Can golden-headed lion tamarins survive in Cabruca Agroforest? Management implications for an endangered species and habitat

Leonardo Oliveira

This report is part of an ongoing study which aims to evaluate the responses of an endangered species to the matrix surrounding suitable habitat. The golden-headed lion tamarin (GHLT; Leontopithecus chrysomelas) is an endangered primate, endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, with its geographic distribution restricted to fragmented forests of southern Bahia state, Brazil. The forest type that predominates throughout their range is called cabruca, an agroforestry system where cocoa trees are planted under native overstory trees. Cabruca has been considered an important habitat for the conservation of Atlantic Forest biodiversity in Southern Bahia. Despite its importance, cabruca is being transformed into cattle pasture as a consequence decrease of the price of cocoa and due to a fungal disease known as witches’ broom (Moniliophthora perniciosa) that has been devastating Bahia’s cocoa crops since 1989. Cabruca is the dominant habitat type on the range of the GHLTs. The objective of this project is to evaluate how cabruca agroforest affects ecological and demographic responses by GHLTs.