The Evolutionary History and Palaeo-Ecology of Primate Predation: Macaca sylvanus from Plio-Pleistocene Europe as a Case Study

Abstract

In this article we briefly review primate interactions with predators throughout their evolutionary history. Like today, predators of past primates were taxonomically diverse, including crocodilians, aquatic mammals, hyaenids, raptors and other primates. There is strong evidence for felid predation of extinct primates, with most work undertaken on the African Plio-Pleistocene fossil record. Felid predation of Plio-Pleistocene primates from other areas, including Europe, is much less well understood, so we explored co-occurrence and potential interaction between carnivorans (with particular reference to felids) and Macaca sylvanus, which was widespread and present in Europe from the late Miocene to the late Pleistocene. Over its tenure in the fossil record, M. sylvanus co-occurred with a diverse array of carnivorans, including canids and hyaenids, but medium-sized felids probably posed the most significant predation risk. It is likely, however, that human predation was a major factor contributing to macaque extinction in Europe.

Macaques at the margins: the biogeography and extinction of Macaca sylvanus in Europe

“…This is similar to the fossil records of other European monkeys in the Pliocene and Pleistocene but is in contrast to the relative abundance of Mesopithecus in at least parts of Europe during the Miocene (Koufos, 2009), and the large amount of material attributed to some monkey species in Africa, such as Theropithecus oswaldi (Delson, 1993). It is possible -but by no means demonstrated -that the sparse fossil record of monkeys in the European Pliocene and especially Pleistocene reflects their rarity in life (Meloro and Elton, 2012). Primates are a tropical radiation, so the relatively poor representation of later European primates compared to those in the tropics (or even within Europe in the warmer Miocene) may have been due, at least in part, to the 'marginal' nature of primate occupation in temperate regions.…”

“…Human occupation is a highly significant negative influence on modern M. sylvanus distributions (Menard, 2002;Butynski et al, 2008). Given the association between fossil macaques and Homo in the Late Pleistocene fossil record -and bearing in mind the long history of hominin predation on monkeys, including the threat that the contemporary bushmeat trade poses to extant primates -it is highly likely Pleistocene macaques fell prey to Homo, especially in resourcelimited environments (Meloro and Elton, 2012). Predation by Homo therefore cannot be discounted as a contributing factor in macaque extinction in Europe (Meloro and Elton, 2012 …”

“…It is therefore possible that these time budgeting constraints would depress group sizes in European macaques to the extent that the minimum viable group size -the number of individuals required to ensure a healthy breeding population -could not be met. This situation is further complicated by the fact that increased predation risk also increases group size (Hill and Dunbar, 1998), so the composition of the ecological community in which fossil macaques lived would exert a separate pressure on group size (Meloro and Elton, 2012) that would also contribute to defining a minimum viable group size.…”

“…This may have been (Meloro and Elton, 2012). Environmental stochasticity and decreased genetic diversity are significant causes of extinction in modern organisms (Lande, 1993(Lande, , 1998, and it is easy to see how these factors could push European macaque populations below minimum viable size.…”

Paleobiology and Behavior

“…For example, predators may leave tooth, claw or even tool marks on their prey, or remains of prey may be contained in coprolites (fossilised faeces). There are several well-documented examples of predation in the primate fossil record, including Europolemur at Messel found in the coprolite of an aquatic mammal, another Europolemur shaken in half by a crocodilian, raptor hunting of apes including hominins, and numerous carnivore tooth marks on primates across their evolutionary history (reviewed in Meloro and Elton 2012). This helps paint a picture of primate palaeoecology, which in turn can aid our understanding of palaeobiology and behaviour over time.…”