Home Range Analysis of Cercopithecus Monkeys in Gombe National Park, Tanzania

Abstract

Home range analysis provides insight into animal behavior and ecology. We documented the home range of a group of hybrid Cercopithecus monkeys in Gombe National Park, Tanzania over 40 months (June 2015-September 2018). We analyzed spatial data of monkey movement using ArcGIS software. We measured home range area from the total aggregate range from all years and between seasons in 2016. We found the total home range to be 61.83 ha and the seasonal ranges to be 39.94 ha and 37.04 ha for wet and dry seasons, respectively. Range size was larger than most study groups of the parental species at different sites. Hot spot analysis revealed seasonal differences in intra-range movement with increased utilization of the southeastern part of the range in the wet season and the northwestern section in the dry season. Factors affecting range size are likely linked to food availability and distribution, and group size.