THE BARBADOS VERVET MONKEY (CERCOPITHECUS-AETHIOPS SABAEUS) - CHANGESIN POPULATION-SIZE AND CROP DAMAGE, 1980-1994

We investigated changes in population site and crop damage for the ver vet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) in Barbados over the perio d 1980-1994. In both 1980 and 1994, we obtained data primarily via a s urvey of farmers islandwide to obtain estimates of group size and numb er of groups on agricultural land. We assessed the farmers' estimates independently for reliability by counting number of groups and group s ize on a subsample of fawns. We surveyed approximately 20% of the tota l land area in Barbados and extrapolated the results to the whole isla nd. The estimate of population size of monkeys in 1994 is 4% greater t han for 1980, but the difference is not statistically significant. Thi s suggests that, despite the removal of over 10,000 vervets via humane trapping and through hunting over the 14-year period, population size has remained the same. Over the same time period, the percentage of c rops damaged by vervets was reported by farmers to have increased almo st 30%. The increase in crop damage relative to the increase in vervet abundance may best be explained by a decrease in the availability of crops to vervets, since substantial amounts of agricultural land were taken out of crop production between 1980 and 1994.