Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T02:06:04.178Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 16 - Primate Ecology: From Forests into Savannas

from Part IV - Evolutionary Transitions: From Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2021

Norman Owen-Smith
Norman Owen-Smith
Affiliation:
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Get access

Summary

This chapter describes how most primates seek fruits, some still unripe, and fall back on vegetative plant parts or acacia gum, supplemented by some animal matter, when fruits are unavailable. Baboons fall back on underground plant parts during the dry season. Chimpanzees hunt animals opportunistically, while gorillas are strictly vegetarian. Home ranges traversed in savannas are larger than those covered in forests. All primates evade predation by sleeping up in trees or on cliffs overnight. Primate life histories lengthened relative to those of similar-sized ungulates due to their larger brains. Hence mortality losses must be restricted and lifespans extended to compensate. Primate populations are regulated by social interactions and infanticide.

Keywords

Fruits vs foliageanimal matterhome rangesantipredator responseslife history patternssocial regulation
Type
Chapter
Information
Only in Africa
The Ecology of Human Evolution
 , pp. 253 - 270
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Suggested Further Reading

Boesch, C; Boesch-Achermann, H. (2000) The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest: Behavioural Ecology and Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Hohmann, G, et al. (eds). (2006) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Schaller, GB. (1963) The Mountain Gorilla. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar

