POSITIONAL BEHAVIOR IN 5 SYMPATRIC OLD-WORLD MONKEYS

Observations of positional behavior and habitat use were recorded on f ocal individuals of five species of Old World monkeys at Kibale Forest , Uganda, through the dry season of 1990 and 1991. Cercopithecus ascan ius, Cercopithecus mitis, Cercocebus albigena, Colobus badius, and Col obus guereza commonly utilize five similar types of positional behavio r (i.e., quadrupedalism, leaping, climbing, sitting, and standing), bu t in varying frequencies and situations. As a group, colobines use obl ique supports and leap more often, and cover greater linear distances during leaps than do cercopithecines. Colobines also prefer to sit (ab out 90% of all postures), while cercopithecines stand more frequently. Body size differences between the sexes of a species are not reflecte d in positional behavior. The two small-bodied species climb more and leap less often than the three larger species, which is the reverse of what we would expect. Leaping is the most common method of crossing o pen spaces within the canopy; but most spatial gaps and leaps are over short distances, usually one meter or less. All five species, regardl ess of body size or the availability of forest supports, prefer medium -sized supports. Incorporating our work from Uganda with previous inve stigations of positional behavior reveals few consistent trends with r espect to body size or habitat use across primates. (C) 1995 Wiley-Lis s, Inc.