Martins, M. M.Setz, EZF2014-02-262014-05-202014-02-262014-05-202000-06-01International Journal of Primatology. New York: Kluwer Academic/plenum Publ, v. 21, n. 3, p. 467-476, 2000.0164-0291http://hdl.handle.net/11449/20963The feeding ecology of the Atlantic forest marmosets (Callithrix spp.) in southeastern Brazil is poorly known, and few studies have focused on buffy tufted-eared marmosets, Callithrix aurita. We determined the food items and investigated the seasonal variation in the diet of a group of four Callithrix aurita in a 17-ha semideciduous forest fragment in southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. We recorded daily feeding activities between October 1994 and September 1995 using scan sampling at 5-min intervals. The marmosets devoted feeding rime to gums (50.5%), fruits (11%), and animal prey (38.5%) in a fetal of 499 records. Plant resources comprised 27 species from 16 families. They used Acacia paniculata (Mimosoideae, Leguminosae), the main gum source (82%), year-round Maclura tinctoria (Moraceae) was the fruit species that they consumed most (22%). The marmosets preyed on caterpillars (33%), katydids (5%), and homopterans (4%). Feeding on fruits varied seasonally and was inversely related to gum feeding. Consumption of animal prey remained constant over the year. The wide and year-round dependence on gum suggests that Acacia may play a critical role in marmoset persistence in forest fragments.467-476engCallithrix auritadietforest fragmentseasonalitysoutheastern BrazilArtigo10.1023/A:1005491903220WOS:000087260800006Acesso restrito