Anti-predation behaviour of red colobus monkeys in the presence of chimpanzees

Predator-prey interactions are usually regarded as evolutionary “arms races”, but evidence is still scarce. We examined whether the anti-predation strategies of red colobus monkeys (Procolobus badius) are adapted to the hunting strategies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Taï chimpanzees search for red colobus groups, approach them silently and hunt co-operatively. Our playback experiments and observations of natural encounters revealed that red colobus hid higher up the trees in positions where exposure to the forest floor is minimal and became silent, when chimpanzees were close. They moved away silently through the canopy, when chimpanzees were still at some distance. However, if a group of diana monkeys was nearby in the latter situation, red colobus sought their presence even if they had to move towards the chimpanzees. Chimpanzees refrained from hunting associated red colobus groups, probably because diana monkeys are excellent sentinels for predators approaching over the forest floor. Thus several elements of both the predator's and the prey's strategies correspond to each other. Finally, we compared the interactions between the two species in Taï and in Gombe, Tanzania. We suggest that the difference in size ratio between the two species at the two sites and adaptation of hunting techniques and of escape modes to different forest structures can explain why Gombe red colobus attack chimpanzees while Taï red colobus try to escape. We conclude that predator-prey interactions can indeed lead to evolutionary arms races, with the specific form of co-adaptations depending on environmental factors.     

Diana monkeys, Cercopithecus diana, adjust their anti-predator response behaviour to human hunting strategies

In Taï National Park, Ivory Coast, humans with guns hunt monkeys for their meat. The poachers imitate animal calls to feign the presence of eagles or leopards, two predators to which monkeys react with high calling rates and approach. In the presence of humans, monkeys become silent and move off. A small area of the park is now avoided by poachers, due to the establishment of a field project on chimpanzees in 1979. This offered the opportunity to investigate whether sudden changes in predation pressure lead to a rapid alteration in prey behaviour. Playback experiments, using groups of Diana monkeys, Cercopithecus diana, as subjects, revealed that the poachers' strategy works well in the home range of the habituated chimpanzee group. However, monkeys which are frequently exposed to poachers are rarely fooled by the imitations. Adaptive discrimination abilities can thus be acquired or lost within the lifespan of individual monkeys.