Pitheciine Action Group Newsletter . 13 . 2022-02-09.

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