The golden-headed lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus chrysomelas''), also the golden-headed tamarin, is a lion tamarin endemic to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is found only in the lowland and premontane tropical forest fragments in the state of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...

, and therefore is considered to be an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

. It lives at heights of . Its preferred habitat is within mature forest, but with

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

this is not always the case. Several sources seem to have different information on the number of individuals within a group, and the type of social system that may be apparent. The golden-headed lion tamarin lives within group sizes ranging from 2 to 11 individuals, with the average size ranging from 4 to 7.Baker AJ, Bales K, Dietz JM. (2002). Mating system and group dynamics in lion tamarins. In: Kleiman DG, Rylands AB, editors. ''Lion Tamarins: biology and conservation.'' Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. p 188-212. According to various sources, the group may consist of two adult males, one adult female, and any immature individuals,Kleiman DG, Geist G. (2003). Golden-Headed Lion Tamarins. ''Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia.'' 2nd ed. 14th vol. one male and one female and any immature individuals,Lundrigan, B. and K. Kapheim. (2000). ''Leontopithecus chrysomelas'' (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Leontopithecus_chrysomelas.html. or there may be one producing pair and a varying number of other group members, usually offspring from previous generations.Rothe H, Darms K. (1993). The social organization of marmosets: a critical evaluation of recent concepts. In: Rylands AB, editor. ''Marmosets and tamarins. Systematics, behaviour and ecology.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 176-199.French JA. (1997). Proximate regulation of singular breeding in callitrichid primates. In: Solomon NG, French JA, editors. ''Cooperative breeding in mammals.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p 34-75. There is not much known on its

mating system A mating system is a way in which a group is structured in relation to sexual behaviour. The precise meaning depends upon the context. With respect to animals, the term describes which males and females mate under which circumstances. Recognised ...

, but according to different sources, and information on the possible social groups, it can be assumed that some may practice

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time ( serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., pol ...

mating systems, and some may practice polyandrous mating systems. Both males and females invest energy in caring for the young, and all members of the group also help with juvenile care.

Diet

Raboy & Dietz, who completed a study at

Una Biological Reserve Una Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica de Una) is a Biological reserve in Brazil. Location The Una Biological Reserve, which is in the Atlantic Forest biome and covers , was created on 10 December 1980. It became part of the Central At ...

on diet and foraging patterns, observed that the golden-headed lion tamarin tends to defend a large

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. He ...

relative to its small body size,Raboy BE, Dietz JM. (2004). Diet, Foraging, and Use of Space in Wild Golden Headed Lion Tamarins. ''American Journal of Primatology'' 63:1-15. (ranging from 40–320 hectares).Rylands AB. (1993). The ecology of the lion tamarins, Leontopithecus: Some intrageneric differences and comparisons with other callitrichids. In: Rylands AB, editor. ''Marmosets and Tamarins: Systematics, Behaviour, and Ecology.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 296-313. It has a very wide diet; it eats plants, fruits, flowers, nectar, insects and small invertebrates; which include insect

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e, spiders, snails, frogs, lizards, bird eggs and small snakes. Typically, fruits are eaten shortly after awaking, as the fruit sugars provide quick energy for hunting later on. It searches for animal prey within epiphytic

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

s; if its home range does not contain many bromeliads, then it will also forage in crevices, holes in trees, between

palm frond The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm ''( Phoenix)'' was sacred in Mesopotamian religions, and in ancient Egypt represented immortality. ...

s and in leaf litter. It occasionally eats gum, but this behavior is rare in this species of tamarin. Since its habitat is fairly stable within the rainforest, its preferred food is available year-round and they do not need to resort to the low nutritional value of

exudate An exudate is a fluid emitted by an organism through pores or a wound, a process known as exuding or exudation. ''Exudate'' is derived from ''exude'' 'to ooze' from Latin ''exsūdāre'' 'to (ooze out) sweat' (''ex-'' 'out' and ''sūdāre'' 'to ...

