Breeding Season 2011

Our 2011 breeding season kicked off in typical fashion with the welcoming of new field assistants and departing of old ones. A former field assistant asked on her Facebook status relatively recently whether or not goodbyes ever get easier. My response “NEVER!” While the norm for those of us involved in field work or travel generally, I’ve never found it easy. It's interesting how we bond with fellow field workers even after a short period of time; often developing a closer relationship than with those we’ve known for years. Perhaps attributed to the strangers in a strange land effect; sharing of odd discomforts (pinhead sized ticks in unwelcomed places, countless mosquito bites, tummy bugs, etc.)? Whatever the cause something funny, as unusual, happens to us in these circumstances.

This season we said goodbye to Sharon Schillewaert, a 6 month veteran of the project. I am grateful and we are all fortunate to have had her with us the first 10 days or so of the field season. She was invaluable in helping me train the new crew and also pitched in to help them navigate the metropolis of Santa Cruz. We wish her well on her new adventure, for she departed for Spain to work on a bird project just a week after leaving Bolivia. She certainly has a passion for field work. Many thanks! You’re certainly missed.

Sharon was replaced by 2 highly competent and motivated field biologists, Meagan (Meg) Selvig and Kimberly (Kimber) Banta. They are still in Bolivia and working hard on the project. In addition to the normal routine, they have taken aboard many extras like creating a titi monkey education sheet for the park guides at Yvaga Guazu, working on independent research project on titi sleeping sites, creating a botanical guide and surveying our new field site, Porongo (more on this in an upcoming blog).

Yuvinka Gareca, a well-respected Bolivian entomologist and dear friend, resumed her position as project manager. She is invaluable in helping and guiding me on the logistics of the project (e.g. permits, visas, transportation) and in organizing the “extras” (botanical training for the field assistants, Spanish lessons, etc.).  Thank you, Yuvy. It’s wonderful to have you back!

The field work, at least my stint of it, progressed slowly. Orientation to the 2 field sites went well but that was immediately followed by a cold, rainy spell which delayed training for nearly a week. Field work was once again delayed by Carnaval. Carnaval is the festival that takes place the eight days preceding Ash Wednesday. While generally a religious festival in the highlands it is a huge street party in Santa Cruz where the spraying of paint is one of the main features. For me the most exciting thing about Carnaval is the gathering of costumes. This year, in order to avoid the body painting, I opted to only participate in our Carnaval parrillada. While a lively and exciting event it does little to advance field work. Most normal operations shut down and transportation is difficult if not impossible to find (taxi drivers are drunk or hung over from the night before). We survived Carnaval, however, and the next few weeks proved fruitful. Meg and Kimber took up regular follows of their assigned titi groups, GE and G2, and I moved ahead with playback experiments.

Overall my visit was a success and my dedicated crew have stayed on to run things in my absence. Kimber and Meg's stay in Bolivia is sadly coming to an end soon. I'm sure they'll fill us in on monkey business before they leave though.

Here are some of the non-monkey highlights of my trip:

Our first day in the field

Sharon preparing for Carnaval

Post shopping celebration

Steffen and Yuvy enjoying our Carnaval Parrillada

Daniel at his best

Sushi preparation for Oscar night

Meet Our Monkeys: GS

This group of titi monkeys inhabits one part of Jardin Botanico. The second, somewhat bigger and less disturbed, study area of the project. 5 primate species range at this site: a group of capuchin monkeys, a group of howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya), night monkeys, marmosets and at least 8 (or more Kim??) titi monkey groups. GS is one of them. GS is special. I guess every observer would say that about his/her study subjects but it´s true for GS. Well, I will come back to that a little later. For now I would like to introduce them to you. When I started following them in September 2009 the group consisted of the breeding pair Hobs (the male) and Margo (the female) and their subadult son Evil Knievel. They didn´t behave like the other groups. I was told they usually hang out together but these guys did not really. I could either find the shy Margo alone or Hobs wandering around with Evil Knievel. One very special feature of Margo brought the name to the group GS, where S stands not for special but rather for short tail. This refers to Margo´s stump tail. Honestly we don´t have a clue how she lost it (supposedly capuchins!!??) but it´s gone. This should have several severe consequences for her daily life but she handles it quite well. She can jump as far and high as her male and does not show any shortcoming- well, maybe one. Unfortunately she is not able to enforce her pair-bond with Hobs using tailtwinning like it is costume in this species. But it makes group identification sooo much easier for us.

