Behavioral adjustments of endangered Barbary macaques (<i>Macaca sylvanus</i>) living at the edge of an agricultural landscape in Morocco

Abstract

Transition zones between natural and human-altered spaces are eroding in most terrestrial ecosystems. The persistence of animals in shared landscapes depends in part on their behavioral flexibility, which may involve being able to exploit human agricultural production. As a forest-dependent species, the Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is affected by the progressive conversion of forest-adjacent lands into crops. We explore how Barbary macaque behavior differs between groups living in a forest at the edge of agricultural zones (hereafter "disturbed groups") and groups inhabiting undisturbed forests (hereafter "natural groups"). We compare the diets, activity-budgets, home range sizes, daily path lengths, and sleeping site locations of the groups. We also quantify anthropogenic disturbances (i.e., rates of encounter with humans and dogs) and investigate relationships between such disturbances and the diets and activity budgets of macaques through multiple co-inertia analysis. Disturbed groups included high proportions of cultivated food items in their diet and encountered over 0.5/h anthropogenic disturbances. Activity-budgets differed between disturbed and natural groups and were mostly influenced by diets, not anthropogenic disturbances. Disturbed groups spent more time feeding and less time resting than natural ones. Patterns of space use differed markedly between groups, with disturbed groups displaying smaller home ranges, shorter daily path length, and much higher reutilization of sleeping sites than natural groups. This study highlights the dietary and behavioral flexibility of Barbary macaques living in human-altered environments. Their patterns of space use suggest a reduction in energy expenditure in the disturbed groups due to the inclusion of cultivated food items in their diet possibly leading to increased foraging efficiency. However, the high rates of anthropogenic encounters, including aggressive ones, are likely stressful and may potentially induce extra energy costs and lead to macaque injuries. This could result in demographic costs for crop-foraging groups, threatening the conservation of this endangered species.