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Neves E, Vallet D, Cherkaoui SI, Amhaouch Z, Duperron C, Ménard N, Le Gouar P. Behavioral adjustments of endangered Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) living at the edge of an agricultural landscape in Morocco. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23545. [PMID: 37605628 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Transition zones between natural and human-altered spaces are eroding in most terrestrial ecosystems. The persistence of animals in shared landscapes depends in part on their behavioral flexibility, which may involve being able to exploit human agricultural production. As a forest-dependent species, the Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is affected by the progressive conversion of forest-adjacent lands into crops. We explore how Barbary macaque behavior differs between groups living in a forest at the edge of agricultural zones (hereafter "disturbed groups") and groups inhabiting undisturbed forests (hereafter "natural groups"). We compare the diets, activity-budgets, home range sizes, daily path lengths, and sleeping site locations of the groups. We also quantify anthropogenic disturbances (i.e., rates of encounter with humans and dogs) and investigate relationships between such disturbances and the diets and activity budgets of macaques through multiple co-inertia analysis. Disturbed groups included high proportions of cultivated food items in their diet and encountered over 0.5/h anthropogenic disturbances. Activity-budgets differed between disturbed and natural groups and were mostly influenced by diets, not anthropogenic disturbances. Disturbed groups spent more time feeding and less time resting than natural ones. Patterns of space use differed markedly between groups, with disturbed groups displaying smaller home ranges, shorter daily path length, and much higher reutilization of sleeping sites than natural groups. This study highlights the dietary and behavioral flexibility of Barbary macaques living in human-altered environments. Their patterns of space use suggest a reduction in energy expenditure in the disturbed groups due to the inclusion of cultivated food items in their diet possibly leading to increased foraging efficiency. However, the high rates of anthropogenic encounters, including aggressive ones, are likely stressful and may potentially induce extra energy costs and lead to macaque injuries. This could result in demographic costs for crop-foraging groups, threatening the conservation of this endangered species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Neves
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, France
| | - Dominique Vallet
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, France
| | - Sidi Imad Cherkaoui
- AAP Morocco, Animal Advocacy and Protection, Almere, The Netherlands
- Ecole supérieure de Technologie de Kénitra, University of Ibn Tofail, Kénitra, Morocco
| | | | - Coline Duperron
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, France
| | - Nelly Ménard
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, France
| | - Pascaline Le Gouar
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, France
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Nakane A, Enomoto T, Saito MU. Utilization of cultivated fruits by Japanese martens and red foxes in a snowy environment: a comparison of feeding habits between rural and forest landscapes. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.22028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asumi Nakane
- Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, Japan; e-mail:
| | - Takaaki Enomoto
- The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Morioka, Japan; e-mail:
| | - Masayuki U. Saito
- Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, Japan; e-mail:
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Bracken AM, Christensen C, O'Riain MJ, Fürtbauer I, King AJ. Flexible group cohesion and coordination, but robust leader-follower roles, in a wild social primate using urban space. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212141. [PMID: 35078361 PMCID: PMC8790338 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective behaviour has a critical influence on group social structure and organization, individual fitness and social evolution, but we know little about whether and how it changes in anthropogenic environments. Here, we show multiple and varying effects of urban space-use upon group-level processes in a primate generalist-the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus)-within a managed wild population living at the urban edge in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. In natural space, we observe baboon-typical patterns of collective behaviour. By contrast, in urban space (where there are increased risks, but increased potential for high-quality food rewards), baboons show extreme flexibility in collective behaviour, with changes in spatial cohesion and association networks, travel speeds and group coordination. However, leader-follower roles remain robust across natural and urban space, with adult males having a disproportionate influence on the movement of group members. Their important role in the group's collective behaviour complements existing research and supports the management tactic employed by field rangers of curbing the movements of adult males, which indirectly deters the majority of the group from urban space. Our findings highlight both flexibility and robustness in collective behaviour when groups are presented with novel resources and heightened risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M. Bracken
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Charlotte Christensen
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - M. Justin O'Riain
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ines Fürtbauer
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Andrew J. King
