PRIMATES

Full screen Primates Id code: amd070

Cercopithecidae
Cercopithecus mitis

Wolf, 1822

(Eng) Blue, sky or diademed monkey

(Fre) Cercopithèque à diadème

Taxonomic notes

According to Wilson & Reeder (1993) it includes albogularis, treated by some authors as a distinct subspecies.

IUCN threat category

Not listed as a species, but considered Data deficient (DD) as C. albogularis albotorquatus (Tana River sykes monkey) in Kenya and Somalia, as C. a. zammaranoi (Somalia sykes monkey) in Somalia, as C. m. elgonis (Elgon blue monkey) in Kenya and Uganda, and Endangered (EN: criteria B1c+2c) as C. m. kandti (Golden monkey) in Rwanda, former Zaire and Uganda.

Available information

Although the species has been studied mainly in Kenya and South Africa, some information on its ecology is available for most of its range of distribution.

East Africa: The main aspects of the species’ ecology were investigated in the Masai-Amboseli Game Reserve by Struhsaker (1967). Moreno-Black & Maples (1977) focused on habitat use and niche separation in coexisting primates, including the blue monkey, in the Diani Beach Forest (Kenya). Some information on its reproductive behaviour is found in Omar & De Vos (1971), Struhsaker (1984), and Struhsaker et al. (1988). Behavioural aspects of the species’ ecology and spacing patterns are analysed in Brown & Waser (1984), De Vos & Omar (1971), and Wasser (1993). Notes on the species’ ecology in the Virunga Crater (Rwanda) are found in Aveling (1984). Data on its presence are available for Ethiopia and Eritrea (Yalden et al., 1996), Somalia (Funaioli, 1971), Rwanda (Monfort, 1992) and former Zaire (Colyn, 1987, 1988; Lernould, 1988; Rahm & Christiaensen, 1966). The authors mentioned also give some information on the species’ ecology.

Southern Africa: Foraging strategies, diet, and reproductive behaviour were investigated in the Ngoye Forest (Natal, South Africa) by Lawes et al. (1990) and Henzi & Lawes (1987). Data on the species’ occurrence and notes on its ecology are available for part of South Africa (Bruton, 1978; Pringle, 1974) and Zambia (Ansell & Ansell, 1973). A detailed account of the species’ biology in Southern Africa is found in Mills & Hes (1997) and Skinner & Smithers (1990). General information on the species’ ecology and distribution are given by Eisenberg et al. (1979), Kingdon (1997), and Stuart & Stuart (1997). Status, threats, and conservation issues are discussed in Oates (1996) and Struhsaker (1981).

Known extent of occurrence

This monkey ranges from Ethiopia and Somalia to South Africa, south and east former Zaire and northwest Angola, being apparently limited to the west by the Zaire-Lualaba River system and to the northwest by the Itimbiri River (Colyn, 1987; Wilson & Reeder, 1993). Fig. 2.3.14.a was obtained from Kingdon (1997), and was later revised to match the river network.

Categorical-discrete (CD) distribution model

This species occurs in all types of evergreen forest, from primary to secondary, from gallery to montane (Aveling, 1984; Kingdon, 1997; Estes, 1991).

Based on these environmental preferences, the following scores were assigned (Fig. 2.3.14.b) (Tab. 2.3.14.a):

Score (*)
1	Forests.
2	Forest mosaics.
3	Savannas; semi-desert vegetation and croplands.
(*) Scores increased for vegetation types occurring inside a 1-km buffer around permanent water

suitable		moderately suitable		unsuitable		Total
km²	%	km²	%	km²	%	km²	%
708 864	22	970 835	30	1 593 074	49	3 272 773	100

Tab 2.3.14.a: Cumulative size (km²) of areas pertaining to each environmental suitability class within the Extent of Occurrence.

	Number Patches (NP)	Mean Patch Size (MPS) km²	Patch Size SD (PSSD) km²	Largest Patch Index (LPI) %	Mean Shape Index (MSI)	Area-Weighted Mean Shape Index (AWMSI)
suitable	2 176	326	11 012	30.53	1.23	14.28
moderately suitable	3 036	320	3 214	8.51	1.53	13.66
Total AO	1 748	961	24 354	60.25	1.59	29.31

Tab 2.3.14.b: Area of Occupancy fragmentation indexes.