References

Copeland, SR. (2009) Potential hominin plant foods in northern Tanzania: semi-arid savannas versus savanna chimpanzee sites. Journal of Human Evolution 57:365–378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshall, AJ, et al. (2009) Defining fallback foods and assessing their importance in primate ecology and evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists 140:603–614.Google Scholar
O’Brien, EM; Peters, CR (1999) Landforms, climate, ecogeographic mosaics, and the potential for hominid diversity in Pliocene Africa. In Bromage, TG; Schrenk, F (eds) African Biogeography, Climate Change and Human Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 115–137.Google Scholar
Uwimbabazi, M, et al. (2019) Influence of fruit availability on macronutrient and energy intake by female chimpanzees. African Journal of Ecology 57:454–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Schaik, CP; Pfannes, KR. (2005) Tropical climates and phenology: a primate perspective. In Brockmann, DK; Van Schaik, CP (eds) Seasonality in Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 23–54.Google Scholar
Oates, JF. (1977) The guereza and its food. In Clutton-Brock, TH (ed.) Primate Ecology: Studies of Feeding and Ranging Behaviour in Lemurs, Monkeys, and Apes. Academic Press, London, pp. 275–321.Google Scholar
Danish, L, et al. (2006) The role of sugar in diet selection in redtail and red colobus monkeys. In Hahmann, MM, et al. (eds) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 473–487.Google Scholar
Poulsen, JR, et al. (2001) Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of the grey‐cheeked mangabey (Lophocebus albigena) in Cameroon. American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists 54:91–105.Google Scholar
Doran-Sheehy, DM, et al. (2006) Sympatric western gorilla and mangabey diet: re-examination of ape and monkey foraging strategies. In Hohmann, G, et al. (eds) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 49–72.Google Scholar
Wrangham, RW; Waterman, PG. (1981) Feeding behaviour of vervet monkeys on Acacia tortilis and Acacia xanthophloea: with special reference to reproductive strategies and tannin production. The Journal of Animal Ecology 50:715–731.Google Scholar
Isbell, LA. (1998) Diet for a small primate: insectivory and gummivory in the (large) patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas pyrrhonotus). American Journal of Primatology 45:381–398.Google Scholar
Nakagawa, N. (2000) Seasonal, sex, and interspecific differences in activity time budgets and diets of patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) and tantalus monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops tantalus), living sympatrically in northern Cameroon. Primates 41:161.Google Scholar
Nakagawa, N. (2003) Difference in food selection between patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) and tantalus monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops tantalus) in Kala Maloue National Park, Cameroon, in relation to nutrient content. Primates 44:3–11.Google Scholar
Dunbar, RIM. (1977) Feeding ecology of gelada baboons: a preliminary report. In Clutton-Brock, TH (ed.) Primate Ecology. Academic Press, London, pp. 251–273.Google Scholar
Norton, GW, et al. (1987) Baboon diet: a five-year study of stability and variability in the plant feeding and habitat of the yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) of Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. Folia Primatologica 48:78–120.Google Scholar
Whiten, A, et al. (1991) Dietary and foraging strategies of baboons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences 334:187–197.Google ScholarPubMed
Whiten, A, et al. (1987) The behavioral ecology of mountain baboons. International Journal of Primatology 8:367–388.Google Scholar
Barton, RA; Whiten, A. (1994) Reducing complex diets to simple rules: food selection by olive baboons. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 35:283–293.Google Scholar
Alberts, SC, et al. (2005). Seasonality and long term change in a savannah environment. In Brockmann, DK; Van Schaik, CP (eds) Seasonality in Primates. Vol. 16. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 157–195.Google Scholar
Kunz, BK; Linsenmair, KE. (2008) The disregarded west: diet and behavioural ecology of olive baboons in the Ivory Coast. Folia Primatologica 79:31–51.Google Scholar
Codron, D, et al. (2008) What insights can baboon feeding ecology provide for early hominin niche differentiation? International Journal of Primatology 29:757–772.Google Scholar
Wrangham, RW, et al. (1998) Dietary response of chimpanzees and cercopithecines to seasonal variation in fruit abundance. I. Antifeedants. International Journal of Primatology 19:949–970.Google Scholar
Newton‐Fisher, NE. (1999) The diet of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. African Journal of Ecology 37:344–354.Google Scholar
Morgan, D; Sanz, CM. (2006) Chimpanzee feeding ecology and comparisons with sympatric gorillas in the Goualougo Triangle, Republik of Congo. In Hohmann, G, et al. (eds) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 97–122.Google Scholar
McGrew, WC, et al. (1988) Diet of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Mt. Assirik, Senegal: I. Composition. American Journal of Primatology 16:213–226.Google Scholar
Pruetz, JD. (2006) Feeding ecology of savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Fongoli, Senegal. In Hohmann, G, et al. (eds) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 161–182.Google Scholar
Wrangham, RW. (1977) Feeding behaviour of chimpanzees in Gombe national park, Tanzania. In Clutton-Brock, TH (ed.) Primate Ecology: Studies of Feeding and Ranging Behaviour in Lemurs, Monkeys and Apes. Academic Press, London, pp. 503–538.Google Scholar
Malenky, RK; Stiles, EW. (1991) Distribution of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation and its consumption by Pan paniscus in the Lomako Forest, Zaire. American Journal of Primatology 23:153–169.Google Scholar
Rogers, ME, et al. (2004) Western gorilla diet: a synthesis from six sites. American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists 64:173–192.Google Scholar
Doran‐Sheehy, D, et al. (2009) Male and female western gorilla diet: preferred foods, use of fallback resources, and implications for ape versus old world monkey foraging strategies. American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists 140:727–738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robbins, MM, et al. (2006) Variability of the feeding ecology of eastern gorillas. In Hohmann, G, et al. (eds) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 25–48.Google Scholar
Yamagiwa, J; Basabose, AK. (2006) Effects of fruit scarcity on foraging strategies of sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees. In Hohmann, G, et al. (eds) Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 73–96.Google Scholar
