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Association of Terrestrial Mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) with Arboreal Monkeys: Experimental Evidence for the Effects of Reduced Ground Predator Pressure on Habitat Use

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Abstract

We examined the behavior of two arboreal monkeys—Piliocolobus badius (western red colobus) and Cercopithecus diana (Diana monkey)—in the presence and absence of a third, predominately terrestrial monkey, Cercocebus atys (sooty mangabey) in the Ivory Coast's Taï Forest. Via experimental data, we show that sooty mangabeys are effective sentinels for ground predators. Then we compared strata use of red colobus and Diana monkeys in the presence and absence of mangabeys. Our data indicate that red colobus and Diana monkeys descend to low forest levels and to the forest floor significantly more often when mangabeys are spatially intermingled with them, i.e. in polyspecific associations. The niche extension may provide some foraging advantage, especially for red colobus. We identified the specific causal agent—relaxed ground predator pressure—of a temporary shift in habitat use. In this instance, the presence of one species (Cercocebus atys) leads to the temporary expansion of a niche normally avoided by others Piliocolobus badius and Cercopithecus diana.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, 1680 University Drive, Mansfield, Ohio, 44906

    W. Scott McGraw

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    Redouan Bshary

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  1. W. Scott McGraw
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McGraw, W.S., Bshary, R. Association of Terrestrial Mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) with Arboreal Monkeys: Experimental Evidence for the Effects of Reduced Ground Predator Pressure on Habitat Use. International Journal of Primatology 23, 311–325 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013883528244

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