Behavior

The study showed that in the wild the golden-headed lion tamarin spends about 50% of its time in only 11% of its home range. Its ranging patterns appear to be strongly influenced by resource acquisition and much less by territorial defense. The groups showed very few encounters with neighboring groups, but when it did occur, the encounters were always aggressive, and included intensive bouts of long-calling,Ruiz-Miranda CR, Archer CA, Kleiman DG. (2002). Acoustic differences between spontaneous and induced long calls of golden lion tamarins, ''Leontopithecus rosalia''. ''Folia Primatol'' 73:124-131. chases, and fights between the different groups. The golden-headed lion tamarin spends much of its time

foraging Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...

and traveling within its home range to the next foraging site. Keep in mind that this study was completed at the biggest intact forest available to ''L. chrysomelas'', so its behavior may change depending on the habitat and resources available. At a golden-headed lion tamarin site in

Lemos Maia Lemos is a Portuguese-language surname. It can be also Greek (Λεμός). Notable people by that name include: Portuguese surname * Álvaro Lemos (born 1993), Spanish professional footballer. * Amanda Lemos (born 1987), Brazilian mixed martial ...

, it was shown that groups had an average home range of only 63 hectares,Rylands AB. (1989). Sympatric Brazilian callitrichids: the black tufted-ear marmoset, ''Callithrix kuhli'', and the golden-headed lion tamarin, ''Leontopithecus chrysomelas''. ''J. Hum. Evol.'' 18:679-695. but they ranged in a patch of forest that was almost entirely discontinuous from the neighboring forests.Rylands AB. (1982). The ecology and behaviour of three species of marmosets and tamarins (Callitrichidae, Primates) in Brazil. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.Rylands AB. (1996). Habitat and the evolution of social and reproductive behavior in the Callitrichidae. ''Am. J. Primatol.'' 38:5-18.

Range

Its home range may be large in order to provide a sufficient amount of easily depletable fruit and prey foraging sites over the long term.Dietz JM, Peres CA, Pinder L. (1997). Foraging ecology and use of space in wild golden lion tamarins (''Leontopithecus rosalia''). Am J Primatol 41:289-305.Peres CA. (1989). Costs and benefits of territorial defense in wild golden lion tamarins, ''Leontopithecus rosalia''. ''Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.'' 25:227-233. On average it defended home ranges that are 123 hectares. Space is not necessarily used exclusively, and golden-headed lion tamarin groups may occupy areas that overlap to some extent at their bordersPeres CA. (2000). Territorial defense and the ecology of group movements in small bodied neotropical primates. In: Boinski S, Garber PA, editors. ''On the move: how and why animals travel in groups.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p 100-123.

Conservation

The

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolo ...

categorized the golden-headed lion tamarin as endangered in 1982. According to Costa, Leite, Mendes, and Ditchfield, Brazil accounts for about 14% of the world's biota and has the largest mammal diversity in the world, with more than 530 described species.Costa LP, Leite YLR, Mendes SL, Ditchfield AD. (2004). Mammal Conservation in Brazil. ''Conservation Biology ''19(3) 672-679. According to the

Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis, IBAMA) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm. IBAMA supports anti- ...

(IBAMA), out of the 24

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

primates of the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, 15 of them are threatened. Brazil's Atlantic forest is one of the most endangered

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

s on earth, in which the majority of the original forest has been cleared for farming, mining, ranching & expanding urban centers.Kleiman DG, Mallinson JC. (1998). Recovery and Management Committees for Lion Tamarins: Partnerships in Conservation Planning and Implementation. ''Society for Conservation Biology'' 12(1)27-38. The four species of lion tamarin have been studied and managed extensively, combining research on

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species tha ...

reintroduction Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

and translocation, habitat restoration and protection, and environmental education.

