The Role of Vigilance in the Survival and Reproductive Strategies of Desert Baboons

Cowlishaw, Guy

doi:10.1163/156853998793066203

Cited by 73 publications

(67 citation statements)

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“…Increased vigilance might occur for other reasons, e.g. in males as a reproductive strategy (Cowlishaw, 1998), but it seems unlikely to account for this heightened vigilance just before raiding.…”

Section: Behaviour During Raidingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop-raiding Baboons (Papio anubis) and Defensive Farmers: A West African perspective

Warren¹

2009

West African Journal of Applied Ecology

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Baboons are often reported as the worst crop-raiders in Africa, but there has been little observation of the actual behavioural-ecology of their crop-raiding, especially in West Africa. The paper examines the crop-raiding behaviour of a group of habituated baboons (Gamgam group) near the village of Gashaka on the south-western border of Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria. Data were collected during the wet and dry crop seasons via scan sampling and ad libitum techniques. For scan sampling the activity of each observed individual was noted every 2.5 min. For ad libitum data any activity relevant to crop-raiding was noted when it occurred, including the reactions of farmers who were guarding their fields. Descriptive statistics were generated and trends in baboon and human behaviour examined. Sixty-nine percent of Gamgam group's raids were successful. Farmers only prevented or reduced the time baboons spent in fields on 28.9% of all raids. Crops eaten varied from ripe maize to scavenging for scraps of sweet potato in harvested fields. Maize (ripe and dried) was the most frequently eaten crop. All members of Gamgam group, including weaned infants, ate all crops, but only adult males ate bananas. Observations suggested that baboons used cheek pouches to store food before moving to a safer locality to eat, to avoid farmers' attacks and intragroup competition. Deterrent methods included guarding, fences of fish net, poisoned baits, olfactory, visual and auditory scaring devices. Guarding presence in fields was not regular. In the wet season guards reacted to baboon crop-raiding on 54% of raids and in the dry season on 44%. On average it took farmers 23 min to react to baboons in their fields. The two most common reactions of guards were shouting and chasing baboons. Observations do not suggest that any one particular defence method can prevent baboon crop-raiding.

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Section: Behaviour During Raidingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop-raiding Baboons (Papio anubis) and Defensive Farmers: A West African perspective

Warren¹

2009

West African Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Vigilance decreases with increasing neighbors Busia et al (2016), Cowlishaw (1998), Gaynor & Cords (2012) i , Rose & Fedigan (1995), Stojan-Dolar & Heymann (2010), Teichroeb & Sicotte (2012) Vigilance lower with at least one adult neighbor Steenbeek et al (1999), Stojan-Dolar & Heymann (2010), Treves (1998), Treves et al (2001), van Schaik & van Noordwijk (1989 Vigilance increases with increasing neighbors Kutsukake (2006Kutsukake ( , 2007 No significant effect Kutsukake (2006), Watson et al (2015) Distance to neighbors Vigilance increased as distance to nearest group member decreased Suzuki & Sigiura (2011) Vigilance increased as distance to nearest conspecific or heterospecific neighbor increased Robinson (1981), Stojan-Dolar & Heymann (2010) Vigilance higher with few neighbors near and many neighbors farther away, and vice versa.…”

Section: Number Of Neighborsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mothers with dependent infants more vigilant than those with independent young or females without infants Boinski et al (2003), Treves (1999c), Treves et al (2003) No difference found between adult females with or without infants Treves (1998) All adult individuals increased vigilance after birth of infants Treves et al (2001) Vigilance increased when infant-carrying Steenbeek et al (1999), Stojan-Dolar & Heymann (2010) Age Vigilance increases with age in both sexes Boinski et al (2003), Busia et al (2016), de Ruiter (1986, Fragaszy (1990), Gosselin-Ildari & Koenig (2012) Vigilance decreased with age in both sexes Watson et al (2015) No age-related effects Caine & Marra (1988) Activity Vigilance higher during resting and traveling van Schaik & van Noordwijk (1989) Vigilance higher during resting Cowlishaw (1998), Gaynor & Cords (2012), Stojan-Dolar & Heymann (2010), Suzuki & Sigiura (2011) Vigilance lower during grooming than resting or feeding Cords (1995) Routine vigilance higher during feeding Teichroeb & Sicotte (2012) No difference between feeding or resting Macintosh & Sicotte (2009), Teichroeb & Sicotte (2012 Vigilance higher during foraging than resting Kutsukake (2006) Isbell & Young (1993), Kazahari & Agetsuma (2010) f , Hill & Cowlishaw (2002) h Subgroup size Vigilance lower with larger subgroup sizes but only in boundary areas Busia et al (2016) No effect of daily party size Kutsukake (2006) Group composition…”

