HABITAT, ANNUAL, AND SEASONAL EFFECTS ON POSITIONAL BEHAVIOR IN RED COLOBUS MONKEYS

Positional behavior in adult red colobus monkeys (Colobus badius) was examined in a variety of ecological contexts. Using a focal-animal met hodology, we assessed how data collected by different observers, in di fferent years, in different seasons, and in different forests affected estimates of positional behavior. In all, 23,000 bouts were recorded. Variation in frequency is greatest in the common behaviors, especiall y arboreal quadrupedalism. Significant behavioral differences occur mo re often in the context of different forests than in annual or seasona l comparisons. The activity of feeding exhibits the largest frequency changes across positional behavior and ecological context. In all, red colobus monkeys exhibit substantial amounts of flexibility in positio nal behavior across different ecological contexts. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss , Inc.