Abstract
Behavioral ecology is concerned with not only describing animal behavior but placing that description within an evolutionary context, that is, how or why did a particular behavior evolve (Krebs and Davies, 1981). The “how” is often supplied by studies of primate morphology and comparisons with behaviors such as feeding ecology, activity pattern, substrate use, social organization, etc. The “why” is often only available through scenarios or with the help of contextual information. Community paleoecology and taphonomic studies are an essential part of answering why particular primate behavior may have evolved because the contextual evidence that they provide can furnish insights about changes in primate interactions with other primates, mammals, vegetation, and climate.
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Reed, K.E. (2002). The Use of Paleocommunity and Taphonomic Studies in Reconstructing Primate Behavior. In: Plavcan, J.M., Kay, R.F., Jungers, W.L., van Schaik, C.P. (eds) Reconstructing Behavior in the Primate Fossil Record. Advances in Primatology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1343-8_6
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