Variation in the Diets of Cercopithecus Species: Differences within Forests, among Forests, and across Species

Abstract

Theory about the evolution of primate social organization typically focuses on rare, conspicuous behaviors such as female dispersal, grooming patterns or dyadic contests over resources which are felt to shape female relationships within groups. We evaluated if other, more subtle and more common measures of female behavior agree with the classificatory schemes derived from the former measures. Red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius), classified as egalitarian and female-resident on the basis of dispersal, grooming, and contest, were compared to red colobus monkeys (Procolobus badius tephrosceles) classified as despotic and female-dispersing, and to black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) classified as egalitarian and female-dispersing. Whether a species was classified as female-dispersal or female-resident did not predict patterns of female-female proximity but did predict patterns of female-male proximity. Despotic vs. egalitarian competitive regimes among females predicted patterns of within-group vigilance. Measurement of female-male proximity and within-group vigilance can therefore provide an alternative, more rapid and continuous measure of female social relationships within primate groups.