title: A new distribution range of Ateles chamek (Humboldt 1812) in an ecotone of three biomes in the Paraguay River Basin.
abstract: Historical records of Ateles chamek (black-faced black spider monkey) suggest that the species range extends further south of the known species distribution, within an ecotonal region between the Amazonia, Cerrado and Pantanal biomes in Brazil. Ecotones are zones of habitat transition with high species richness that remain undersampled as conservationists often prioritize biodiversity hotspots. Thus, distribution ranges may be inaccurately measured when species occur in ecotonal zones. We report the first precise records of A. chamek in 24 new localities surveyed in the ecotonal zone of the Upper Paraguay River Basin, and we present subgroup encounter rates in the 11 largest patches (>70 ha) along 207 km of the line transects surveyed. The new records represent an expansion of the distribution of A. chamek approximately 200 km to the south, increasing the known extent of its occurrence by 10.8%. Local tributaries may not be barriers for spider monkeys, which are able to swim and cross slow-moving rivers. However, the dry forests of the Cerrado and the flooded areas of the Pantanal, formed by grassland and scarce trees, may be habitat barriers for A. chamek. The populations living in this ecotonal zone are relatively abundant (1.1-6.67 subgroup sightings/10 km) compared to the heavily hunted continuous forests of northern Amazonia. Furthermore, these values are similar to those for other Ateles spp. inhabiting forests with low or no hunting pressure. We highlight the need for specific conservation action to protect the spider monkeys living in these landscapes, which are threatened by agriculture expansion.
authors.affiliation: Programas de Pós Graduações em Ciências Ambientais e Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Mastozoologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, 78280-000, Brazil. msantosfilho@gmail.com.|Centro de Pesquisa de Limnologia, Biodiversidade e Etnobiologia do Pantanal, Av. Santos Dumont, s/n, Cidade Universitária, Bloco II, Cáceres, MT, CEP 78.200-000, Brazil. msantosfilho@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Manoel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dos Santos-Filho
authors.affiliation: Programas de Pós Graduações em Ciências Ambientais e Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Mastozoologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, 78280-000, Brazil.|Programa de Pós Graduação em Genética, Biodiversidade e Conservação, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Jequié, Bahia, 46206-510, Brazil.
authors.forename: Christine Steiner São
authors.initials: CSS
authors.lastname: Bernardo
authors.affiliation: Programas de Pós Graduações em Ciências Ambientais e Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Mastozoologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, 78280-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Henry Willian
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Van der Laan Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Programas de Pós Graduações em Ciências Ambientais e Ecologia e Conservação, Laboratório de Mastozoologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, 78280-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Almério Câmara
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Gusmão
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Primatas Brasileiros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Brasília, Distrito Federal, 58010-480, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jerusalinsky
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Estudos da Amazônia Meridional, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Humanas e Sociais, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Sinop, Mato Grosso, 78557-267, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo Rodrigues
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Canale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D053819:Atelinae; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D010239:Paraguay; D045483:Rivers
keywords: Amazonia; Black-faced black spider monkey; Cerrado; Geographic distribution expansion; Occurrence extent; Pantanal