Factors affecting presence of vervet monkey troops in a suburban matrix in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Patterson, Lindsay; Kalle, Riddhika; Downs, Colleen T.

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.09.016

Cited by 28 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Understanding the relationship between an animal and its environment can provide essential information for conservation management and urban planning (Patterson, Kalle, & Downs, 2018). Time budgets provide a useful method to test ecological hypotheses (Isbell & Young, 1993) as they allow the representation of time allocation where trade-offs in behaviors are illustrative of the resources and time available (Dunbar, Korstjens & Lehmann, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic influences on the time budgets of urban vervet monkeys

Thatcher

Downs

Koyama

2019

Landscape and Urban Planning

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Continuing urban developments are ecologically changing many landscapes. A greater understanding of how wildlife adapt behaviorally to these changes is necessary to inform management decisions. Time is a valuable resource to wildlife and a reflection of ecological pressures on the behavioral repertoire of an animal. Data on urban vervet monkey, Chlorocebus pygerythrus, time budgets are generally limited and dated. We aimed to investigate the effect of anthropogenic influences, both human food consumption (positive) and human-monkey conflict (negative) on the time budgets of vervet monkeys in an urban landscape. We collected 20 min. focal animal observations and used generalized linear mixed models to assess the variation in time budget between five urban vervet monkey groups differing in anthropogenic contact over one year. We recorded anthropogenic interactions ad lib. as positive and negative. Our results showed seasonal influences across all behaviors. Furthermore, anthropogenic disturbance influenced all aspects of time budget to some degree. We found a positive interaction effect between positive and negative human incidents on foraging, and a negative interaction effect on movement and social behavior. Overall, vervet monkeys exhibited behavioral flexibility in the urban landscape. We suggest a complex association of costs and benefits to urban living.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic influences on the time budgets of urban vervet monkeys

Thatcher

Downs

Koyama

2019

Landscape and Urban Planning

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“…This has a major influence on wide‐ranging species because of their high energy requirements when resources are distributed patchily as a result of habitat fragmentation (Lindstedt, Miller, & Buskirk, ). Species like vervet monkeys are likely to use developed areas leading to human–monkey conflict, particularly when the main land use includes housing and entertainment with supplementary anthropogenic food opportunities (Patterson, Kalle, & Downs, ). Overall, the eco‐estate and its sports and leisure developments influenced the habitat use of vervet monkeys within the home ranges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on primate behavioural flexibility in anthropogenic habitats has increased markedly since the 2000s; however, this only includes 17% of currently recognised species (McLennan, Spagnoletti, & Hockings, ). Therefore, while vervet monkeys are shown to persist in urban areas (Chapman & Fedigan, ; Horrocks & Baulu, ; McLennan et al, ; Patterson, Kalle, & Downs, , ,; Shimada & Shotake, ; Thatcher, Downs, & Koyama, , ; Wolfheim, ), the absence of urban spatial data has greatly curtailed the efficacy of vervet monkey management efforts in transformed landscapes like KZN. To date, most management decisions have been based on previous practices, public opinion and the suggestions of researchers both with and without relevant experience and knowledge of the local vervet monkey population (Simbithi Environmental Group, 2016 pers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living in the suburbs: Space use by vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in an eco‐estate, South Africa

2019

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We examined vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) space use using GPS/UHF telemetry data from 10 vervet monkeys across six troops over 9 months within a 420 ha suburban eco‐estate. We documented a mean home range of 0.99 km2 (95% MCP) and 1.07 km2 (95% KDE) for females (n = 6), 1 km2 (95% MCP) and 1.50 km2 (95% KDE) for males (n = 4) and 0.87 km2 (95% MCP) and 1.12 km2 (95% KDE) for troops (n = 6), respectively, indicating that males and larger troops had larger home ranges. These relatively small home ranges included shared territorial boundaries and high home range overlap. Vervet monkey movements indicated higher morning activity levels, and habitat selection indicated significantly more use of golf course, urban residential and forest, thicket and woodland areas, and avoidance of wetland, grassland and shrub, and urban built‐up areas. Our results suggest that modified habitat use by vervet monkeys is a consequence of behavioural facilitation to access highly available food resources, thereby facilitating their persistence in green spaces in urban areas of South Africa. Conflict management is dependent on the conservation of sufficient natural habitats and food resources, to minimise their dependence on anthropogenic supplementary food resources and consequently reduce human–monkey conflict.

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“…Vervet monkeys can thrive in urban landscapes (Patterson et al 2017(Patterson et al , 2018(Patterson et al , 2019Saj et al 1999), exhibiting behavioral flexibility to adapt to anthropogenic disturbance (Chapman et al 2016;Thatcher et al 2019). It is therefore an ideal species to examine the effect of variation in human-wildlife interactions on ranging behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive and Negative Interactions with Humans Concurrently Affect Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) Ranging Behavior

2019

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Many nonhuman primates adjust their behavior and thrive in human-altered habitats, including towns and cities. Studying anthropogenic influences from an animal's perspective can increase our understanding of their behavioral flexibility, presenting important information for human-wildlife cohabitation management plans. Currently, research on anthropogenically disturbed wildlife considers either positive or negative aspects of human-wildlife encounters independently, highlighting a need to consider potential interactions between both aspects. Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are a suitable species to address this gap in research as they tolerate urbanization; however, they are understudied in urban landscapes. We conducted this study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where vervet monkeys are commonly found throughout the anthropogenic landscape. Here we determined, from a monkey's perspective, how the frequency and nature of human-monkey interactions, both positive (human food availability) and negative (human-monkey aggression), affected vervet monkey ranging patterns in an urban environment. We assessed the movement patterns of three groups of urban vervet monkeys over 1 year, analyzing both 95% and 50% kernel density estimates of their home ranges alongside daily path lengths and path sinuosities every month using generalized linear mixed models. Overall, we found that human interactions within the urban landscape affected all measures of ranging to some degree. The core home ranges of vervet monkeys increased with a higher rate of positive human encounters, and their total home range increased with an interaction of both positive and negative human encounters. Furthermore, vervet monkeys were less likely to respond (i.e., increase daily path length or path sinuosity) to human aggression when food rewards were high, suggesting that effective management should focus on reducing human food foraging opportunities. Our results highlight the complex interplay between positive and negative aspects of urban living and provide guidance for managers of human-nonhuman primate interactions.

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Factors affecting presence of vervet monkey troops in a suburban matrix in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Cited by 28 publications

References 34 publications

Anthropogenic influences on the time budgets of urban vervet monkeys

Anthropogenic influences on the time budgets of urban vervet monkeys

Living in the suburbs: Space use by vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in an eco‐estate, South Africa

Positive and Negative Interactions with Humans Concurrently Affect Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) Ranging Behavior

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