Arboreal Camera Trap-based Insights into the Activity, Resource Use, and Demography of Black Lion Tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) and Sympatric Mammals in Atlantic Forest Fragments

Bibliographic Data

ID11280428
AuthorsDaniel Ângelo Felippi (0000-0002-8552-5126, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas), Maria Carolina Rodella Manzano (0000-0003-0464-9029, Universidade de São Paulo, corresponding author), Paolla Nicole Franco (0000-0003-3650-8861, Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)), Vinícius José Alves Pereira (Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas), João Vitor Medeiros Teixeira (Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas), João Machado (0000-0003-4751-5880, Universidade Federal de Viçosa), João Pedro Fernandes Machado, Gabriela Cabral Rezende (0000-0003-4624-0539, Universidade Federal de Viçosa)
Year2026
Volume47
Issue2
Pages499-524
Publication date2026-03-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0164-0291 • E-ISSN: 1573-8604
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10764-026-00552-3
OpenAlexW7141648992
LanguageEN
References cited68

Wildlife monitoring is essential for guiding biodiversity conservation strategies, particularly in fragmented ecosystems under intense anthropogenic pressure. While noninvasive methods, such as camera traps, are widely used for terrestrial species, their application in other forest strata is underexplored despite its potential for studying elusive and nocturnal arboreal mammals. We aim to evaluate whether arboreal camera trapping is a relevant tool for monitoring the endangered black lion tamarin ( Leontopithecus chrysopygus ) and other sympatric arboreal and scansorial mammals in two Atlantic Forest remnants in Pontal do Paranapanema, São Paulo, Brazil. With 27 cameras in the lower and mid-canopy (0.5–8.0 m) and 9,872 camera-days, we recorded 1,316 independent video events representing seven species of mammal. Arboreal camera traps provided robust estimates of diel activity patterns, resource partitioning, and demographic dynamics, including the development of one tamarin infant and one juvenile over time. They also revealed interspecific sharing of sleeping sites and nest boxes, emphasizing the role of these structures in supporting both diurnal and nocturnal species. By documenting community-wide temporal niche partitioning, our study demonstrates how arboreal and scansorial mammals segregate activity in time when sharing the same arboreal structures. Overall, our results show that arboreal camera traps are relevant, noninvasive tool that simultaneously capture species-specific behavior, community-level interactions, and demographic information, highlighting their value for primatology, biodiversity monitoring, and integrative conservation planning in human-modified tropical forests

Animal ecology · Arboreal locomotion · Biodiversity · Camera trap · Endangered species · Interspecific competition · Nocturnal · Sympatric speciation · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

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