Temporal variation in black-caiman-nest predation in varzea of central Brazilian amazonia.

On the Amazon floodplain, the main predators of black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) eggs are jaguars (Panthera onca), tegu lizards (Tupinambis teguixim), capuchin monkeys (Sapajus macrocephalus) and humans (Homo sapiens). In this study, we investigated the relationship between predator attacks on nests and incubation period, and evaluated the influence of initial predation on subsequent predation in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. We also evaluated the influence of presence of females near the nests and manipulation of nests on the occurrence of attacks. We compared results from data obtained with camera traps and vestiges left by predators on estimates of rates of predation by different predators. Egg predation was recorded in 32% of the 658 black caiman nests monitored during two years. Our results suggest that the probability of predation on black caiman eggs is relatively constant throughout the incubation period and that predation on eggs was lower when adults, presumably females, were present. Careful opening of nests and handling of eggs did not increase the number of attacks on black caiman nests. Nest opening by a predator appeared to increase the chances of a subsequent attack because most of the attacks on nests occurred soon after a predator first opened the nest. However, attacks by another species of predator do not appear to be necessary to initiate attacks by any other species of predator. Results based on camera traps and vestiges differed, but use of vestiges was adequate for identifying the principal predators on eggs in black caiman nests and, in many circumstances, the vestiges may be better for estimating predation by humans. In this study, opening nests and handling eggs did not increase the number of attacks on black caiman nests.

Tool use by Amazonian capuchin monkeys during predation on caiman nests in a high-productivity forest.

Descriptions of new tool-use events are important for understanding how ecological context may drive the evolution of tool use among primate traditions. Here, we report a possible case of the first record of tool use by wild Amazonian capuchin monkeys (Sapajus macrocephalus). The record was made by a camera trap, while we were monitoring caiman nest predation at Mamirauá Reserve in Central Amazonia. An adult individual was registered in a bipedal posture, apparently using a branch as a shovel to dig eggs out of a nest. Caiman eggs are frequently depredated by opportunistic animals, such as the capuchin monkeys. As the Mamirauá Reserve is covered by a high-productivity forest, and caiman eggs are a high-quality food resource seasonally available on the ground, we believe that tool use by capuchins is more likely to be opportunity driven, rather than necessity driven, in our study site.

New record of the fringed leaf frog, Cruziohyla craspedopus (Anura: Phyllomedusidae) extends its eastern range limit

The fringed leaf frog, Cruziohyla craspedopus is rarely sampled in the Brazilian Amazon, probably due to low detection probability associated with its arboreal habit. The knowledge about the species' distribution stems from successive additions of occasional occurrence records, which indicate that the species is widely distributed throughout Amazonia. We present new occurrence records to update the geographic range of the species, which is hereby extended 224 km to the northeast. We also present morphological data from collected specimens and discuss the updated range from the geographic and ecological points of view. We show that the range of the leaf frog crosses several main tributaries along the southern bank of the Amazonas River, although the species occurrence is apparently limited by a minimum tree cover of 70%. (AU)