Geographic Range
Papio anubis is the most broadly distributed baboon species, ranging through most of central sub-Saharan Africa. Isolated populations occur within the Saharan region.
This species is part of a complex of closely related African baboon species. We have
an account of the whole genus under
Papio
.
Habitat
Anubis baboons are found in savannah, grassland steppe, and rainforest habitats.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- desert or dune
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- rainforest
- scrub forest
- Other Habitat Features
- agricultural
Physical Description
These monkeys are highly sexually dimorphic in size and pelage characters. Males weigh
around 25 kg and females around 14 kg, with some geographic variation in average size.
The head and body of the average male measures 760 mm, with the tail adding an additional
560 mm. Females are smaller, with an average head and body measurement of 600 mm
and an average tail length of 480 mm. Males have large canine teeth, whereas the
teeth of the females are much smaller. Pelage is characteristically a dark, olive-gray.
This overall color is produced by hairs with 1 to 2 alternating pairs of black and
yellow-brown rings. Males possess a large mane, restricted to the anterior portion
of the body, and grading into the shorter body hair toward the rear. Females lack
a mane.
The skin of the face and around the ischial callosities is dark gray to black in both
sexes. The bare area of the rump is much smaller in this species than in
Papio hamadryas
or
Papio papio
. Unlike some species of baboons, the nostrils of
P. anubis
point forward. The head is flat on top, helping to distinguish this species from
Papio cynocephalus
which has a prominent crest on the top of the head. The first quarter of the tail
is carried erect, being held straight upward, with the remainder of the tail falling
down limp, giving the tail a broken appearance. The natal pelage is black, but this
fur is replaced by the typical olive-gray by about 6 months of age.
The skull of males has heavy ridges of bone on both sides of the nose, and a prominent
rounded bar above the orbits. There is a sagittal crest and often a nuchal crest.
Molars are large, and the first lower premolar has been modified into a hone for the
upper canine. These primates have 32 teeth.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
- ornamentation
Reproduction
Reproductive behavior in
P. anubis
is closely tied to social organization. Because these animals live in multi-male,
multi-female troops, there is the potential for any male to mate with any female.
This results in fierce competition between males for access to sexually receptive
females. In general, a male’s ability to consort with a female and exclude other
males from access to her is related to the male’s ability to compete with other males.
There is therefore a correlation between male dominance rank within the troop and
mating success. Larger, younger, and stronger males have a distinct advantage in
this type of competition.
However, as in many social animals, there are other factors which affect a male’s
mating success. For example, males may form alliances with other males, which can
subvert the normal dominance hierarchy. Two males, neither of whom can dominate a
third male alone, may join forces and together, as a coalition, these males may succeed
in securing access to a sexually receptive female. Such coalitions are reciprocal,
and typically occur between pairs of older males who are well acquainted with one
another through mutual tenure in a troop.
Males also follow a strategy of developing "friendships" with females, which enhances
their opportunities to mate. In these friendships, males groom, share food, and have
strong affiliative ties with particular females and their offspring. It is common
for males to defend their female friends during agonistic encounters with other females,
and with other males. These associations are not confined to the period during which
females are sexually receptive, but span the entire gamut of the female’s reproductive
life—including pregnancy, lactation, and time spent cycling. Females tend to exhibit
a preference for mating with their male friends, and therefore make consortships with
their male friends more likely. In addition, because females prefer their friends
as mates, they are more likely to cooperate with them in the maintenance of a consortship
than they are to cooperate with other, less favored, males.
The prolonged period of sexual receptivity of females in this species is typical of
primates living in multi-male, multi-female social groups. Females in monogamous
or polygynous species are typically receptive for a very short time around ovulation.
In
P. anubis
, females mate with a variety of males over a period of 15 to 20 days. Such multiple
matings are not necessary to ensure fertilization, and may function to confuse the
actual paternity of the female’s offspring. This may help to mitigate infanticidal
tendencies of males.
