Agroecosystems and primate conservation: Shade coffee as potential habitat for the conservation of Andean night monkeys in the northern Andes

The global change in land use toward agroecosystems is one of the major drivers of habitat loss and fragmentation. Although simplified agroecosystems such as pastures generally exclude most native biodiversity, other more complex systems such as agroforestry can support certain levels of biodiversity and serve as habitat, connecting corridors or stepping stones for many species. For example, traditional shade coffee plantations can become key refuge areas for biodiversity, especially compared to more intensive agricultural practices.The principal aim of this study was to evaluate the potential role of shade coffee plantations on the conservation of Andean night monkeys (Aotus lemurinus) in the Colombian highlands. Two groups of night monkeys were followed during 16 and 7 months, and data on their ranging patterns, habitat use, activity budget and diet were recorded using focal animal sampling. We also estimated habitat wide fruit availability at natural forests and shade coffee. Overall, both study groups preferred natural forests relative to their spatial cover, spending 70.3% and 94.4% of their time in natural forests, even though shade coffee had a yearly 10-fold total productivity advantage over natural habitats (4045 and 416kg/h/year, respectively). Nonetheless, night monkeys used shade coffee areas throughout the year, specially during the peak periods of fruit production of Prunus integrifolia (43% of time during June–July 2009; 64% of time during March 2010), a tree that dominated the shade coffee areas. The activity budget, home range size and nightly travelled distances of Andean night monkeys in this study fall within the range of values reported in previous studies on night monkeys on disturbed and undisturbed habitats. The results of this study provide support for the use of shade coffee plantations as complementary areas for the conservation of Andean primate populations while providing local farmers with economic alternatives. Although the conservation of montane primate populations in Colombia will largely depend on the protection of the remaining natural habitats, agroecosystems such as shade coffee plantations might provide additive opportunities to increase the carrying capacity of mixed habitats and may become a successful conservation strategy in the pervasively transformed habitats of the northern Andes.