Variation in individual and collective behaviours by chacma baboons using urban space in Cape Town, South Africa

As human populations continue to grow, so does the demand for space – with urban centres encroaching into wild animal habitats. Social, generalist species, which show high rates of innovation and behavioural flexibility tend to adapt to and use human-altered landscapes. However, we know less about what factors drive differences among individuals in use of human-altered landscapes, or the repercussions of individual differences for social dynamics in animal groups, which I review in my introductory chapter (Chapter 1). In Chapter 2 I introduce my study system and methods. I study chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in Cape Town, South Africa that frequently have negative interactions with people at the urban edge and are managed by a team of rangers that herd the baboons from urban spaces, using aversive conditioning. Using high-resolution GPS data (recording at 1Hz frequency) combined with behavioural observations, field ranger survey and hormonal data I investigate variation in individual and collective behaviour associated with urban space-use. First, I examine variation in the time individuals spend in urban space, and contrary to expectations, find that females, rather than males, spend most time in urban space, and tend to use urban space with other group members and not with vulnerable offspring (Chapter 3). Second, I examine predictors of variation in urban space-use, and find that socially-peripheral, low-ranking female baboons make the most use of urban space, which is likely as a result of a management focus on adult males (Chapter 4). Further examination of fine-scale movement trajectories revealed both baboon phenotype and personality effect individual-level movement in urban space, where baboons most targeted by management show the greatest flexibility in movement (Chapter 5). Finally, I show that use of urban spaces drastically effects group dynamics, reducing cohesion and coordination of the troop, though high-ranking adults consistently lead the troop both in and out of urban space (Chapter 6). I synthesise these major findings in my final discussion chapter (Chapter 7) and discuss how my results will be important in current and future management of the Cape baboons and provide a basis for future examinations of urban space-use across species and systems.