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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

Behavioural adjustments of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) inhabiting an agricultural landscape

Résumé

Primate habitats are heavily impacted by human activities, resulting in primate populations frequently inhabiting anthropogenic landscapes. Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) are forest-dependent monkeys whose habitats are increasingly modified by human activities. Their survival in such modified landscapes depends largely on behavioral flexibility, which they display notably by foraging in crops. Whilst Barbary macaques have been extensively studied in forests, their crop-foraging behaviors remain poorly known. In this study, we explore how Barbary macaques adjust their behavior in response to agricultural settlement and anthropogenic disturbance. The behavior of a human-commensal group living near a rural village in the Middle-Atlas (Morocco) was examined in relation to the availability of cultivated walnut, and compared with a group living in an undisturbed oak forest in Algeria. The commensal group used crops extensively, even when cultivated foods were not available, and despite high human presence and frequent aggression from people. Activity budgets were influenced by walnut availability, with the commensal group resting more, and feeding and foraging less when walnuts were available compared to when they were not. They were also influenced by habitat type, with the commensal group spending more time resting and socializing, and less time feeding and foraging than the forest group. Ranging patterns were also affected by habitat type: the commensal group travelled shorter hourly distances, and their home range and core area were, respectively, seven and five times smaller than those of the forest group. Our study reveals that Barbary macaques are able of great behavioral flexibility to adapt to anthropogenic landscapes. The use of crops by the commensal group resulted in improved foraging efficiency, the benefits of which appear to outweigh the costs induced by chasing and attacks by humans.
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Dates et versions

hal-04193027 , version 1 (31-08-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04193027 , version 1

Citer

Elisa Neves, Dominique Vallet, Coline Duperron, Sidi Imad Cherkaoui, Zouhair Amhaouch, et al.. Behavioural adjustments of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) inhabiting an agricultural landscape. Congrès international SFE², SFE² GFÖ EEF, Nov 2022, Metz, France. ⟨hal-04193027⟩
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