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Dodge S, Toka M, Bae CJ. DynamoVis 1.0: an exploratory data visualization software for mapping movement in relation to internal and external factors. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:55. [PMID: 34736518 PMCID: PMC8567714 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00291-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This paper introduces DynamoVis version 1.0, an open-source software developed to design, record and export custom animations and multivariate visualizations from movement data, enabling visual exploration and communication of patterns capturing the associations between animals' movement and its affecting internal and external factors. Proper representation of these dependencies grounded on cartographic principles and intuitive visual forms can facilitate scientific discovery, decision-making, collaborations, and foster understanding of movement. RESULTS DynamoVis offers a visualization platform that is accessible and easily usable for scientists and general public without a need for prior experience with data visualization or programming. The intuitive design focuses on a simple interface to apply cartographic techniques, giving ecologists of all backgrounds the power to visualize and communicate complex movement patterns. CONCLUSIONS DynamoVis 1.0 offers a flexible platform to quickly and easily visualize and animate animal tracks to uncover hidden patterns captured in the data, and explore the effects of internal and external factors on their movement path choices and motion capacities. Hence, DynamoVis can be used as a powerful communicative and hypothesis generation tool for scientific discovery and decision-making through visual reasoning. The visual products can be used as a research and pedagogical tool in movement ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Somayeh Dodge
- Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA USA
| | - Mert Toka
- Media Arts and Technology Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA USA
| | - Crystal J. Bae
- Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA USA
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Socioecology Explains Individual Variation in Urban Space Use in Response to Management in Cape Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus). INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00247-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe presence of wildlife adjacent to and within urban spaces is a growing phenomenon globally. When wildlife’s presence in urban spaces has negative impacts for people and wildlife, nonlethal and lethal interventions on animals invariably result. Recent evidence suggests that individuals in wild animal populations vary in both their propensity to use urban space and their response to nonlethal management methods. Understanding such interindividual differences and the drivers of urban space use could help inform management strategies. We use direct observation and high-resolution GPS (1 Hz) to track the space use of 13 adult individuals in a group of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) living at the urban edge in Cape Town, South Africa. The group is managed by a dedicated team of field rangers, who use aversive conditioning to reduce the time spent by the group in urban spaces. Adult males are larger, more assertive, and more inclined to enter houses, and as such are disproportionately subject to “last resort” lethal management. Field rangers therefore focus efforts on curbing the movements of adult males, which, together with high-ranking females and their offspring, comprise the bulk of the group. However, our results reveal that this focus allows low-ranking, socially peripheral female baboons greater access to urban spaces. We suggest that movement of these females into urban spaces, alone or in small groups, is an adaptive response to management interventions, especially given that they have no natural predators. These results highlight the importance of conducting behavioral studies in conjunction with wildlife management, to ensure effective mitigation techniques.
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Drouilly M, Nattrass N, O’Riain MJ. Beauty or beast? Farmers' dualistic views and the influence of aesthetic appreciation on tolerance towards black-backed jackal and caracal. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248977. [PMID: 33740027 PMCID: PMC7978353 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Various species of wild, adaptable, medium-sized carnivores occur outside of protected areas, often coming into contact with people and their domestic animals. Negative human-carnivore interactions can lead to antagonistic attitudes and behavior directed at such species. In the South African Karoo, a semi-arid rangeland, the predation of small-livestock by mesopredators is common and farmers typically use a combination of non-lethal and lethal methods to try and prevent livestock losses. We used ethnographic field observations and semi-structured interviews as part of a mixed methods approach, including the quantitative and qualitative analysis of farmers' narratives to illustrate the nuanced ways in which sheep farmers relate to the two mesopredators that consume the most livestock on their farms; black-backed jackal and caracal. Overall, farmers attributed negative characteristics to jackal and caracal but farmers' narratives provided evidence of complex perceptions in that the animals were admired as well as disliked. Both species were seen as charismatic due to traits such as their physical appearance, their "cunning" nature and their remarkable adaptability to human activities, including lethal control. Aesthetic appreciation was an important predictor of tolerance towards both species whereas negative attitudes were associated with the perception that mesopredators should only occur within protected areas. Attitudes towards jackals also appeared to have been affected by cultural representations of them as "thieves". We showed that perceiving mesopredators as beautiful increased the average marginal probability of a farmer tolerating them, and that this strong relationship held when controlling for other covariates such as livestock predation. We advocate the importance of understanding the cultural and aesthetic aspects of predators and considering existing positive dimensions of human-wildlife relationships that may encourage increased farmers' tolerance, which might promote coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Drouilly
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Panthera, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Nicoli Nattrass
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - M. Justin O’Riain
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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