Section: A R Ia Ti On I N P Ri M a Te V I Gi La N Ce S T U Di E Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certainly, vigilance has been reported to be important in mate and competitor detection in male chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) (Cowlishaw, 1998), in social monitoring for within-group threats in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) (Kutsukake, 2006), and monitoring both within-group and extra-group threats in blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) (Gaynor & Cords, 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

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What have we been looking at? A call for consistency in studies of primate vigilance

Allan

Hill

2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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Vigilance functions to detect threats. In primates, these threats emerge from both predators and conspecifics, but a host of other social, demographic, and ecological factors have been shown to influence primate vigilance patterns. The primate vigilance literature is thus characterized by considerable variation in findings, with inconsistent or contradictory results reported not only across different species but also within species and populations across studies. Some of this variation could emerge from fundamental differences in the methods employed, making comparisons across species and groups challenging. Furthermore, identifying consistent behavioral markers for the state of vigilance appears to have proved challenging in primates, leading to a range of definitions being developed. Deviation at this level leads directly into concomitant variation at the level of sampling methodologies. As a result, the primate vigilance literature currently presents a diverse series of approaches to exploring subtly different behaviors and phenomena. This review calls for a greater consistency in studying vigilance, with the aim of encouraging future research to follow similar principles leading to more comparable results. Identifying whether an animal is in a vigilant state is challenging for most field researchers; identifying and recording a more general behavior of "looking" should though be more achievable. Experimental approaches could then be employed to understand the compatibility "looking" has with predator detection (and other threats) in individual study systems. The outcome of this approach will allow researchers to understand the key determinants of looking in their study groups and explore threat detection probabilities given an individual or group's relative level of looking.

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“…The fact that actual predation was witnessed but rarely fueled a debate regarding whether predation or food acquisition played a more important role in primate evolution (Wrangham, 1980;van Schaik, 1983;Anderson, 1986;Janson, 1987;Wrangham, 1987;Rodman, 1988;Janson, 1998). More recent studies are more subtle in their design, and have worked from a hypothetical framework that an animal's being eaten is more costly than its missing a meal; they have thus attempted to quantify how animals perceive and act upon predation risk rather than the act of predation itself (Cords, 1990;Boesch, 1994;Isbell, 1994;Cowlishaw, 1997;Hill & Dunbar, 1998;Cowlishaw, 1998). Other investigations have been founded on how primate cognitive abilities and complex social learning aid them in avoiding predators (Seyfarth et al, 1980;Bshary and Noë , 1997;Zuberbühler et al , 1999;Zuberbühler, 2000;Shultz et al, 2004).…”

Section: Prefacementioning

confidence: 99%

Primate Anti-Predator Strategies

Gursky¹,

Nekaris²

2007

Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects

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This peer-reviewed book series melds the facts of organic diversity with the continuity of the evolutionary process. The volumes in this series exemplify the diversity of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches currently employed by primatologists and physical anthropologists. Specific coverage includes: primate behavior in natural habitats and captive settings; primate ecology and conservation; functional morphology and developmental biology of primates; primate systematics; genetic and phenotypic differences among living primates; and paleoprimatology. Printed in acid-free paper. ANTHROPOID ORIGINS: NEW VISIONSAll rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of going to press, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. PrefaceThe impact of predation on the morphology, behavior, and ecology of animals has long been recognized by the primatologist community (Altmann, 1956;Burtt, 1981;Curio, 1976;Hamilton, 1971;Kruuk, 1972). Recent thorough reviews of adaptations of birds and mammals to predation have emphasized the complex role that predation threat has played in modifying proximate behaviors such as habitat choice to avoid predator detection, degree and type of vigilance, and group size and defense, as well as ultimate factors including the evolution of warning systems, coloration, and locomotor patterns (Thompson et al., 1980;Sih, 1987;Lima & Dill, 1990;Curio, 1993;Caro, 2005). From the late 1960s, primatologists have adopted similar techniques to analyze the impacts of predation on the social systems of monkeys and apes (Crook & Gartlan, 1966;Eisenberg et al., 1972;Goss-Custard et al., 1972; Clutton-Brock, 1974; van Schaik & van Hooff, 1983). The fact that actual predation was witnessed but rarely fueled a debate regarding whether predation or food acquisition played a more important role in primate evolution (Wrangham, 1980;van Schaik, 1983;Anderson, 1986;Janson, 1987; Wrangham, 1987;Rodman, 1988;Janson, 1998). More recent studies are more subtle in their design, and have worked from a hypothetical framework that an animal's being eaten is mor...

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The Role of Vigilance in the Survival and Reproductive Strategies of Desert Baboons

Cited by 73 publications

References 70 publications

Crop-raiding Baboons (Papio anubis) and Defensive Farmers: A West African perspective

Crop-raiding Baboons (Papio anubis) and Defensive Farmers: A West African perspective

What have we been looking at? A call for consistency in studies of primate vigilance

Primate Anti-Predator Strategies

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