Social Dynamics and Activity Patterns of the Endangered Alouatta caraya in a Fragmented Cerrado Forest in Southeastern Brazil

Social Dynamics and Activity Patterns of the Endangered Alouatta caraya in a Fragmented Cerrado Forest in Southeastern Brazil | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Social Dynamics and Activity Patterns of the Endangered Alouatta caraya in a Fragmented Cerrado Forest in Southeastern Brazil Wagner Ferreira dos Santos, Andre Fernando de Oliveira Fermoseli, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6271602/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We studied a group of howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in Dumont, São Paulo, Brazil, inhabiting a highly fragmented 9.88-ha riparian forest within the Cerrado biome, affected by agriculture, cattle ranching, and clay extraction. This critical scenario poses a local extinction risk, as highlighted in São Paulo’s Red Book. Additionally, this species has been suffering from yellow fever epizootics and, in the near future, may also face extinction due to inbreeding. While their folivorous diet aids adaptation to degraded areas, the role of social relationships in isolated groups remains understudied. Using the scan sampling method, we recorded 30 behavioral categories and classified individuals into five sex-age groups: adult male (AM), adult female (AF), sub-adult male (SAM), juvenile (JUV), and infant (INF). Behavioral patterns were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) to identify social functions within the group. Despite habitat fragmentation, the monkeys' behavior aligned with findings from studies in conserved areas. AFs showed higher frequencies of intra-group maintenance behaviors, suggesting a matrifocal structure, while AMs exhibited dominant and territorial behaviors. Only JUVs and INFs engaged in play, and SAMs occupied the group’s periphery. AM territoriality may also contribute to group cohesion, warranting further study. A division of roles between AFs and AMs was evident. Although howler monkeys demonstrate behavioral plasticity, further research is needed to understand their persistence in the increasingly fragmented Cerrado biome of São Paulo, Brazil. Howlers’ monkeys social behavior fragmentation Endangered Brazilian- savannah Cerrado Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6271602","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":436382802,"identity":"cf77ffcc-1f64-4c2c-989b-a8a4d9b23b58","order_by":0,"name":"Wagner Ferreira dos Santos","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACOTkQyUyKFmNj0rUkNhCtxeD48WsPPu4xSN9w/uwB5sI9xGg5k1NuOOOZQe6GG3kJzDOeEaHF7EBOmjTPgT9ALTwGzDwHiNFy/k2a9J8DBukG588Qq+VG+jFphgMGCQYHcojUYn/jDZtkzwEDw5lAvxyeQYwWyf70ZxI/DhjI850/e/BxATFaGBh4DGAMBuI0MDCwP4BrGQWjYBSMglGAFQAA2RI6pyu/4Y0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9371-279X","institution":"University of São Paulo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wagner","middleName":"Ferreira dos","lastName":"Santos","suffix":""},{"id":436382803,"identity":"69a0395c-80de-49ec-9b59-89a31c5fee7a","order_by":1,"name":"Andre Fernando de Oliveira Fermoseli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade de Sao Paulo Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andre","middleName":"Fernando de Oliveira","lastName":"Fermoseli","suffix":""},{"id":436382804,"identity":"17774bd9-fd5c-4adc-a352-1986ce81006d","order_by":2,"name":"Leandro Magrini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade de São Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leandro","middleName":"","lastName":"Magrini","suffix":""},{"id":436382805,"identity":"985a4a2a-7d02-4284-b53b-2d0678da0213","order_by":3,"name":"Igor Alves de Souza","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade de São Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Igor","middleName":"Alves","lastName":"de Souza","suffix":""},{"id":436382806,"identity":"b851f244-e3ea-4a1d-b1ea-fb1839324dc0","order_by":4,"name":"Zelinda Maria Braga Hirano","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Fundacao Universidade Regional de Blumenau: Universidade Regional de Blumenau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zelinda","middleName":"Maria Braga","lastName":"Hirano","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-20 17:13:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6271602/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6271602/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81032049,"identity":"6dc03f77-e30a-4c8a-9407-850cff41a86e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 11:27:56","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":172993,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMap showing the study fragment's location (blue circle) within Brazil (green). The state of São Paulo is highlighted in yellow, and the city of Sertãozinho is marked in black. Created using MapChart.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6271602/v1/fce7ebb3265a836dde2b32d8.jpg"},{"id":81032050,"identity":"5a259a7a-fc9a-4147-afaa-042925cdd11f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 11:27:56","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":649380,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAerial view of the forest fragment where the study was conducted (21°14'15.37\"S, 48°02'44.05\"W). The red line outlines the fragment area. \"C\" marks the surrounding crop fields, \"RI\" denotes the Onça River course, and \"RE\" indicates the reforestation area. Image obtained via Google Earth.