Threats to survival

The forest of

, Brazil has been reduced to 2% due to farming, ranching, mining and urbanization.Cawthon Lang KA. (2005 July 20). Primate Factsheets: Golden-headed lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus chrysomelas'') Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology. http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/golden-headed_lion_tamarin. The Atlantic Forest is highly fragmented, and the disappearance of this habitat is the main reason for the golden-headed lion tamarin's decline. The majority of the forest was once dominated by cocoa plants through a method known as cabruca. This is a system of shade cropping in which the middle and understory trees are removed and replaced with cocoa trees.Raboy BE, Christman MC, Dietz, JM. (2004). The use of Degraded and Shade Cocoa Forests by Endangered golden headed lion tamarins ''Leontopithecus chrysomelas''. ''Oryx'' 38(1) 75-83. Although the tamarin's habitat is reduced, it still leaves old growth trees which give the tamarins a place to forage and to sleep. In 1989 farmers abandoned their cocoa plants due to a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

that attacked their harvest. The old growth which was once available abundantly to the tamarins was destroyed to harvest timber, clear land for cattle or grow other crops. The Atlantic Forest is now a mosaic of

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. I ...

, and agricultural lands.Stallings, JR & Robinson, JG. (1991). Disturbance, forest heterogeneity and primate communities in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest Park. ''A Primatologia no Brasil'' 3:357-368.

Conservation efforts

In 1980 the Brazilian government created the Una Biological Reserve for the protection of the golden-headed lion tamarin and its habitat. Over the years the park has been growing slowly as the government acquires more land. The population at Una is the largest population in the most intact forest. There is also a captive breeding colony of 25 golden-headed lion tamarins at the Rio de Janeiro Primate Center. Due to a great amount of help, scientist believe that there are around 6000 Golden-headed lion tamarin in the wild. In the early 1990s, the Landowner's Environmental Protection Plan was created to educate the community about the importance of protecting the forest and the tamarin. The protection plan included conservation activities on over 70% of the neighboring farms, educating farmers on how to use

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

in order to preserve the tamarin's habitat. The plan also educates school children, hunters and forest guards on conservation, property rights and land use. This method of educating and involving the community has had great success for preserving the tamarin and their habitat. Kleiman and Mallinson summarize the conservation efforts that the IBAMA have made in order to help all four of the tamarin species with their population decline. Between 1985 and 1991 IBAMA established four International Recovery and Management Committees (IRMCs). These IRMCs provide IBAMA with official guidance in the recovery efforts and management of the four species, and they are recognized by the government of Brazil as technical advisors. Public concerns of the tamarin species occurred in the 1960s when Adelmar Coimbra-Filho brought to the attention the rapid declines of the golden lion tamarin due to exportation and

. His input helped with the establishment of the biological reserves to protect lion tamarins. He founded the Rio de Janeiro Primate Center and he was the first person to breed the golden-headed lion tamarin. From 1983-1994 large numbers of golden headed lion tamarins were exported to Japan and Belgium as part of the exotic pet trade. IBAMA asked Jeremy Mallinson to form and become chair of an IRMC for the golden-headed lion tamarin. The initial objective of the committee was to have all of the tamarins returned to Brazil, and some of them were returned. The committees promotes lion tamarins as a flagship species with the ultimate intent being the preservation of the unique Atlantic Forest, ecosystem and its many endemic plants and animal. The IRMC is divided into several tasks which include the captive management and research program, conservation and education program in Bahia, a Landowner's Environmental Education Program, and a field study of ecology and behavior in the Federal Una Biological Reserve. They provide IBAMA with recommendations concerning demographic and genetic management, research proposals for wild and captive populations, community conservation education programs, expansion of protected areas through land acquisition, and they also lobby appropriate agencies to support new legislation. The IRMC members are international in composition with members from diverse disciplines, consisting of conservationists, field biologists, zoo biologists, educators, administrators, and IBAMA staff.

References

External links

* ARKive
images and movies of the Golden-headed Lion Tamarin ''(Leontopithecus chrysomelas)''

Golden-headed Lion Tamarin's range (Natureserve.org)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q775442 golden-headed lion tamarin Mammals of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil golden-headed lion tamarin Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl