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

在灵长类动物行为的许多方面，捕食被认为是一种强大的选择压力。本项目旨在通过研究肯尼亚莱基皮亚同域长尾猴（Cercopithecus aethiops）和赤猴（Erythrocebus patas）的栖息地结构与反捕食行为之间的关系，扩大我们对捕食作为灵长类动物行为模式的选择压力的理解。尽管关系密切，体型相似，共享同一个捕食者群落，但在许多方面，长尾猴和斑尾猴对感知到的捕食风险的反应似乎有所不同，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。这些差异被认为是由于每个物种所使用的栖息地结构的差异；包括不同树种的利用，树木高度和草被密度的差异。这一假设将通过对栖息地结构的定量测量来检验，包括树的高度、草的高度和密度，并通过以下观察：1)动物对捕食者的反应；2)对其他猴子自然发出的警报的反应；3)对预先录制的、在控制实验设计中播放的猴子警报的反应。该项目的结果有望提高我们对捕食作为灵长类动物行为的选择压力的理解，并有助于重建早期同域古人类的行为生态学。

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.