Publications [#362284] of Thomas T Struhsaker

Journal Articles

1. Struhsaker, TT; Leland, L, Socioecology of Five Sympatric Monkey Species in the Kibale Forest, Uganda, Advances in the Study of Behavior, vol. 9 no. C (January, 1979), pp. 159-228 [doi]
   (last updated on 2025/06/15)

   Abstract:
   This chapter discusses: (1) the major behavioral and sociological features of the five sympatric species, including red colobus, black and white colobus (bw), mangabey, blue monkey, and redtail monkey, (2) presents hypotheses relating their social organization and ecology, (3) examines the applicability of these hypotheses to other primates, especially other cercopithecids, and (4) suggests testable hypotheses and fruitful areas for future research. Food availability is usually seen as determined by the environment. However, it is important to take into account both the physiology and anatomy of the consumer species concerned. Group size of bw colobus is relatively stable in differing habitats and this may be related to its limited digestive and detoxification abilities. The Kibale omnivores showed an inverse relationship between body and group size, and a direct relationship between the body and home range size. Similar trends are suggested by the spider, capuchin, and squirrel monkeys. The smallest monkeys had the largest group size and the smallest home range, probably due to their greater dietary diversity and foraging efficiency for mobile arthropods. It is still unclear why the groups of red colobus with completely overlapping home ranges in Kibale do not unite into one group. Probably, it is a matter of some subtle factor of feeding ecology or a function of social factors, such as the optimal group size for maximizing the reproductive success of individual high-ranking males. © 1979, Academic Press Inc.