Measuring Microhabitat Temperature in Arboreal Primates: A Comparison of On-Animal and Stationary Approaches
Abstract
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Arboreal primates actively navigate
a complex thermal environment that exhibits spatial, daily, and seasonal temperature
changes. Thus, temperature measurements from stationary recording devices in or near
a forest likely do not reflect the thermal microenvironments that primates actually
experience. To better understand the thermal variation primates encounter, we attached
automated temperature loggers to anklets worn by free-ranging mantled howling monkeys
(Alouatta palliata) to record near-animal ambient temperatures. We compared these
measures to conventional, stationary temperature measurements taken from within the
forest, in nearby open fields, and at a remote weather station 38.6 km from the field
site. We also measured temperatures across vertical forest heights and assessed the
effects of wind speed, solar radiation, rain, and vapor pressure on primate subcutaneous
temperatures (collected via implanted loggers). Ambient temperatures at measurement
sites commonly used by researchers differed from those experienced by animals. Moreover,
these differences changed between seasons, indicating dynamic shifts in thermal environment
occur through space and time. Temperatures increased with height in the forest, with
statistically significant, albeit low magnitude, differences between vertical distances
of one meter. Near-animal temperatures showed that monkeys selected relatively warmer
microhabitats during nighttime temperature lows and relatively cooler microhabitats
during the day. Lastly, the thermal variables wind speed, solar radiation, vapor pressure,
and rain were statistically associated with primate subcutaneous temperatures. Our
data indicate that the temperatures arboreal primates experience are not well reflected
by stationary devices. Attaching automated temperature loggers to animals provides
a useful tool for more directly assessing primate microhabitat use.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16141Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s10764-016-9917-xPublication Info
Thompson, CL; Williams, SH; Glander, KE; & Vinyard, CJ (2016). Measuring Microhabitat Temperature in Arboreal Primates: A Comparison of On-Animal
and Stationary Approaches. International Journal of Primatology, 37(4-5). pp. 495-517. 10.1007/s10764-016-9917-x. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16141.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Kenneth Earl Glander
Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology
Primate ecology and social organization: the interaction between feeding patterns
and social structure; evolutionary development of optimal group size and composition;
factors affecting short and long-term demographic changes in stable groups; primate
use of regenerating forests.

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