Key tree species for the golden-headed lion tamarin and implications for shade-cocoa management in southern Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

The golden-headed lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas occurs in the Atlantic forest of southern Bahia, Brazil, where shade-cocoa agroforestry (known as cabruca) predominates. The economic decline of the cocoa industry has caused many landowners to convert cabruca into cattle pasture or diversify their plantations with other crops. These and prior anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat fragmentation are threatening lion tamarin persistence. For some lion tamarin groups, cabruca comprises a large part of their home range. Considering these factors, the maintenance of the biological diversity in cabruca favorable to golden-headed lion tamarins is of considerable interest to their long-term survival. Here we identify plant species that provide food and sleeping sites for the lion tamarins and examine their occurrence in cabruca plantations, in order to investigate alternatives for conservation management practices that benefit both lion tamarins and cabruca. We determined the total number of trees and the frequency of individuals and species used for food and sleeping sites by lion tamarins in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, from 1998 to 2006. We used this information to compare the richness and frequency of use across habitats (cabruca, mature and secondary) and to create a ranking index considering various components of a tree species' utility to the lion tamarins. Lion tamarins used 155 tree species, 93 for food and 93 for sleeping sites. Fifty-five species were ranked as 'Extremely Valuable,' eight as 'Valuable' and 92 as 'Of Interest.' Of 48 families, Myrtaceae and Sapotaceae were used the most. Cabruca contained fewer individual trees used by lion tamarins, but the highest frequency of use per tree compared with other habitats, indicating the large influence of single trees in these plantations. Using the key tree species identified in our study in the management of cabruca would be of considerable benefit to the long-term survival of lion tamarins. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 The Zoological Society of London.