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6271602/v1/b19b4a777b7923c541a0a103.jpg"},{"id":81030767,"identity":"1d5eaca8-fc98-4ec7-9e5f-85a47358c00e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 11:19:56","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":308469,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePrincipal Component Analysis (PCA) plot of the first two components. AM = adult male; AF = adult female; SAM = sub-adult male; JUV = juvenile; INF = infant.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6271602/v1/3af5044d5c5b77091e7cefa0.jpg"},{"id":81032051,"identity":"89321d6a-bf63-41ab-9c0c-72a5397208dd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 11:27:56","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":179955,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eObserved frequencies of social behaviors across sex-age classes. Behaviors include active grooming (AGR), passive grooming (PGR), agonistic behavior (AGO), scent marking (SCM), vocalization (VOC), and play (PLAY). Sex- age classes: adult males (AM), sub-adult males (SAM), adult females (AF), juveniles (JUV), and infants (INF). Letters indicate significant statistical differences between classes: (a) JUV vs. AM, SAM, and AF; (b) INF vs. AM, SAM, and AF. All categories were analyzed using Fisher’s test (p \u0026lt; 0.05).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6271602/v1/ce74bf0e7c76a4b776b60ebf.jpg"},{"id":81032055,"identity":"c8a3c561-2ee7-431e-b8b9-55d81d001c25","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-21 11:27:56","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":187505,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eObserved frequencies of spacing behaviors across sex-age classes. Behaviors include upper vertical distribution (UVD), lower vertical distribution (LVD), inter-individual distances A (ID A), B (ID B), and C (ID C), directional locomotion (DL), and non-directional locomotion (UDL). Sex-age classes: adult males (AM), sub-adult males (SAM), adult females (AF), juveniles (JUV), and nfants (INF). Letters indicate significant statistical differences: (a) AM vs. SAM, JUV, and INF; (b) AF vs. SAM, JUV, and INF; (c) JUV vs. SAM and INF; (d) AF vs. AM, SAM, and INF; (e) JUV vs. AM, SAM, and INF; (f) AF vs. AM, SAM, JUV, and INF; (g) JUV vs. AM and SAM; (h) INF vs. AM and SAM. ID A, ID B, ID C, and UDL were analyzed using Spearman’s test (p \u0026lt; 0.05), while all other categories were analyzed using Fisher’s test (p \u0026lt; 0.05).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6271602/v1/b84338d4f6d4b88d012799f5.jpg"},{"id":87111720,"identity":"254a6c67-8b84-42f5-a593-19dbf673dc73","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-19 18:57:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1819390,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Fermoselietal.manuscript.2025.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6271602/v1_covered_ffa08624-6c36-4569-bcd0-642aaff5bf93.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Social Dynamics and Activity Patterns of the Endangered Alouatta caraya in a Fragmented Cerrado Forest in Southeastern Brazil","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Howlers’ monkeys, social behavior, fragmentation, Endangered, Brazilian- savannah, Cerrado","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6271602/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6271602/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"We studied a group of howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in Dumont, São Paulo, Brazil, inhabiting a highly fragmented 9.88-ha riparian forest within the Cerrado biome, affected by agriculture, cattle ranching, and clay extraction. This critical scenario poses a local extinction risk, as highlighted in São Paulo’s Red Book. Additionally, this species has been suffering from yellow fever epizootics and, in the near future, may also face extinction due to inbreeding. While their folivorous diet aids adaptation to degraded areas, the role of social relationships in isolated groups remains understudied. Using the scan sampling method, we recorded 30 behavioral categories and classified individuals into five sex-age groups: adult male (AM), adult female (AF), sub-adult male (SAM), juvenile (JUV), and infant (INF). Behavioral patterns were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) to identify social functions within the group. Despite habitat fragmentation, the monkeys' behavior aligned with findings from studies in conserved areas. AFs showed higher frequencies of intra-group maintenance behaviors, suggesting a matrifocal structure, while AMs exhibited dominant and territorial behaviors. Only JUVs and INFs engaged in play, and SAMs occupied the group’s periphery. AM territoriality may also contribute to group cohesion, warranting further study. A division of roles between AFs and AMs was evident. 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