Ecology of Fear Flashcards
The ecology of fear
Behavioral changes in the presence of a predator; all primates respond behaviorally to predation risks w/ alarm call, vigilance, direct attack-mobbing, avoidance/flight
Behavioral attributes
Alarm call, vigilance, direct attack, and avoidance/flight
Alarm call
In almost primate studied, calls for predators
Vigilance
Monitoring the environment, to see if there are predators
Direct attack/mobbing
Everyone getting together, big social groups
Avoidance/flight
Running away
Vervet monkeys
Medium-sized primate that has a lot of predators
Big social groups
Respond with alarm calls, they all sound different and mean something about potential predators, young offspring need to learn what the calls mean
Referential Signaling
Animals calls that represent some aspect of the environment that are understood by others
Anti-predator behaviors are affected by…
Body size
Smaller primates anti-predator behaviors
Small social groups or forage alone, concealment/camouflage, vigilant, avoidance/flight
Larger primates anti-predator behaviors
Larger permanent social groups, mobbing; everyone needs to respond to predators, direct attacks to the predator
Primate predation
Chimps hunt and use tools and spears
Red colobus start to engage by mobbing against chimps
Lemur predation at Bez Mahafaly, Madagascar
Feral dogs/cats, fossa, harrier hawk
Sifaka, ring-tailed lemur, and lepilemur
Types of predation remains can give us clues as to the cause of, dead
Camera traps can help determine predator patterns
Major lemur predator is the fossa
Predation on humans
Australopithecines; about the size of chimps today, possibly part of the prey system
Taung child: Australopithecus Africanus; not a natural death, around the eye socks are puncture wounds from crowned hawk-eagle
Snake predation is also a problem
Predation on primates
All animals need anti-predation strategy or be killed:
Leopards, snakes, alligators, lrg raptors, hyenas, tapeworm
