Movement ecology and conservation of capuchin monkeys in pine plantation landscapes

Abstract

Pine plantations significantly alter wildlife spatial ecology, yet some arboreal mammals, particularly primates, persist in these landscapes. Some primates may bark-strip pines, generating conflicts with producers, further threatening their populations. Black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus), endemic to the Atlantic Forest, inhabit both native forests and plantation-dominated landscapes. Here we studied the effect of pine plantations on movement and space use pattern of capuchins. Using data from 2008 to 2024, we applied Hidden Markov Models and Auto-correlated Kernel Density Estimators to study movements and space use of 11 capuchin groups in northeastern Argentina, comparing pine plantations and protected forests. Capuchins in plantations traveled longer daily distances. In plantations, stationary movement state, linked to resting and feeding, were more frequent in forest fragments, while rapid directional movements prevailed in pine stands. Stationary movements increased in pine stands during peak bark-stripping periods. Home ranges in plantations nearly tripled those in protected forests. Core areas in plantation landscapes were highly concentrated in native forest fragments. Despite fragments constituting only 22 % of the plantation landscape, they concentrated 95 % of sleeping sites, shaping capuchins' daily movements. Resource scarcity and fragmentation increase capuchins' daily trajectories, home ranges, and core areas, likely reducing carrying capacity. Preserving forest fragments and ensuring their connectivity is essential to maintaining habitat quality for primates in plantation landscapes. Movement ecology insights from capuchins in pine plantations are key for conservation planning with the aim of developing primate-friendly production landscapes, and mitigating conflicts between primates and foresters.