Range utilization slopes as a measure of central tendency and intergroup overlap in primates
Creators
- 1. University of California, Santa Barbara
- 2. Washington State University
Description
Animals that occupy stable home ranges tend to unevenly exploit different areas in their efforts to find fitness-limiting resources, while also reducing the risks of intergroup conflict. Most analyses of these extrinsic forces identify their effects on movement paths and home range geometry, but not on the interaction of these responses or how movements might be centrally constrained as a result of competition with neighbors. The range utilization slope is a measure of central tendency and consists of space use plotted against distance from the center of the range. Slopes tend to be linear, concave-up, or concave-down, and are predicted to change as a function of feeding competition from neighbors. To test this prediction and determine the spatio-temporal scales over which the central tendency might vary, we calculated utilization slopes and an index of range overlap for grey-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena), blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), and red-tailed monkeys (C. ascanius) in Uganda, which consume similar diets but experience varying intensities of intergroup conflict. As predicted, we find variation in utilization slopes across and within species, which corresponds with the extent of range overlap among conspecific groups.
Notes
We used STATA v12.1 to analyze the data, but the files can also be opened with Microsoft Excel or R.
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: 0824512
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: 0333415
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: 0742450
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: 1103444
Funding provided by: Leakey Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005966
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Funding provided by: Columbia University
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100006474
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Funding provided by: University of California, Santa Barbara
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100007183
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Funding provided by: International Primatological Society*
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Funding provided by: American Association of Physical Anthropologists*
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Funding provided by: Hellman Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010336
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