Females exert some mate choice in this species. By making consortships easier or more difficult for males, females can exert some control over whom they mate with. Also, females can make it easier or more difficult for a given male to immigrate into the troop, influencing the pool of males from which they may choose mates.
Mating is initiated by the female, who presents her hindquarters to the male. The
male mounts the female and thrusts about 6 times, then ejaculates. Matings are probably
quick because of the intense intermale competition for access to sexually receptive
females.
- Mating System
- polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Reproduction in
P. anubis
is related to the social structure of this species. Anubis baboons live in multi-male,
multi-female troops. Mating is polygynandrous, with both males and females mating
with multiple partners. Most matings occur during consortships. Consortships arise
when a male, through aggression toward potential rivals, is able to maintain exclusive
sexual access to a female. Females may consort with multiple males while they are
sexually receptive, although they consort with only one male at a time. Because it
is apparently easier for a male to maintain exclusive access to a female if the female
is cooperative, there is a significant amount of female mate choice, with females
preferring some partners over others.
Females characteristically have an estrous cycle of 31 to 35 days in length. There
is a noticeable menstrual flow for approximately three days per cycle if the female
does not conceive. During the period around ovulation, the perineal skin of the female
swells, and aliphatic acids are produced, alerting the males to her potentially fertile
condition, and enhancing her attractiveness to them. Females are typically receptive
for 15 to 20 days per cycle.
Gestation lasts about 180 days, after which the female gives birth to a single offspring,
weighing approximately 1068 g. The neonate has a black coat, making it easy to distinguish
from older infants. An infant is completely dependent upon its mother for the first
few months, until it begins to eat solid food and is able to walk on its own. Females
have an interbirth interval ranging from 12 to 34 months. This interval varies according
to a number of factors. Females who are older or have a higher rank tend to have
shorter interbirth intervals. Interbirth interval is also shorter if an infant dies
before weaning.
Weaning typically occurs around 420 days of age. Lactation is a huge cost for adult
females, and typically causes a reduction in female weight. Lower ranking and younger
females probably take longer to recover adequate body weight to reproduce than do
older, dominant females, explaining their longer interbirth intervals.
The onset of puberty and attainment of adult size is highly variable and is associated
with nutrition levels. In populations where baboons are known to raid human crops,
and to thereby secure greater access to nutrients than naturally foraging animals,
puberty can occur much earlier. In such food-supplemented populations, males attain
adult body weight between 7 and 8 years. Females reach full size by 6.5 years. In
contrast, in naturally foraging populations, males do not reach full adult size until
they are 7 to 10 years old, and females do not reach adult weight until they are 7
to 8 years old. The effect of nutrition on growth is so strong that as little as
15 to 16 weeks of dietary variation in newborns can have lasting effects on overall
rates of female growth, absolute adult weight, and age at menarche.
In naturally foraging populations, puberty occurs between the ages of 5 and 6 years
in females, and is signaled by menarche, or in some cases, first pregnancy. In males,
puberty begins around 6.6 years of age, when body size begins to increase rapidly,
third molars erupt, and canine teeth fully erupt. Changes in male body size include
increases in muscularity, which give these animals a broader profile. The mane of
males also begins to develop, contributing to the increase in shoulder size. Correlated
with these changes in body size, male anubis baboons undergo an increase in testicular
volume. Like human males undergoing puberty, male anubis baboons are also reported
to undergo a break in their voices around this time, eventually leading to a deeper
sounding alarm-bark. Males typically emigrate from their natal troop just after these
changes are completed.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
Most parental behavior is performed by the female. Females nurse, groom, and play
with their offspring. Females express different patterns of infant care, often associated
with rank and age. In
yellow baboons
, higher-ranking females tend to be more "permissive" in their parenting than lower
ranking females, who tend to me more nervous and "restrictive," preventing their offspring
from moving away from them. This difference has been reported in anubis baboons only
up to the age of 8 weeks of infant life, but may be longer for some females or in
some troops. Another difference seen in maternal behavior in this species is that
older mothers are known to spend more time in contact or close to their infants and
are less likely to terminate bouts of nursing than are younger females. First-time
mothers are also likely to reject infants sooner than are experienced mothers. These
differences may affect interbirth intervals.
