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Community Ecology Ranging Behavior Intergroup Interactions Interspecies Interaction Predation Primates & Plants.

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Presentation on theme: "Community Ecology Ranging Behavior Intergroup Interactions Interspecies Interaction Predation Primates & Plants."— Presentation transcript:

1 Community Ecology Ranging Behavior Intergroup Interactions Interspecies Interaction Predation Primates & Plants

2 Home Range The entire range of a group of animals The widest area in which a group of animals travel A circumscribable area in which all daily and seasonal activities take place Longer studies tend to have longer home range estimates for the species

3 Determining Home Range 1.Grid Count Method - Mark the position of the animals on a map, superimpose a grid, count the # of grids entered, calculate area 2.Minimum Convex Polygon - Mark the position of the animals on a map, draw a polygon around all the points, calculate the area of the polygon 3.Digitized Polygon

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5 Grid Cell Count

6 Determining Home Range 1.Grid Count Method - Mark the position of the animals on a map, superimpose a grid, count the # of grids entered, calculate area 2.Minimum Convex Polygon - Mark the position of the animals on a map, draw a polygon around all the points, calculate the area of the polygon 3.Digitized Polygon

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9 Determining Home Range 1.Grid Count Method - Mark the position of the animals on a map, superimpose a grid, count the # of grids entered, calculate area 2.Minimum Convex Polygon - Mark the position of the animals on a map, draw a polygon around all the points, calculate the area of the polygon 3.Digitized Polygon

10 Digititzed Polygon Tag and take a location reading of each tree in which the animals are seen (Long/Lat or UTM) using GPS Import into GIS software (ex ArcGIS) Put a buffer around each point (or around the day ranges) = to average group spread Join the points in a tight polygon – subtract lacunae, have program calculate the area

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13 Minimum Convex Polygon Easy to calculate Comparable between sites Overestimates area Longer the study, the larger the area Grid Cell Count Size of cell greatly influences area Core use easily calculated Digitized Polygon Most accurate Harder to calculate Errors associated with GPS Utilizes both point and line data (sightings and day ranges)

14 Home Range Related concepts/measures Core area – areas in which the group spends disproportionately large amounts of time – ex main feeding trees, sleeping trees, water holes. Areas integral to daily life. Daily Path Length or Day Journey Length – distance an animal or group travels in a day

15 Core Area

16 Home Range May or may not be defended, in part or whole The part that is actively defended and exclusively used we call a territory Some animals are not territorial – they do not actively defend or exclusively use any area.

17 Territory Area that is actively defended and exclusively used Territoriality – the behavior (active defense and exclusive use) associated with the territory

18 Territoriality – expressed in at least 4 ways 1.Scent Marking - marmosets 2.Vocalizing - howlers 3.Display - gibbons 4.Physical Confrontation – chimpanzees

19 Functions of Territoriality? (agonistic between group interactions) 1.Defence of food supply (females) 2.Defence of females (males) 3.Protection against infanticide 4.Phylogeny 5.Link to monogamy? Different explanations in different cases – probably not a single phenonmenon

20 Intergroup Interactions Range from very friendly in some species to very aggressive in others Some regularly join up and form supertroops (ex hamadryas, geladas) Some are violently territorial – chimps? Some groups have extensive range overlap and just avoid each other

21 Intergroup Dominance When one group is able to consistently displace another group regardless of where they meet Between group competition Which group is dominant depends on group size, sometimes the number of adult males

22 Interspecies Interactions Allopatry – when the geographic ranges of 2 species do not overlap. They are geographically separated from one another. Ex. Lemurs and lorises. Sympatry – when two or more species have overlapping geographic ranges. Result is competition for resources. More closely related the species, the more intense the competition. Ex. Spiders, howlers, cebus

23 Competitive Exclusion Complete competitors cannot coexist Animals with similar needs, living in the same place, must find ways to reduce the direct competition

24 Niche divergence Aka – partitioning, differentiation Within the same general area, there many be many distinct habitats, and many distinct ecological niches. Niche divergence allows similar species to reduce competition through separation of some or many aspects of their ecology. Ex – slight differences in diet, forest strata, activity patterns

25 Two kinds of competition 1.Outright interference (contest) – usually involves aggression (chasing etc). Sympatric primates sometimes form interspecific dominance hierarchies (ex spiders & howlers in Costa Rica) 2.Exploitation (scramble) – trying to exploit a resource that others have already exploited/eaten. General reduction in available resources.

26 Effects of Interspecific Competition The less successful competitor will generally experience a reduction in any/all of these: Population density Geographic distribution Ranging patterns Dietary diversity

27 Benefits of Interspecies Interactions Access to otherwise inaccessible food sources Increased predator detection and warning Improved competitive ability Social benefits?

28 Predation Assumed to be a major force in primate behavior and social life Actual data on predation risk or threat is Actual reports of predation on primates are rare

29 Reports of predation on primates are rare because Predators avoid humans – predation does not take place when we are there Many predators hunt at night We are normally studying the prey, not the predators (chimp/colobus exception) Maybe predation is actually rare? Not likely.

30 Indirect Evidence The existence of regular, predictable predator defence behaviors & other adaptations many small primates are cryptic many are vigilant all have alarm calls These things only make sense if we assume that there is predation pressure

31 Predation and Infanticide Similar pattern – Theoretically – both are credited with being a major force in the evolution or primate social life. Empirically – both are relatively rare behaviors and thus we have relatively little good solid quantitative data Actual evidence - both rely on the existence of counterstrategies (anti-predator and anti- infanticide)

32 Primates as Prey Predators that prey on primates: Carnivores (big cats, wild dogs) Crocodiles at waterholes Raptors (hawks, eagles) Snakes Other primates

33 Primates as Predators 1.Humans - everything 2.Chimpanzees – galagos, bushbabies, blue monkeys, red tail monkeys, baboons, black and white colobus, red colobus (35 types of vertebrate animals) 3.Baboons - small deer & vervet monkeys 4.Blue monkeys – galagos & bushbabies

34 Primates and Plants Do primates help or hinder plants? Hinder – flower and seed predators, damage to limbs and bark Help – pollination & seed dispersal Primate – Angiosperm Coevolution?


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