Ugalla Primate Project

The effects of seasonality on ranging behaviour and diet
In large tropical rainforests, switching to fallback foods may be relatively easy for red-tail monkeys. These expansive forests generally contain a greater diversity of plant species and are more structurally complex than savanna environments. Even if high density food patches produce little fruit, the cost of travel from one patch to another may be high.  Conversely, savanna environments present a novel challenge to red-tail monkey foraging strategies. Food is widely distributed and there may be fewer overall foods available during certain times of year. To better understand how these forest guenons adapt their feeding strategies to seasonal changes in resources, then, the purpose of this study is to examine (a) what constitutes preferred and fallback foods for C. ascanius in a savanna environment; (b) how ranging patterns of C. ascanius change in response to dietary shifts; (c) how group size and social structure change with fluctuations in food availability and; (d) the effects of frugivorous competitors on foraging behaviour in red-tail monkeys.