There does not seem to be cooperative care of offspring among females in
P. anubis
, but it is not uncommon for females other than the mother to groom an infant, sometimes
providing allomaternal care to the infant. Subadult and juvenile females who have
not yet reproduced themselves are most likely to exhibit allomaternal behavior.
As is the case for all baboons, infants are very attractive to other members of the
social group, and are the focus of a great deal of investigation and attention, especially
while they are still displaying their black natal coat. In extreme cases, females
may kidnap the offspring of other females. Lower-ranking females are more often subject
to this extreme form of harassment than are higher-ranking females. Other factors
known to affect the incidence of allomaternal behavior in other species include the
infant’s age, and relatedness of the allomother to the mother and infant.
Males have complex relationships with infants and juveniles, which in some cases may
be a form of parental care. Males are known to carry, protect, share food (especially
meat), groom, and play with, the offspring of their female friends. Because they are
more likely to mate with their female friends than they are with other females, these
infants and juveniles are more likely to be their own offspring than are other immature
animals within the troop. This behavior, therefore, can be interpreted as paternal.
However, it should be noted that the relationship between adult males and these immature
animals may be more complex than this. There may be some form of reciprocity involved.
Adult males will often carry infants during tense interactions with other adult males.
This carrying can be initiated either by the adult male or by the infant. Such contact
with an infant during agonistic encounters may have the effect of inhibiting aggression
by other males. The favors bestowed upon an infant used as a buffer may therefore
be a form a "payback" from the adult male. However, since the tendency to use an
infant as an agonistic buffer is related to familiarity with the infant and the probability
of paternity, it is impossible to separate the nepotism from the reciprocity of such
interactions.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
- post-independence association with parents
- extended period of juvenile learning
- inherits maternal/paternal territory
- maternal position in the dominance hierarchy affects status of young
Lifespan/Longevity
The maximum lifespan of a captive hamadryas baboon is measured at 37.5 years. A captive
chacma baboon
is reported to have lived 45 years in captivity. Although the lifespan of
P. anubis
has not been reported, it is likely to be similar to these two species, although
somewhat shorter than these in the wild.
Behavior
Baboons are quadrupedal, mainly terrestrial primates. They are highly social animals,
with a complex multi-male, multi-female social structure. Members of a troop travel,
forage, and sleep together. An average troop may be comprised of 39 to 97 animals.
The movements of a troop may be limited by the availability of appropriate sleeping
locations. Because the troop beds down in trees, or on rocks/cliffs, activity of
the troop must be coordinated so that one of a set number of sleeping sites can be
reached by nightfall.
All males emigrate from their natal troops, with 85 per cent of males emigrating prior
to the time that they reach full adult size. Upon settling in a new troop, males
must establish themselves in the male dominance hierarchy of that troop. This typically
involves aggressive behavior between males, with the "winner" of an encounter establishing
dominance over the "loser." Some males may emigrate into new groups in pairs. These
male pairs may be half - or full- siblings from the same natal troop. Aside from
such occasional life-long affiliations, males do not maintain long-term bonds with
their male kin, as is seen in hamadryas baboons.
An interesting phenomenon in
P. anubis
is the secondary transfer of aged adult males from their troops. Because the ability
of a male to compete for mates is related to youth and vigor, or to long-term social
relationships with females, transfer to a new troop in old age can only reduce a male’s
opportunities to mate. In addition, transferring to a new group exposes a male to
a great number of hazards, including increased risk of predation, and dangers from
aggression while integrating into the male dominance hierarchy of the new group.
However, it appears that aged males who once had high dominance ranks are the subjects
of constant harassment by younger males, who seem to remember the former "greatness"
of such older males. It seems that males with larger numbers of female "friends"
are more likely to stay in their troop in spite of harrassment. Males without many
female friends are more likely to transfer to new troops, thereby avoiding the costs
of such harassment.
