Data from: The effect of roads on spider monkeys’ home range and mobility in a heterogeneous regenerating forest

Arboreal fauna living in tropical ecosystems may be particularly affected
by roads given their dependency on forest cover and the high vulnerability
of such ecosystems to changes. Over a period of four years, we followed
subgroups of spider monkeys living in a regenerating dry tropical forest
with 8.2 km of roads within their home range. We aimed to understand
whether roads shaped the home range of spider monkeys and which road
features affected their movement. Only 18 percent (3 km) of the spider
monkeys’ home range perimeter bordered with roads; these roads had greater
habitat disparity between road sides than roads inside the home range.
Although monkeys were reluctant to be close to roads, and roadside habitat
contained low proportions of mature forest, spider monkeys crossed roads
at 69 locations (7.5 crossings per kilometer). The main road
characteristic affecting crossings was canopy opening size, with greater
probability of crossing where canopy openings were smaller. Our findings
support the importance of canopy opening size for road crossing of
arboreal taxa, but they also indicate the relevant role roadside forest
structure may have. Minimizing canopy opening size and forest disturbance
along roads can facilitate the movement of arboreal fauna and preserve the
important role of spider monkeys and other arboreal taxa in seed dispersal
and thus the maintenance and regeneration of forest diversity.