RED HOWLING MONKEY USE OF SPECIFIC DEFECATION SITES AS A PARASITE AVOIDANCE STRATEGY

Red howling monkeys, Alouatta seniculus, in the central Amazonian basi n move to specific sites before defecating. Differences in the vegetat ion profile of behavioural sites, defecation sites and random sites wi thin the ranging area of howler groups were examined. The defecation s ites used differed in the number of leaf intercepts at the levels of t he forest the monkeys used for foraging and travelling. Defecating in areas free of underlying vegetation decreases the likelihood of contam inating potential food sources or arboreal pathways. This defecation b ehaviour may be an important parasite avoidance strategy of red howlin g monkeys. (C) 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.