Dissertation Research: Influences of Micro-ecology on Behavioral Responses to Perceived Risk of Predation in Sympatric Vervet and Patas Monkeys

捕食在灵长类动物行为的许多方面都被认为是一种强大的选择压力。该项目旨在通过研究肯尼亚莱基皮亚的共域黑尾猴和帕塔斯猴的栖息地结构和反捕食者行为之间的关系，来扩展我们对捕食作为对灵长类行为模式的选择压力的理解。尽管它们有着密切的亲缘关系，身体大小相似，并拥有相同的捕食者群落，但它们对感知到的捕食风险的反应似乎在许多方面都不同，包括它们对睡眠地点的选择，母亲和婴儿在捕食者面前的行为，以及它们的逃跑策略。据推测，这些差异是由于每个物种所使用的栖息地结构的不同；包括使用不同的树种，以及树高和草皮密度的差异。这一假设将通过对栖息地结构的定量测量来检验，包括树高、草高和密度，并通过观察1)动物对捕食者的反应，2)对其他猴子发出的自然报警信号的反应，以及3)对预先录制的猴子报警信号的反应，以受控的实验设计向它们播放。这个项目的结果有望提升我们对捕食作为对灵长类行为的选择性压力的理解，并有助于重建早期共域原始人的行为生态。

Predation has been invoked as a strong selective pressure on many aspects of primate behavior. This project proposes to expand our understanding of predation as a selective pressure on primate behavioral patterns by investigating the relationship between habitat structure and anti-predator behavior in sympatric vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) and patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) in Laikipia, Kenya. Despite being closely related, similar in body size, and sharing the same community of predators, vervets and patas monkeys appear to differ in their responses to perceived risk of predation in many ways, including their choice of sleeping sites, the behavior of mothers and infants in the presence of predators, and their escape tactics. These differences are hypothesized to be due to differences in the structure of the habitat used by each species; including use of different tree species, and differences in tree height and density of grass cover. This hypothesis will be examined through quantitative measurement of habitat structure, including tree height and grass height and density, and by observation of 1) the animals' responses to predators, 2) responses to naturally occurring alarm calls given by other monkeys, and 3) responses to pre-recorded alarm calls of monkeys that are played back to them in a controlled, experimental design. The results of this project promise to elevate our understanding of predation as a selective pressure on primate behavior, and to assist in reconstructing the behavioral ecology of early, sympatric hominids.