Margo- or short tail how she might be known to many

Hobs

Evil Knievel looking evil

Ok, but enough to that. In October everything changed. All groups in both study sites already had had their babies and I was sure my group would not have one this breeding season. But one day I saw something weird in the lap of Margo and it was a tiny naked tail. Charlie was born and from that day on mom and dad spent all their time together- more like the other groups. The first day Margo carried him around but already on the second day Hobs took over and turned out to be a great dad. He carried the tiny Charlie around his neck and gave him away only for nursing and cleaning purposes. Evil Knievel was also heavily interested in the new group member and like a typical big brother might do he started pulling Charlie´s tail on the day he was born.

Evil Knviel pulling Charlie's tail

Hobs carrying Charlie and Evil Knievel

There is one more event that made the group special for me. I was following them in the morning and everything seemed quite normal- just another day. I was with Hobs, Charlie and Evil Knievel when I saw Margo in about 10m. But oh...Margo was not alone, she had another male on top of her and they were mating!! And that in front of Hobs carrying their baby. Well, let´s talk about the definition of monogamy again. When Hobs started moving towards them Margo decided to better get rid of the “other” guy. They chased him and his group (there was another female and a subadult) through almost their whole territory and both groups vocalized like crazy for over 2 hours. After this exciting incident I saw this group several times in GS territory and was told from my successor Jack that their territory seemed to shrink over time due to the pressure of the neighboring groups.

Fur Rubbing in Callicebus: A Personal Account

It was a normal day in the field at Yvaga Guazu-well, mostly. It had rained the day before, so the mosquitoes were a little worse than normal. However, after visiting Jardin Botanico, I was not in a position to complain about mosquito densities. I was following G4 for the day which I had been doing for about a month and a half at that point, so I was finally in the swing of things (and by that, I mean I could finally locate them, identify individuals and record their behavior without losing them or falling on my face!). We were crossing the road from their main patch of forest over into the mango forest (a favorite snacking point at this time since the mangoes were starting to run out) when I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. Yuvinka had stopped on a plant, bitten off the end of a leaf, and started rubbing it on her chest and arms. Now, thanks to a class I had taken a few months prior to leaving for Bolivia, I was well versed in the behaviors of capuchin monkey-one of which sounded similar to what I was seeing here! I remembered references to them using plants and insects to repel mosquitoes. The behavior also serves a social function in capuchin monkeys, leading to frenzied rubbing events or orgies.  As I watched this behavior, I knew that I was witnessing fur rubbing!

Fur rubbing entails rubbing an object (plant, arthropods, scented materials) on the body. It can serve many functions including repelling insects and other pests, providing treatment for wounds and infections, increasing sexual attractiveness, signaling status, masking their scent and deterring predators. It has been seen in capuchins, owl monkeys, spider monkeys and lemurs, but had not been reported in titi monkeys Given that this was the rainy season and no one was wounded or mating (and the mosquitoes were heaviest), it seems that Yuvi was using the plant as a natural insecticide.

Not thinking of this event as anything that major (other than a cool behavior that I hadn’t seen before), my main concern was on how to record the behavior on my data sheet. It wasn’t eating, or resting really. She wasn’t interacting with any other monkeys. I was stumped, so I made a note of the time, location, monkey involved and continued to follow them for the day. Later that evening, I sent an e-mail to Kim asking where she would like me to record it or if she wanted me to make a new category. Kim, being much wiser in the ways of the titi, instantly recognized this behavior as something that no one had recorded from this species before! While we knew titis were clever, we had no idea up to this point that they could use plants as insecticides. With that realization, the hunt to figure out what was really going on began.

Over the course of the next month and a half, we learned a decent amount. I not only saw Yuvinka fur rub again, but I saw Casanova, Yuvinka’s mate, and Samba, her oldest offspring, join her in doing it! I was later able to video record Casanova using an entire branch of leaves and rubbing his chest with it  (see below). Having observed the behavior on several occasions, it was necessary to then identify the type of plant they were using. For this, we obtained the assistance of Juan Carlos Catari, a Bolivian biologist, who identified the species as Piper tuberculatum. Not only was this a closely related species to the plants used by capuchins, but chemical analysis suggests that is plant has insecticidal and anti-fungal properties!

