Articlegreen2013

Demographic variability and density‐dependent dynamics of a free‐ranging rhesus macaque population

Raisa Hernández‐Pacheco · Richard G. Rawlins · Matthew J. Kessler · Lawrence E. Williams · Tagrid M. Ruiz‐Maldonado · Janis González‐Martínez +2 more

44 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Primatology

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Primate Behavior and Ecology Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

Abstract

Density-dependence is hypothesized as the major mechanism of population regulation. However, the lack of long-term demographic data has hampered the use of density-dependent models in nonhuman primates. In this study, we make use of the long-term demographic data from Cayo Santiago's rhesus macaques to parameterize and analyze both a density-independent and a density-dependent population matrix model, and compare their projections with the observed population changes. We also employ a retrospective analysis to determine how variance in vital rates, and covariance among them, contributed to the observed variation in long-term fitness across different levels of population density. The population exhibited negative density-dependence in fertility and the model incorporating this relationship accounted for 98% of the observed population dynamics. Variation in survival and fertility of sexually active individuals contributed the most to the variation in long-term fitness, while vital rates displaying high temporal variability exhibited lower sensitivities. Our findings are novel in describing density-dependent dynamics in a provisioned primate population, and in suggesting that selection is acting to lower the variance in the population growth rate by minimizing the variation in adult survival at high density. Because density-dependent mechanisms may become stronger in wild primate populations due to increasing habitat loss and food scarcity, our study demonstrates that it is important to incorporate variation in population size, as well as demographic variability into population viability analyses for a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating the growth of primate populations.

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References

1997The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates 2004Primate Life Histories and Socioecology 2003Offspring: Human Fertility Behavior in Biodemographic Perspective 1997Rhesus monkey behaviour under diverse population densities: coping with long-term crowding 1993Life history costs and consequences of rapid reproductive maturation in female rhesus macaques 2010Low Demographic Variability in Wild Primate Populations: Fitness Impacts of Variation, Covariation, and Serial Correlation in Vital Rates 1970Evidence for seasonal variation in aggressive behaviour by Macaca mulatta 1989The Population Dynamics and Conservation of Primate Populations

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2015What cortisol can tell us about the costs of sociality and reproduction among free‐ranging rhesus macaque females on Cayo Santiago 2025History of Health at Cayo Santiago—An Investigation of Environmental and Genetic Influences on the Skeletal Remains of the Introduced Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) Colony

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