What's burning got to do with it? Primate foraging opportunities in fire-modified landscapes.
OBJECTIVE
Anecdotal and formal evidence indicate that primates take advantage of burned landscapes. However, little work has been done to quantify the costs and benefits of this behavior. Using systematic behavioral observations from a population of South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops pygerythrus), we evaluate differences in food availability and energetics before and after controlled burns altered vegetation near their home range. We aim to determine whether burned habitats offer improved foraging opportunities.


METHODS
We collected feeding data from foraging individuals and analyzed common plant foods for their energetic content. We then used the feeding and energetic data to calculate postencounter profitabilities and encounter rates for food types. Using negative binomial and mixed linear regression models we compared data from burned and unburned habitats.


RESULTS
Our results show significantly improved encounter rates in burned landscapes for two prey items, invertebrates and grasses. However, postencounter profitabilities in burned areas were not significantly different than those achieved in unburned areas.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that improved encounters alone can motivate changes in foraging behavior. These foraging benefits enable the exploitation of burned savanna habitats, likely driving postburn range expansions observed among populations of vervet monkeys. Thus quantified, these results may serve as a foundation for hypotheses regarding the evolution of fire-use in our own lineage.
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112.|Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112.|Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystems Research Unit (ABEERU), University of South Africa, FL, South Africa.
Nicole M
NM
Herzog
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112.
Earl R
ER
Keefe
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112.
Christopher H
CH
Parker
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112.
Kristen
K
Hawkes
D000818:Animals; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D008297:Male; D010944:Plants; D013019:South Africa
behavioral ecology; feeding ecology; optimal foraging models; vervets