Because males do not maintain life-long social ties with their kin, it is female
kinship that forms the core and stability of
P. anubis
society. Because females of this species do not emigrate from their natal groups,
female kin have life-long associations. Within a troop of anubis baboons, there is
a dominance hierarchy of matrilines which is very stable over time. In general, an
individual female occupies a place in the dominance hierarchy immediately below her
mother and her younger sisters. Dominance relationships appear to develop from infancy,
when maternal kin intervene in encounters with other baboons, and through the differential
treatment of the young of higher-ranking females by unrelated animals. Within a matriline,
the dominance relationships of sisters are the inverse of birth order.
Female kin behave differently toward one another than do unrelated animals. Females
are more likely to aid their kin during disputes than they are to become involved
in disputes of unrelated individuals. These relationship can extend over multiple
generations, with females aiding not only their own offspring, and aunts aiding neices,
but grandmothers aiding their granddaughters.
The female dominance hierarchy is not continually challenged by the arrival of new
females in the troop, which probably allows for the stability of female dominance
relationships over time. Perhaps because relatedness of females within troops is
inherently higher than the relatedness of females between troops, female baboons are
likely to take the lead in aggressive encounters with other troops of baboons. Females
are apparently acting to defend their food resources in such encounters.
Within socially similar cercopithecines, females have been known to establish relationships
across matrilines. Females may befriend others who are of similar rank. Also, low
ranking females may attempt to gain favor with higher ranking females by providing
grooming and other affiliate behaviors. An ally with higher rank may provide a low
ranking female with preferential access to scarce food resources, or support during
some aggressive encounters.
Because the dominance position of baboons is so important in their society, a great
deal of investigation of potential physiological causes of dominance has been conducted.
Most investigated have been levels of those hormones thought to be important in aggressive
behavior and stress response. Some interesting correlations between endocrine profiles
and behavioral patterns have emerged.
In general, subordinate males who initiated fights with other males had higher testosterone
levels than males who did not initiate fights. They also had lower base levels of
glucocorticoids (hormones associated with stress and stimulation of the adrenal glands).
When subordinate males were involved frequently in consortships, they were more likely
to move into the top half of the male dominance hierarchy within 3 years than were
males without frequent consortships. Like dominant males, they had reduced basal
glucocorticoid levels and a larger glucocorticoid response to stressors.
Major behavioral traits that seemed to contribute to lowered levels of glucocorticoid
hormones were associated with the social "skillfulness" of the animals. Males with
low basal levels of glucocorticoids were better able to distinguish between neutral
and threatening interactions with their rivals. They also were more likely to initiate
aggression against rivals in threatening interactions than were males with higher
basal glucocorticoid levels. The males with lower glucocorticoid levels showed the
greatest skill in determining whether they had won or lost an aggressive encounter,
and also showed the greatest incidence of "displacement aggression" (aggression at
something other than the rival or situation that was really upsetting them).
Although it is not currently known whether the glucocorticoid levels of individuals
lead to the behaviors, or visa versa, clearly, there are measurable differences between
individuals which may allow prediction of their future reproductive success. Further
research in this area promises to help us to better understand the genetic and physiological
underpinnings of social behavior and success in this species.
- Key Behaviors
- terricolous
- diurnal
- motile
- nomadic
- sedentary
- territorial
- social
- dominance hierarchies
Home Range
Home ranges between 390 and 1,968 ha have been reported. The daily range of a troop
averages 5,800 m.
Communication and Perception
As in all highly social species, communication is varied and complex. Anubis baboons
utilize visual signals and gestures, vocalizations, and tactile communication.
Visual signals include
social presenting
, in which a female or juvenile displays its hind quarters to a male. It can also
be done by a female who has approached another female with her black infant. This
submissive signal differs from sexual presenting (which females do to elicit copulation),
and is often accompanied by lip smacking.
Staring
is a threat behavior, the effect of which is enhanced by the differently colored
fur in the region of the eye which is revealed when the baboon stares.
