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Activity and Ranging Patterns of Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii in Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda: Possible Costs of Large Group Size

  • Special Issue: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation of Colobine Monkeys
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With group sizes sometimes >300 individuals, the Angolan black-and-white colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) population in Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda is an intriguing exception to the tendency for folivores to live in smaller groups than expected relative to body size. Researchers have hypothesized that the unusually high quality of foliage at Nyungwe allows colobus there to avoid intragroup feeding competition, releasing constraints on the formation of large groups (Fimbel et al., 2001). We collected data on the activity and ranging patterns of a >300-member Nyungwe colobus group and compared our results to those from smaller groups in other black-and-white colobus (Colobus spp.) populations. Colobus at Nyungwe spent far more time feeding and moving (62%) and far less time resting (32%) than black-and-white colobus at any other site. The annual home range of the Nyungwe colobus was also many times larger (95% minimum convex polygon: 20.7 km2; 95% fixed kernel: 24.4 km2) than those for other populations. We terminated our research after the group engaged in an unprecedented migration among black-and-white colobus by moving 13 km south of their former range. Our results suggest that intragroup scramble competition may be more intense than originally believed within the large colobus groups at Nyungwe and that long periods of resource renewal may be necessary after a large colobus group passes through an area, thereby potentially helping to explain their wide ranging patterns. We discuss the socioecological convergence between the Nyungwe colobus and Chinese snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus spp.) and suggest directions for future research on the unique black-and-white colobus population at Nyungwe.

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Notes

  1. The term black-and-white colobus as used here refers to all 5 Colobus spp. collectively as in Groves (2001).

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank L’Office Rwandaise du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux for permission to conduct research in Nyungwe Forest. We also thank the Projet Conservation de la Forêt de Nyungwe/Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) staff for their vital assistance clearing paths and tracking colobus across difficult terrain. A New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology/WCS postdoctoral fellowship supported P. Fashing's research at Nyungwe, and WCS funded the remainder of the research. We thank Mark Fashing, Tara Harris, and Gillian Woolmer for advice regarding ArcView.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science and Conservation, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, One Wild Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15206, USA

    Peter J. Fashing

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15206, USA

    Peter J. Fashing

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15206, USA

    Peter J. Fashing

  4. Projet Conservation de la Forêt de Nyungwe, Wildlife Conservation Society, Gisakura, Rwanda

    Felix Mulindahabi, Jean-Baptiste Gakima, Michel Masozera & Ian Mununura

  5. Albertine Rift Programme, Wildlife Conservation Society, P.O. Box 7487, Kampala, Uganda

    Andrew J. Plumptre

  6. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 08544, USA

    Nga Nguyen

  7. Department of Conservation and Science, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, 3900 Wildlife Way, Cleveland, Ohio, 44109, USA

    Nga Nguyen

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  1. Peter J. Fashing
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Fashing, P.J., Mulindahabi, F., Gakima, JB. et al. Activity and Ranging Patterns of Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii in Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda: Possible Costs of Large Group Size. Int J Primatol 28, 529–550 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-006-9095-3

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