This experience helps to bring to life many of the amazing life lessons you can learn being a field assistant for this project. First, titis will always surprise you. They do things you never expect, display intelligence beyond what many of us thought capable of their species, and are also very endearing. Second, these projects only work because you are part of a great team and support network. Without the help of Kim, Yuvinka, Vicente, and others in the house, this action would have just been a little side-note in my field journal and not turned into the adventure of discovery that really made my experience with G4. Finally, sometimes it pays to take a step back and take it all in. When running through the forest dodging roots and branches, we can often lose sight of the big picture. Take time to reflect on what you are doing, the opportunity you have, and the great support you have while there. Reflect on WHY you are there, what this information can do to further both our knowledge on these amazing monkeys but also on the impact that our species has on all of nature. At the end of the day, THAT is why many of you will come to the project and THAT is what you will take with you when you return home!

Wind of change

Hello everybody, my Name is Daniel, I study landscape ecology in Münster, Germany. The last 3 months I spent in Santa Cruz to collect data for my diploma thesis. Its about the vocalization of the Bolivian Grey Tit, but more about that below.
One of the most remarkable phase during the typical day of a titi usually starts between 6 and 9 in the morning.
The first family starts to sing a duett, so the adults and sometimes the older offspring start to vocalize together to point out which is their territory. And this gives the signal to all the other groups in Yvaga Guazu. Other groups start to vocalize and a small research site like Yvaga Guazu can become pretty loud.


G2 in action

Due the small and often overlapping territories in Yvaga Guazu different groups have different opinions about which part of the forrest belong to them, so the vocalization rate is much higher as in bigger research sites like for example the botanical garden in Santa Cruz with its round about 180ha.
My project lead me to Yvaga Guazu to find out how wind and the noise it produces influences the vocalization of the titis. Windy conditions influence the transmission of the monkeys calls, so it´s more difficult to transfer information to other families or to other members of their own group. So do the call louder? Do they call more often? Or do they modify their frequencies?
That´s what I tried to find out during the past three months when you could see me in field armed with micropohne and recorder.
Today I just finished my last day of field work and in a while the analyse will show how big the effects of the wind are.
So far I can say that it´s just awesome to hear the monkeys in the field. As the pictures show it´s not only about calling, it´s a pretty impressive performance.

GE making a statement

Historias del mono Titi

Si miramos detenidamente la foto del abrazo cariñoso del macho y la hembra, haciendo unión de sus colas, nos hace soñar, desde cuando éramos niños, en el romanticismo de “vivir felices para siempre”, pero no todo es lo que parece. La vida del mono titi….es una novela con muchas historias por contar!!! Ellos viven en familia (al igual como nosotros) compuesto por mama, papa e hijos (hasta 5 miembros). Pero debajo de ese ambiente monógamo, se esconde como en las sociedades humanas los deseos de procrear con otro bien dotado vecino que se encuentra de repente y sin que se dé cuenta la pareja. Todo es emoción!!! Hay peleas entre familias vecinas, disputando el territorio y hay asesinatos de los hijos por sospecha de infidelidad, etc.…

También nos muestran la unión que hay dentro de la familia, mediante la unión de sus colas; o la unión de la pareja, mediante el canto a dúo, diciendo que este es nuestro territorio, o durante la fase de reproducción, donde el macho le da cortos besitos en la boca a la hembra, probando si ella está lista para él. El instinto maternal y paternal que aparece en el nacimiento de la cría y la reacción de los hermanos hacia el recién nacido, es todo una novedad etc. Además se ve el diario vivir de la familia de cómo usan los recursos del bosque para alimentarse y protegerse, como el uso de Piper como repelente de mosquitos. Todas esas historias y muchas más se pueden descubrir cuando se observan el diario vivir de estos monitos pequeños…..