Canine tooth display
through a
tension yawn
is another threatening gesture. It is performed by lower-raking males toward higher-ranking
males who are consorting with estrus females or who possess meat. Male baboons who
are close to one another can use
tooth grinding
to threaten one another. Baboons retreating from high-tension situations use
rapid glances
to break tension. Adult males who are guarding mates sometimes sit with their erect
penis in plain view. This
penile display
communicates the male’s presence to other males.
Teeth chattering
and
lipsmacking
, although not technically vocalizations, are auditory cues of reassurance, often
performed by a dominant animal when another is presenting to it.
Vocalizations made by anubis baboons include a
two-phase bark
, or "wahoo" call, which adult males direct toward feline predators or toward other
males. It is thought to communicate the presence of the male and his arousal. Adult
male anubis baboons make
grunting
vocalizations as a threat, and are known to "roar" during fights. A
grating roar
, which is a deep, resonating call, is given by a dominant male after a fight, and
is sometimes made by adult males when there is a night-time disturbance.
Screeching
is common during aggressive encounters, and can be made by any age or sex class.
Subadult and adult olive baboons produce a
yakking
call when retreating from a threatening animal. This call is often accompanied
by a grimace of fear. A
shrill bark
is produced by all except adult males to indicate alarm, especially due to sudden
disturbances. Finally,
rhythmic grunting
may be produced by all anubis baboons except infants when they wish to signal reassurance
to another animal.
Juveniles and infants produce some vocalizations unique to their age class. These
include
clicking
, which is a chirp-like noise which is analogous to yakking of adults. They also
produce an
ick-ooer
sound which communicates a low level of distress.
Tactile communication is common in cercopithecines.
Social grooming
is used to reinforce social bonds, as well as to remove parasites and debris from
the fur.
Social mounting
is a reassurance behavior. Anubis baboons also perform a friendly
nose-to-nose
greeting.
Chemical communication has also been reported for this species. Female anubis baboons
are known to produce aliphatic acids when they are sexually receptive. These acids
are thought to enhance a female’s sexual attractiveness.
Food Habits
Anubis baboons are known to eat a wide variety of foods. They consume fruits, tree
gums, insects, eggs, seeds, flowers, grass, rhizomes, corms, roots, tubers and small
vertebrates.
One feeding adaptation thought to be shared by all baboons is the ability to subsist
on a relatively low quality diet. Baboons can subsist on grasses for extended periods
of time. This allows them to exploit dry terrestrial habitats, like deserts, semideserts,
steppes, and grasslands.
- Primary Diet
- omnivore
- Animal Foods
- birds
- mammals
- reptiles
- eggs
- carrion
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- roots and tubers
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
Predation
Two predator species are known for anubis baboons. Leopards and chimpanzees have
been known to kill these animals. Anubis baboons have been reported to mob leopards,
often with adult males leading the attack. In the Gombe preserve in Tanzania, an
estimated one percent of the population falls victim to predators annually. Of these,
about 3/4 are infants, and 1/4 are juveniles.
Ecosystem Roles
Baboons likely play a role in aerating the soil through the digging of corms, roots,
and tubers. They also are likely to disperse seeds of the fruits and grains that
they eat. Baboons provide food for their predators, and also exert some affect on
populations of small animals on which they feed.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
- soil aeration
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Anubis baboons are used in medical and behavioral research. They are socially active
animals which provide entertainment for zoo visitors and ecotourists.
- Positive Impacts
- ecotourism
- research and education
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Baboons are large animals, and not particularly timid of humans. They are known to
raid crops, and can attack and injure humans if provoked.
- Negative Impacts
-
injures humans
- bites or stings
- crop pest
Conservation Status
Anubis baboons are not considered threatened or endangered. The IUCN Redlist rates them "Lower Risk, Least Concern." Like most primates, they are included in Appendix II of the CITES, so international trade in the animals or their parts requires government approval.