Rothman, JM, et al. (2011) Nutritional geometry: gorillas prioritize non-protein energy while consuming surplus protein. Biology Letters 7:847–849.Google Scholar
Altmann, SA. (2009) Fallback foods, eclectic omnivores, and the packaging problem. American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists 140:615–629.Google Scholar
Dunbar, RIM. (1987) Habitat quality, population dynamics, and group composition in colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza). International Journal of Primatology 8:299–329.Google Scholar
De Vos, A; Omar, A. (1971) Territories and movements of Sykes monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis kolbi Neuman) in Kenya. Folia Primatologica 16:196–205.Google Scholar
Lawes, MJ. (1991) Diet of samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis erythrarchus) in the Cape Vidal dune forest, South Africa. Journal of Zoology 224:149–173.Google Scholar
Barrett, AS, et al. (2010) A floristic description and utilisation of two home ranges by vervet monkeys in Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, South Africa. Koedoe 52:1–12.Google Scholar
Pasternak, G, et al. (2013) Population ecology of vervet monkeys in a high latitude, semi-arid riparian woodland. Koedoe 55:1–9.Google Scholar
Waser, P. (1977) Feeding, ranging and group size in the mangabey (Cercocebus albigena). In Clutton-Brock, TH (ed.) Primate Ecology. Academic Press, London, pp. 183–221.Google Scholar
Nakagawa, N. (1999) Differential habitat utilization by patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) and tantalus monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops tantalus) living sympatrically in northern Cameroon. American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists 49:243–264.3.0.CO;2-4>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, KR. (1966) Behaviour and ecology of the wild patas monkey, Erythrocebus patas, in Uganda. Journal of Zoology 148:15–87.Google Scholar
Yamagiwa, J; Basabose, AK. (2009) Fallback foods and dietary partitioning among Pan and Gorilla. American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists 140:739–750.Google Scholar
Cheney, DL, et al. (2004) Factors affecting reproduction and mortality among baboons in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. International Journal of Primatology 25:401–428.Google Scholar
Cowlishaw, G. (1994) Vulnerability to predation in baboon populations. Behaviour 131:293–304.Google Scholar
Isbell, LA, et al. (2018) GPS-identified vulnerabilities of savannah-woodland primates to leopard predation and their implications for early hominins. Journal of Human Evolution 118:1–13.Google Scholar
Anderson, JR. (1998) Sleep, sleeping sites, and sleep‐related activities: awakening to their significance. American Journal of Primatology 46:63–75.Google Scholar
Isbell, LA, et al. (2009) Demography and life histories of sympatric patas monkeys, Erythrocebus patas, and vervets, Cercopithecus aethiops, in Laikipia, Kenya. International Journal of Primatology 30:103–124.Google Scholar
Stanford, CB. (2002) Avoiding predators: expectations and evidence in primate antipredator behavior. International Journal of Primatology 23:741–757.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, N; Mills, MGL. (2008) Shifting prey selection generates contrasting herbivore dynamics within a large‐mammal predator–prey web. Ecology 89:1120–1133.Google Scholar
Boesch, C; Boesch-Achermann, H. (2000) The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest: Behavioural Ecology and Evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Fay, JMR. (1995) Leopard attack on and consumption of gorillas in the Central African Republic. Journal of Human Evolution 29:93–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, C. (1998) Primate life histories. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 6:54–63.Google Scholar
Ross, C. (2003). Life history, infant care strategies, and brain size in primates. In Kappeler, P, et al. (eds) Primate Life Histories and Socioecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 54–63.Google Scholar
Harvey, PH; Clutton‐Brock, TH. (1985) Life history variation in primates. Evolution 39:559–581.Google Scholar
Nakagawa, N, et al. (2003) Life-history parameters of a wild group of West African patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas patas). Primates 44:281–290.Google Scholar
Cords, M; Chowdhury, S. (2010) Life history of Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. International Journal of Primatology 31:433–455.Google Scholar
Altmann, J, et al. (1977) Life history of yellow baboons: physical development, reproductive parameters, and infant mortality. Primates 18:315–330.Google Scholar
Hill, RA, et al. (2000) Ecological and social determinants of birth intervals in baboons. Behavioral Ecology 11:560–564.Google Scholar
Alberts, SC. (2019) Social influences on survival and reproduction: insights from a long‐term study of wild baboons. Journal of Animal Ecology 88:47–66.Google Scholar
Rhine, RJ, et al. (1988) Eight‐year study of social and ecological correlates of mortality among immature baboons of Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. American Journal of Primatology 16:199–212.Google Scholar
Hill, K, et al. (2001) Mortality rates among wild chimpanzees. Journal of Human Evolution 40:437–450.Google Scholar
Muller, MN; Wrangham, RW. (2014) Mortality rates among Kanyawara chimpanzees. Journal of Human Evolution 66:107–114.Google Scholar
Owen-Smith, RN. (1988) Megaherbivores: The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Robbins, MM; Robbins, AM. (2004) Simulation of the population dynamics and social structure of the Virunga mountain gorillas. American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists 63:201–223.Google Scholar
Robbins, MM, et al. (2009) Population dynamics of the Bwindi mountain gorillas. Biological Conservation 142:2886–2895.Google Scholar
Altmann, J, et al. (1985) Demography of Amboseli baboons, 1963–1983. American Journal of Primatology 8:113–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Samuels, A; Altmann, J. (1991) Baboons of the Amboseli basin: demographic stability and change. International Journal of Primatology 12:1.Google Scholar
Dunbar, RIM, et al. (2018) Trade-off between fertility and predation risk drives a geometric sequence in the pattern of group sizes in baboons. Biology Letters 14:20170700.Google Scholar
Isbell, LA, et al. (1990) Costs and benefits of home range shifts among vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27:351–358.Google Scholar
Lee, PC; Hauser, MD. (1998) Long-term consequences of changes in territory quality on feeding and reproductive strategies of vervet monkeys. Journal of Animal Ecology 67:347–358.Google Scholar
Dunbar, RIM; Mac Carron, P. (2019) Does a trade‐off between fertility and predation risk explain social evolution in baboons? Journal of Zoology 308:9–15.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×