Cada día, después de una larga jornada observando monos, llegan los Moneros a la casa, acobardados de los coros celestiales de los mosquitos, sudorosos por el calor húmedo propio de la región, entusiasmados por las nuevas historias que vieron en las familias de los monos y contentos de saber que le espera una piscina para refrescarse de la larga jornada en la Quinta Totaises.

Siempre viene la charla sobre lo que se vio: Fulanita engaño con Sutanito y que Menganito esposo de Sutanita, mato al hijito de Fulanita….etc…..todo acerca del último capítulo visto de la vida de las familias del mono titi…..y la ansiedad crece curiosos de saber como será el desenlace en el siguiente capítulo, para la mañana siguiente…..

Si quieres ser testigo de las historias de los monos, ven a ser parte de nuestro grupo los Moneros! Te Esperamos!

Meet Our Monkeys: GN

Inhabiting the small, but prime real estate between the territories of GE and G4 (roughly bound in by Sendero A, Kapora Trail, SenC, and SenD), you’ll find Group N, the titi family I had the privilege of studying in the fall field season of 2009.  Though shy and less vocal than their neighbors, I found this family to be interesting in its own right. Since the project first began to track the group in 2008, we have recorded the dispersal of their eldest offspring and the brief stay of a stranger individual (more on that later), as well as three births. The family unit currently consists of the mated pair, Carmen and Daniel, and their offspring, Kuara, Jasy, and Esperanzo.

GN Female: Carmen

Not very fond of outside company

As the head female of the family, and one who prefers to leave the child-rearing responsibilities to her mate, Carmen is the most vigilant of the group, and the one I found most difficult to be habituated. Naturally, she is my favorite. With an impressive swagger, hairs standing on end as she alerts her family of danger, Carmen can be an intimidating sight for a monkey of mere 12-inch stature. Even assuming a calm posture, her body is stocky when compared with G4’s slender Yuvinka, making it easy to tell the two matriarchs apart. Other distinguishing characteristics include deep-set eyes, and a scar on her left brow that lends her a disgruntled appearance (Note: this may no longer be useful, as her fur has likely filled in by now).

Carmen is usually found some distance apart from the rest of the group, though she remains attentive to their activity and intervenes when necessary. Such was the case when Daniel one day grew frustrated over efforts to wean Jasy off his back. The heavy weanling refused to locomote on his own, and when a fight broke out between the two, Carmen stepped in to physically reprimand Daniel, thus ending the scuffle and allowing father and son to reconcile with a brief grooming session.

GN Male: Daniel

Hanging out with subadult Kuara

GN Male Daniel is quite the handsome fellow. He can be distinguished from G4’s Casanova by the light gray grizzle on his forehead and at the bottom edge of his mane, while his prominent red coloration distinguishes him from GE’s Vicente. He has a cautious but calm demeanor, and is almost always found with his offspring in tow.  

GN Offspring: Kuara, October 2009

Kuara, November 2010 (photo: Daniel Kruemberg)

Kuara is currently the oldest of the family’s three offspring. His appearance has changed dramatically since I first observed him back in 2009 as a scrawny subadult. I am told that Jasy, who was born in August of that same year, and who I watched mature from an infant to a weanling, is now almost a subadult himself! It is amazing to see how quickly these monkeys grow. The newest addition to the GN family is Esperanzo, who holds title to the first Yvaga Guazu titi baby to be born last autumn in 2010.

GN Offspring: Jasy, December 2009

Jasy, November 2010 (photo: Daniel Kruemberg)

GN Offspring: Esperanzo, January 2011 (photo: Daniel Kruemberg)

 And now for the mystery… E (simply short for “Extra individual”) joined the GN family for just over two weeks beginning in late October 2009. Tagging along with the group, occasionally participating in grooming, feeding, and resting sessions (though never tail twining-- a titi bonding behavior whose human equivalent is hand holding), E was ousted shortly after being lightly wounded during a battle in the high canopy over Kapora Trail, a fight initiated by GN’s Carmen. While this may be another case of a dispersing young adult attempting to integrate into a neighboring group (as it was with G3’s Casanova and G4), it is possible that E is GN’s eldest offspring who, unable to successfully disperse, had returned to its natal group. This is a problem that in later years may become more common at our Yvaga Guazu field site. Because the forest fragment is so small, and is surrounded on all sides by rangeland and city infrastructure, there is little territory left unclaimed by the various growing titi groups inside the park. Dispersing young adults will have to fight it out to gain acceptance into an existing group, or risk going at it alone. 

