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Feeding Competition and Group Size in Alouatta pigra

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Researchers consider group size in primates to be determined by complex relationships among numerous ecological forces. Antipredator benefits and better resource defense are the primary pressures for large groups. Conversely, intragroup limited food availability, can result in greater intragroup feeding competition and individual energy expenditure in larger groups, creating energetic advantages for individuals in small groups and placing an upper limit group size. However, the extent to which food availability constrains group size remains unclear for many species, including black howlers (Alouatta pigra), which ubiquitously live in small social groups (≤10 individuals). We studied the relationship between group size and 2 key indices of feeding competition—day journey length and activity budgets—in 3 groups of wild Alouatta pigra at a hurricane-damaged site in Belize, Central America. We controlled for differences in food availability between home ranges (food tree density) and compared both indicators of feeding competition directly with temporal variation in food availability for each group. Our results show no consistent association between resource availability, group size, and either index of competition, indicating that feeding competition does not limit group size at the site—i.e., that larger groups can form without increased costs of feeding competition. The results support the search for other explanations, possibly social ones, for small group size in the primates, and we conclude with suggestions and evidence for such alternative explanations.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Monkey River Village Council, The Forestry Department of the Government of Belize, and the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment granted permission to conduct research in Belize. The Life and Environmental Sciences Animal Care Committee of the University of Calgary approved the research, in accordance with the principles of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (BI2003-023). In addition, we acknowledge continued local support for the project by the people of Monkey River. We thank Aliah Knopff, Keriann McGoogan, and Travis Steffens for field assistance; Tracy Wyman for help with GIS data; and Colin Chapman for feedback on the original manuscript. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments. We also greatly appreciate financial support provided by the Department of Anthropology, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Research Services at the University of Calgary, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and The National Geographic Society.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9

    Kyle H. Knopff

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4

    Mary S. M. Pavelka

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  1. Kyle H. Knopff
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Correspondence to Kyle H. Knopff.

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Knopff, K.H., Pavelka, M.S.M. Feeding Competition and Group Size in Alouatta pigra . Int J Primatol 27, 1059–1078 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-006-9060-1

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