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Social and ecological influences on activity budgets of vervet monkeys, and their implications for group living

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Summary

Activity patterns were documented over a 20-month period in six groups of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Group size varied both among groups and within groups through time. The home ranges of two groups were located in Acacia xanthophloea habitat whereas those of four adjacent groups were located in A. tortilis habitat. Repeated measures analysis of variance, three-way analysis of variance, and meta-analysis of group size effects were carried out on feeding, moving, resting, scanning, allo-grooming, and ‘other’ behavior. Time spent feeding varied seasonally, peaking during periods when A. tortilis seeds were eaten. However, time spent feeding did not vary within or among groups, or between habitats, males and females, or dominants and subordinates. Males spend more time scanning and less time allo-grooming than females, and high-ranking individuals of both sexes spent more time scanning than low-ranking individuals. Among females, subordinates spent more time moving, whereas among males, dominants spent more time moving. Groups living in A. xanthophloea habitat spent more time moving and allo-grooming than groups in A. tortilis habitat but this may have been confounded by the fact that these two groups were on average larger than the others. Significant differences in activity budgets among groups demonstrate that activity patterns observed in one group are not always readily generalized to other groups even when they come from the same population. Group size analyses examined potential costs and benefits of group living. Increased intragroup competition, measured by time spent moving and feeding, was only weakly evident in larger groups. Individuals in larger groups allo-groomed more than individuals in smaller groups. Self-grooming also increased in larger groups. Individuals in larger groups spent less time scanning than individuals in smaller groups, but there was more scanning per group in larger groups than in smaller groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, Douglass Campus, Box 270, 08903, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Lynne A. Isbell

  2. Louis Calder Center, Fordham University, Drawer K, 10 504, Armonk, NY, USA

    Truman P. Young

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  1. Lynne A. Isbell
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  2. Truman P. Young
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Correspondence to: L.A. Isbell

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Isbell, L.A., Young, T.P. Social and ecological influences on activity budgets of vervet monkeys, and their implications for group living. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 32, 377–385 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00168821

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