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Thatcher, H, Downs, C and Koyama, NF (2021) The costs of urban living: human-wildlife interactions increase parasite risk and self-directed behaviour in urban vervet monkeys. Journal of Urban Ecology, 7 (1). ISSN 2058-5543
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The costs of urban living human-wildlife interactions increase parasite risk and self-directed behaviour in urban vervet monkeys.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (441kB) | Preview |
Abstract
The urban landscape is a complex mosaic of costs and benefits for urban wildlife. Although many species may adapt and thrive in the urban-mosaic, this landscape's complexity can be stressful and have health implications for urban wildlife, raising concerns for zoonosis and biodiversity health. In this study, we aimed to assess how human-primate interactions influenced parasite risk and anxiety-related behaviour of urban vervet monkeys in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Over one year, we collected and analysed faecal samples, assessing eggs per gram, species richness and Shannon’s diversity index. Additionally, using behavioural sampling, we recorded self-directed scratching behaviour as an indicator of anxiety, and we recorded human-primate interactions, both positive (human-food consumption) and negative (human-monkey aggression). To assess parasite risk in the urban-mosaic we ran three models with our parasite measures as dependent variables. Results showed that negative human interactions significantly increased eggs per gram, species richness and Shannon’s diversity index and positive human interactions increased both eggs per gram and species richness. Furthermore, eggs per gram significantly increased with a greater rate of scratching. We also ran a model to test the relationship between scratching and human interactions, showing that scratching significantly increased under higher rates of negative human incidents. Overall, results suggest there are costs to urban living that increase anxiety-related behaviour and parasite risk despite increased food availability. Our findings are important for developing effective management strategies that focus on cohabitation rather than conflict, for the benefit of human and wildlife health.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | self-directed behaviour; human-wildlife coexistence; anthropogenic; management; welfare |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Divisions: | Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19) |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Oct 2021 10:58 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Oct 2021 11:00 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1093/jue/juab031 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15707 |
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