Adaptation to an anthropogenic habitat: Integrated modelling of ecological and physiological impacts on chacma baboons

Global human population growth is rapidly converting natural ecosystems into human-modified landscapes. This land transformation and associated loss of natural habitat has resulted in many animal species now living in close proximity to humans. Some species thrive in human-modified habitats; for others, proximity to humans leads to negative interactions due to competition over food and other resources, plus safety concerns for humans living alongside wildlife. As human-wildlife 'conflicts' increase across the globe it is increasingly important to understand how animals adapt to human-modified landscapes and the impacts this has on their reproduction and survival.
Primates are highly adaptable, with species increasingly inhabiting human-modified landscapes becoming habituated to living in close contact with humans. In these environments, ecological challenges can include restricted home ranges, reduced natural food availability and increased parasitic infections. Conversely, close proximity to humans is often associated with the extirpation of natural predators and new resources available may include crop fields, gardens, homes and refuse dumps. Competition for these resources often leads to negative interactions between primates and humans, or human-wildlife conflict, impacting on activity, diet, physiology, reproduction and health, including serious injuries and even death. Few studies have sought to understand primates' responses to the competing costs and opportunities of inhabiting human-dominated landscapes, particularly in contexts where the primary food source for the primates is relatively uncontested.
Several chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) groups feed at the local landfill site in the rural town of Alldays, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Initial work showed the food available at the dump can have significant impacts on the diets, time budgets and ranging patterns of the baboons. While at the landfill site, the dump workers and baboons share a commensal relationship, whereas away from the dump local residents are often aggressive towards the baboons. Instances of shooting appear relatively frequent, and despite high reproductive rates, group structures suggest significant impacts of human actions on the baboon demography. The baboons must thus navigate a complex landscape where access to resources and anthropogenic risk factors vary spatially and temporally. The system provides an ideal opportunity to understand the behavioural and physiological responses of primates to living in human-modified landscapes and how baboons trade-off the costs and benefits of living alongside humans.
The project will involve fieldwork in Alldays to collect: behavioural data and microhabitat usage for two groups of chacma baboons which use the rubbish dump; ecological data on their broader habitat usage and microhabitat usage; and faecal samples for non-invasive hormone analysis to be carried out in the Behavioural Ecology & Physiology Laboratory, Anthropology Dept., Durham University. GPS collars may be deployed to explore high resolution movement patterns.
Energetic physiological responses to ecological factors, including food intake and human persecution will be assessed through variation in stress and metabolic hormone levels. Validated EIAs (enzyme immunoassay) will be used to analyse physiological stress levels and resilience (glucocorticoids), and metabolic rate and energy balance (thyroid hormone) from faecal samples.
Mixed models will be used to analyse and compare the combined behavioural, ecological and physiological factors affecting activity budgets, energy balance and physiological stress responses and resilience of the two baboon groups. Social network analyses will enable exploration of how social networks vary with anthropogenic space and resource use, and help to examine the behavioural and physiological impact of human interactions and persecution events on close network partners.