Interspecific association between two primate species in an urban park

Abstract

As with Amazonian primates, mixed associations between species in the Atlantic Forest are also influenced by ecological factors. However, Atlantic Forest primates may face additional challenges, such as isolation pressures and fragmentation of forest habitats, which may increase the frequency of these arrangements. The main of this work is to report a sympatry with possible interaction between individuals of two species of primates of the Pitheciidae and Callitrichidae families: Callicebus nigrifrons (Spix 1823) and Callithrix aurita (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1812) in an urban park in the south of the state of Minas Gerais. Individuals were observed interacting during foraging and displacement. The association of individuals of the two species can be explained by the low quality of the forest fragment, as it can increases the chances of obtaining food resources and configures a dilution strategy against predator attacks.