Mystery Member: E, October 2009

GN Family tail-twining in the rain

Clues that make me think E is a returning offspring: With a very similar likeness to Carmen, E is bulky and gray overall, with only a slightly more orange forehead than the female. I also found the individual well socialized, as if E had experienced habituation before. As no other YG study group was missing a member at that time, there is a strong possibility that E is the GN subadult a previous field assistant had first recorded of the group back in 2008. Fortunately we can test for DNA from fecal samples collected of E and of the elder GN offspring to see if it is indeed the same individual. As of now, we are still waiting to hear on the results.  

The Stories Behind the Names:

Our human friends, Daniel and Carmen

-Camen and Daniel are named after a pair of professional photographers who have made their home at La Quinta. Over the course of four years, they have taken beautiful wildlife photographs for Bolivia’s national parks, and have worked with local conservation organizations to showcase the country’s unique biodiversity. I was lucky enough to see a photo exhibition put on by FAN-Bolivia right in the downtown Santa Cruz plaza, of which both Carmen and Daniel (as well as a couple other of our talented house residents!) took part. See the online version here: www.cebem.org/cmsfiles/articulos/biodiversidad_bolivia.pdf. Check out more of their work here: http://www.fotonatura.org/galerias/12320/

2009 FAN-Bolivia photo exhibition in the plaza: Celebrating 20 years of conservation work

My favorite image from the exhibit, Daniel's birds in the Patanal

-Kuara and Jasy are named after a pair of mischievous siblings from an old Guarani legend. In one version, the brothers, having grown tired of their adventures on earth, one day sought to touch that expansive ceiling that hung so far above them— that is, the sky. At this early point in time, there was no difference between day and night. The sky was white, and everything was grey, and life was difficult for humans. Undaunted, the clever siblings shot a series of arrows upward, one by one, until it formed a long rope with which they could climb. Their father, who had created them and was watching them from above, was quite impressed with their antics. When little Jasy, who had climbed first, reached out to touch the sky, he was immediately transformed into the moon. In trying to rescue his brother, the elder Kuara reached out and in that moment was transformed into the sun. The brothers have chased each other across the sky ever since, though neither one will ever catch up to the other. It is thanks to this pair that humankind can now see the transformed sky and appreciate the colorful and complex world that surrounds us.

Our little moon and sun

-Esperanzo was named by Sharon, a field assistant on the current titi monkey field team. She was present during the births of the 2010 babies, and spent some time following GN. In Spanish, “Esperanzo” means, “I give hope”—a lovely and fitting name, don’t you think?

Meet Our Monkeys: GE

Now it’s time for you to get acquainted with another one of our monkey families in Yvaga Guazu, group GE. This group is currently comprised of four individuals, Vicente the group patriarch, Elena the matriarch, Pedro a juvenile, and Denito the resident infant who was just born this past year. GE is one of the newest groups followed by the project, that has joined the ranks of well established families like G4 and G3. The group occupies a territory very close to the entrance of the park, and is therefore probably one of the most visible groups as far as tourists and park staff are concerned.

Main Road at the front of Yvaga Guazu

GE is a very recognizable group as all of the members are very gray in their coloring, even the male Vicente. This contrasts them with another group that shares some overlapping territory at the front of the park, G1. You’ll know when you see a member of G1 as opposed to GE, as not only will they probably be more fearful, and run in the direction of the chicken farm, but they will also be more reddish in color than any member of GE.

The shape of GE’s territory can be described as a large backwards “L.” The family occupies much of the front portion of the park, and has been spotted vocalizing and feeding in trees that are no fewer than 20 meters from the restaurant. When in the left front area of the park, GE usually moves no further back than the small lagoon, however they have been spotted past this on occasion, in a small ficus tree grove along the park’s left hand fence line. The family crosses the main road toward the housing complex using several familiar routes, the most common being the palm trees directly across from the guesthouse. The above mentioned area I consider the bottom of the “L,” and the side would be where the group was most commonly found, along Avenida flor de Azahar. In the time I spent with, GE I would say that 7 out of 10 times they could be found somewhere along this stretch of their territory, moving and feeding leisurely just outside or along the right hand fence line of the park. The family would generally go no further than the restrooms located just before the soccer field, but loved to frolic behind them in low lying trees. Here Vicente, Pedro, and Denito would commonly engage in a frisky game of tag, where Denito could safely explore, knowing that the ground was located only a short meter below him.

Fortunately, for a beginner like myself in the field of primate behavior, this charming little family was quite distinct in personality. While initially it was difficult to keep all four members in my line of sight I eventually recognized each individual based on their interactions, size, and personality. Because all the members are so gray, initially telling the male and female apart may be difficult especially if Denito is no longer piggybacking on ol’ dad. One feature that helped me to identify Vicente regularly was a small pink bald spot on the left side of his muzzle just above his nostrils. This may have been a transitory indicator and was likely a battle scar that has faded away now. Otherwise, Vicente is redder along his stomach and legs than any other member, and also has the subtle “mane” that distinguishes males of the species. Elena and Pedro don dark “masks” around their eyes and prominent light gray, almost white markings around these which enhance their cheeks and the area above their noses (Pedro’s is more distinct and lighter…for now).

Fearless Elena

Just hanging out, Elena (below) and Pedro (above)

Elena is the most outgoing and fearless of the group, and would often times come as close as one meter from me while feeding. The indifference she shows while being in the midst of a human presence has led Kim to believe that she may be the offspring of a previously habituated group that other titi assistants have worked with in the past (hopefully we can determine her family tree with genetic samples that have been collected). Elena was also distinct as she, more than any other member of the family, was constantly feeding. This was presumably because she was not only nourishing herself during the autumn of 2010, but also Denito. Pedro was the second most habituated monkey of the group, and unlike Elena who seemed to take no interest in me, he was constantly torn between feelings of curiosity and fear. Usually curiosity won out, and Pedro would come as close to me as his mother, and would stare, cocking his head curiously to the side like a dog. During the time I followed GE, Vicente was the most reserved of the group and kept the greatest distance from the observer. I assume this stems from his protective instincts during a time in which infant Denito was most vulnerable, and relied mostly upon Vicente for transportation and protection. As far as movement and proximity, Elena often decides when the group will move on and leads the way. She can sometimes be found alone several trees away from the group, but stays nearby. In contrast, Vicente takes up the rear of the group and is very cautious, checking for anything unusual before he moves from a familiar tree onto an open path.

While this group likely is confronted by human presence more on a daily basis than any other group in the park I found it difficult at first to view them regularly and at a close proximity. While it seems counter intuitive, I believe it may be more difficult to gain the trust of this group based on the fact that they are constantly bombarded by noisy groups of school children and men with weed whackers on a daily basis. I believe GE has developed an interesting strategy to cope with living in the area most frequented by humans, which has thus far served them well. Generally GE when traveling long distances or taking part in any activities that leave them vulnerable (play, grooming, etc.) within their territory, spend much time both along the fence lines or just outside of the park boundaries. They also seem to spend much of their time in trees that are taller than those in the back area, which is composed of secondary growth forest.


Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working with GE:
Disadvantages
-Groups of school children that pass through the park almost daily at 10am and 4pm are almost always a good way to lose sight of the group, so be extra vigilant during these times!
-Park staff can also sometimes cause the group to spook and run when they otherwise wouldn’t; One extremely memorable incident occurred when two men were hacking down an stump within 10 meters of the family with a chain saw…not conducive to observing the group behave naturally
-Taller trees which provide a safe haven from visitors, at the front of the park prevent one from getting as close and personal to GE, as you might be able to with groups in the back of the park

Some of the park's spectacular flora

Advantages
-Located in the beautifully landscaped area of Yvaga Guazu, GE’s territory is filled with constantly blooming flowers and a diverse variety of flora
-GE’s territory is very open, so there is no underbrush to crawl through, and no paths to cut
-This makes following the group exceptionally easy and losing them once you find them next to impossible
-GE is the only group we study at the front of the park, so confusing these guys with other groups is impossible, that’s a big plus when you’re just starting out!

Just another lazy day at Yvaga Guazu