Other Comments
Hybridization between
Papio hamadryas
and
P. anubis
occurs along the Awash river valley in Ethiopia. The area of hybridization appears
to be stable, without noticeable introgression of
P. hamadryas
phenotypes into anubis baboon populations or of
P. anubis
phenotypes into hamadryas baboon populations. The reasons for this stability are
probably very complex. However, it is worth discussing two contributors to this stability
in this forum.
In hamadryas baboons, the basic social unit, or OMU, is maintained as a cohesive entity
through the activity of the adult male leader of the OMU. He herds females and juveniles,
regulates their interactions, and prevents them from straying. Although anubis baboon
males possess the same basic behaviors that would allow the males of this species
to form one-male-units, there are significant differences in expression between the
two species which make it impossible for male anubis baboons migrating into hamadryas
territory to successfully maintain a harem of females.
For example, although male anubis baboons aggressively herd females and exclude rival
males, they tend to do so only when the females are in estrus. This would prevent
a male anubis baboon from maintaining a cohesive OMU in the hamadryas fashion. Also,
although they form close social ties with females, they do not exhibit the "respect"
of the relationship between other males and their females which is typical of hamadryas
baboons. This may be related to differences in the kin associations of hamadryas
and anubis baboons. Correlated with this, an anubis male trying to "steal" a sexually
attractive female from a male hamadryas, would incur not just the wrath of that male,
but likely the wrath of that male’s kin within the clan.
Hybrid males are known to show behavior intermediate between the two parental species.
Anubis-like hybrids form lasting social bonds with anestrous females, and assume a
consort-like status when the females are in estrus. However, they are unable to herd
them efficiently because they do not express this behavior when the females are anestrous.
The more hamadryas-like hybrids are capable of forming OMUS.
Interestingly, hamadryas males have been known to effectively integrate into anubis
baboon troops. Although females mate with them, these males may still be at a reproductive
disadvantage relative to anubis males. Because the mating system of the hamadryas
baboon characteristically involves only one male, there has been little selection
for sperm competition in this species. Hamadryas males have both relatively and absolutely
smaller testicles than do anubis males. This likely results in lower production of
sperm. Since female anubis baboons may mate with a number of males during their estrus
cycle, lower sperm production by hamadryas males may lessen their chances for siring
offspring. This may contribute to the stability of the hybrid zone.
Anubis baboons are also known to hybridize freely in the wild with
yellow baboons,
. In the Amboseli National Park in Kenya, the amount of reported hybridization
between these two species has increased over time. Researchers think that the increasing
immigration of anubis males into yellow baboon troops is responsible for the increase
noted in hybrid characters. Because the slopes of Mount Kilamanjaro are under increasing
agricultural pressure, it is likely that anubis males have no alternative areas into
which to emigrate.
The only differences noted in behavior of hybrid animals is that males with anubis-like
features (e.g. coarser hair, longer manes, darker coloration, broader chests, and
more sharply "broken" tails) tend to emigrate from their natal group as juveniles
or subadults, rather than as full adults. This behavior has been seen occasionally
in the anubis baboons of the Gombe preserve in Tanzania, but is not known in yellow
baboons.
The hybridization between anubis and
yellow baboons
seems to have a long history. Interesting, the Ibean form of yellow baboon, which
has coarser hair than the typical yellow baboon, a more pronounced mane, and other
somewhat "anubis-like" features, is thought by some researchers to be evidence of
the historical influx of anubis genes into yellow baboon populations.
Additional Links
Contributors
Nancy Shefferly (author), Animal Diversity Web, George Hammond (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- desert or dunes
-
in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- sexual ornamentation
-
one of the sexes (usually males) has special physical structures used in courting the other sex or fighting the same sex. For example: antlers, elongated tails, special spurs.
- polygynandrous
-
the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- nomadic
-
generally wanders from place to place, usually within a well-defined range.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- dominance hierarchies
-
ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- carrion
-
flesh of dead animals.
- soil aeration
-
digs and breaks up soil so air and water can get in
- ecotourism
-
humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
References
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