Demography and Life Histories of Sympatric Patas Monkeys, Erythrocebus patas, and Vervets, Cercopithecus aethiops, in Laikipia, Kenya

Bibliographic Data

ID11279722
AuthorsLynne A Isbell (0000-0002-2285-6411, University of California, Davis, corresponding author), Truman P Young (0000-0002-7326-3894, Plant (United States)), Karin Enstam Jaffe (Sonoma State University), Anne A Carlson (University of Wisconsin–Madison), Rebecca Chancellor (0000-0001-7578-9390, University of California, Davis), Rebecca L Chancellor
Year2009
Volume30
Issue1
Pages103-124
Publication date2009-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0164-0291 • E-ISSN: 1573-8604
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10764-009-9332-7
PMID20976285
PMCIDPMC2949556
OpenAlexW2129662597
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited61

Mortality patterns are thought to be strong selective forces on life history traits, with high adult mortality and low immature mortality favoring early and rapid reproduction. Patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) have the highest potential rates of population increase for their body size of any haplorhine primate because they reproduce both earlier and more often. We report here 10 yr of comparative demographic data on a population of patas monkeys and a sympatric population of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops), a closely related species differing in aspects of social system, ecology, and life history. The data reveal that 1) adult female patas monkeys have significantly higher mortality than adult female vervets; 2) infant mortality in patas monkeys is relatively low compared to the norm for mammals because it is not significantly different from that of adult female patas monkeys; and 3) infant mortality is significantly higher than adult female mortality in vervets. For both species, much of the mortality could be attributed to predation. An epidemic illness was also a major contributor to the mortality of adult female patas monkeys whereas chronic exposure to pathogens in a cold and damp microenvironment may have contributed to the mortality of infant vervets. Both populations experienced large fluctuations during the study period. Our results support the prediction from demographic models of life history evolution that high adult mortality relative to immature mortality selects for early maturation

Animal ecology · Biology · Cercopithecus aethiops · Mortality rate · Population · Primate · Zoology · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Demography · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Ecology · Immunology

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