Journal Article•
Ecology and behaviour of baboons in the Northern Transvaal
TL;DR: To report factual information on ecology and behaviour of groups of chacma baboons ranging in an environment in which these animals have not hitherto been systematically studied, a network of informants is established in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Abstract: To report factual information on thc ecology and behaviour of groups of chacma baboons ranging in an environment in which these animals have not hitherto been systematically studied.
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TL;DR: Data from wild populations of baboons are used to derive functional equations relating time budget components, day journey length and group size to environmental variables that predict both time budgets in an independent sample of populations and the geographical distribution of baboon populations extremely well.
Abstract: Data from wild populations of baboons are used to derive functional equations relating time budget components, day journey length and group size to environmental variables. This set of equations predicts both time budgets in an independent sample of populations and the geographical distribution of baboon populations extremely well. I then use these equations to examine the maximum ecologically tolerable group size for baboons occupying different habitats. Groups which exceed this value exhibit signs of ecological stress: they spend less time resting and in social activity than would be expected for their size and environment, they are more likely to fragment during foraging and they travel faster. Populations living in poor quality (low rainfall) habitats are more likely to live in groups that are stressed in this way.
421 citations
Cites background from "Ecology and behaviour of baboons in..."
...In open habitats, high radiation loads (especially at midday) appear to force the animals to rest rather than forage (see for example Altmann and Altmann 1970; Stoltz and Saayman 1970; Stelzner 1988; see also Wheeler 1984)....
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TL;DR: An attempt is made to provide testable hypotheses and heuristic principles that can relate social organization and ecology related to each other.
Abstract: How are social organization and ecology related to each other? Yellow baboons, hamadryas baboons, and gelada monkeys are all large, terrestrial African primates, but they have three different patterns of social organization, and they live in three, markedly different habitats: savannah, steppe-desert, and alpine heather-meadowland, respectively. An attempt is made to provide testable hypotheses and heuristic principles that can relate these two classes of phenomena.
355 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that defendability depends on the ability of an animal to monitor the boundaries of its range in order to detect potential intruders and introduces an index of defendability (D) which is the ratio of observed daily path length to an area equal to the diameter of a circle with areaequal to home range area of the animal.
Abstract: 1.
Existing theory suggests that territoriality will evolve when resources are limited and defendable, but defendability has seldom been analyzed quantitatively.
2.
Here we argue that defendability depends on the ability of an animal to monitor the boundaries of its range in order to detect potential intruders and introduce an index of defendability (D) which is the ratio of observed daily path length (d) to an area equal to the diameter (d′) of a circle with area equal to home range area of the animal. This index is sensitive only to extreme deviation from circular shape.
3.
Review of the literature on primate ranging reveals that all territorial groups for which data are available have an index of 1.0 or greater, and that few nonterritorial species have an index of 1.0 or greater.
4.
Regression analysis of the relationship of daily path length to feeding group weight and foliage in the diet reveals that both feeding group weight and foliage in the diet account for a large proportion of the variance in daily path length, and that territorial and nonterritorial groups do not differ in day range for a given group weight and diet.
278 citations
TL;DR: Recent progress in the ethology and ecology of sleep in diurnal monkeys and apes is reviewed, with emphasis on safety from predators at sleeping sites, physical comfort, social behavior, and psychophysiology of sleep.
Abstract: Since primates spend about half of their life at sleeping sites, knowledge of behavior in the vicinity of sleeping sites and analysis of factors influencing their use is important for understanding the diversity of primates' adaptations to their environment. The present paper reviews recent progress in the ethology and ecology of sleep in diurnal monkeys and apes. Emphasis is given to the following topics: safety from predators at sleeping sites, physical comfort, social behavior, and psychophysiology of sleep. In all cases, study at the group level and at the individual level can provide insights into behavioral adaptations. As well as increasing understanding of behavior in the wild, knowledge of sleep-related behavior can be applied with a view to improving the environment for captive primates.
250 citations
Cites background from "Ecology and behaviour of baboons in..."
...…of sleeping sites in relation to weather conditions included groups of primates sleeping on cliff faces which are sheltered from cold winds or which retain heat absorbed during the hours of sunlight into the night (e.g., Stolz and Saayman, 1970; Boggess, 1980; Kummer et al., 1981; Anderson, 1982)....
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TL;DR: Data indicate that female baboons in Amboseli are older at birth of first infant, and have, on the average, a somewhat shorter interbirth interval than was estimated from earlier crossectional field data, and therefore spend a larger portion of their adult life pregnant, but have a much longer interval between the birth of an infant and theBirth of that infant’s next older surviving sibling.
Abstract: Longitudinal data from a population of yellow baboons,Papio cynocephalus, in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya, provide life history parameter estimates. Females reached menarche at approximately four-and-a-half years of age and then cycled for approximately a year before first conception. Postpartum anestrum averaged 12 months but ranged from six to 16 months. In cases of still births or infant death during postpartum amenorrhea, females commenced cycling after approximately one month. In mature females the time spent cycling before conception was five months on the average with a range from one to over 18 months. Only half of all full-term pregnancies resulted in infants who survived the first year of life; only a third, in infants who survived until the birth of their mother’s next infant. In comparison with data from laboratory colonies, our data indicate that female baboons in Amboseli are older at birth of first infant. They have, on the average, a somewhat shorter interbirth interval than was estimated from earlier crossectional field data, and therefore spend a larger portion of their adult life pregnant, but have a much longer interval—at least three years on the average—between the birth of an infant and the birth of that infant’s next older surviving sibling. A number of morphological changes in immature baboons are described.
237 citations