Abstract
Five primate species were observed in an 83 hectare study site in northern Colombia. They wereAlouatta seniculus, Aotus trivirgatus, Ateles belzebuth hybridus, Cebus albifrons, andSaguinus leucopus. Average group size for the four diurnal species ranged from 5.3 individuals per sighting forCebus to 3.3 forAlouatta andAteles. BecauseCebus utilized regenerating forest, mature stands as well as cultivated sectors, they were able to use 30% more of the study site than the larger cebids. Monkey sightings along transects peaked at 0600–0800 and 1500–1800 and were lowest between 0900–1300 for the four diurnal cebids. The hourly rate of sighting the large cebids was 2–3 times greater for the point method than the transect method, but was less forCebus andSaguinus. However, consistently higher crude density estimates were obtained by the transect method than by the point method. As expected, there was less discrepancy between census methods for the large cebids which regularly utilized the upper canopy. The point method was barely 20% as effective as the transect method for estimating crude densities ofCebus andSaguinus. Factors influencing the effectiveness of the two census techniques as monkey detection and visibility, climatic conditions, and length of study are discussed. Recommendations for improving censusing effectiveness are listed.
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Green, K.M. Primate censusing in northern Colombia: A comparison of two techniques. Primates 19, 537–550 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02373315
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02373315