Arboreal route navigation in a Neotropical mammal: energetic implications associated with tree monitoring and landscape attributes

Black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in Palenque National Park, Mexico, employ route navigation as an energetically efficient strategy to optimize foraging success. The study found that these primates use established routes more frequently when they increase visual access to food resources and avoid costly landscape features like steep slopes or canopy gaps. Highly used route segments (utilized at least four times) were also associated with elevated areas, particularly under conditions of reduced visual access to food, suggesting a balance between energy expenditure and foraging efficiency. The research, conducted over 12 months, mapped the movement paths of five monkey groups using linear mixed models to analyze the influence of food distribution and landscape attributes on route selection.

de Guinea, M., Estrada, A., Nekaris, K. A.-I., & Van Belle, S. (2019). Arboreal route navigation in a Neotropical mammal: energetic implications associated with tree monitoring and landscape attributes. Movement Ecology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-019-0187-z