Probabilistic-continuous (PC) distribution model

The output of the probabilistic-continuous (PC) distribution model is shown in Fig. 2.3.14.c.

Validation

% of EO in sample areas	Number of valid plots	Index of Accordance (%)
2.79	59	49.15

Tab 2.3.14.c: Categorical-discrete (CD) distribution model validation parameters.

Comments and conservation issues

This super-species includes many subspecies and its overall EO covers a large portion of Africa, reflecting the fragmentation into many local populations. The score of the Index of Accordance (49.15%) suggests caution as to the quality of the available information on the species’ ecology. The overall suitability of the EO is not very high: 22% is classified as suitable and 30% as moderately suitable, and this mostly due to the association to the network of permanent water bodies. The CD model shows that the network becomes a block of continuous suitable areas only in central former Zaire. This central part of the EO accounts for most of the fragmentation indexes, particularly the LPI and AWMSI, but the high NP and small MPS are due to the overall fragmentation of the AO. Many small fragments are also threatened by their isolation from the main part of the range. Particularly vulnerable appear to be the populations in Somalia, northern Kenya and South Africa. Local populations and subspecies throughout the EO can be very endangered and poorly protected: the overall protection of the species is poor as only 7.6% of total AO is included in existing protected areas. Obviously a detailed analysis of this coverage for each EO fragment will provide better support for evaluation of the conservation status.

SUITABILITY CLASS	inside	outside	Total
suitable	0.87	20.79	21.66
moderately suitable	3.03	26.63	29.66
unsuitable	5.59	43.09	48.68
Total	9.49	90.51	100

Tab 2.3.14.d: Percent of environmental suitability classes within EO (as obtained from the categorical-discrete distribution model) inside and outside the protected areas.

References

Ansell W.F., Ansell P.D.H. (1973). Mammals of the north-eastern montane areas of Zambia. Puku: 7, 21-69.

Aveling C. (1984). Notes on the golden monkey, Cercopithecus mitis kandti, of the Virunga volcanos, Rwanda. Afr.J. Ecol.: 22, 63-64.

Brown C.H., Waser P.M. (1984). Hearing and comunication in the blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis). Anim. Behav.: 32, 66-75.

Bruton M.N. (1978). Recent mammal records from eastern Tongaland in Kwazulu, with notes on Hippopotamus in lake Sibaka. Lammergeyer: 24, 19-27.

Colyn M.M. (1987). Les primates de la foret ombrophile de la Cuvette du Zaire: interprétations zoogéographique des modèles de distribution. Rev. Zool. Africaine: 101, 183-196.

Colyn M.M. (1988). Distribution of guenons in the Zaire-Lualaba-Lomani river system. In: Gautier-Hion A., Bourlière F., Gautier J., Kingdon J. (Eds). A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons. Cambridge University Press, New York: pp 104-124.

De Vos A., Omar A. (1971). Territories and movements of Sykes monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis kolbi Neuman) in Kenya. Folia Primatol.: 16, 196-205.

Eisenberg J.F., Muckenhirn N., Rudran R. (1979). The relations between ecology and social structure in primates. [reprinted from Science (1972), 176: 863-874]. In: Sussman R.W. (Ed.). Primate Ecology. Problem-oriented field studies. Wiley, Chichester & New York. chap. 23: 455-484.

Estes R.D. (1991). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates. The University of California Press.

Funaioli U. (1971). Guida breve dei mammiferi della Somalia. Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare. Biblioteca Agraria Tropicale.

Henzi S.P., Lawes M. (1987). Breeding season influxes and the behavior of adult male samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis). Folia Primatol.: 48, 125-136.

Kingdon J. (1997). The Kingdon field guide to African Mammals. Academic Press, London and New York: Natural World.

Lawes M.J., Henzi S., Perrin M. (1990). Diet and feeding behavior of Samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis labiatus) in Ngoye Forest, South Africa. Folia Primatol.: 54, 57-69.

Lernould J. (1988). Classification and geographical distribution of guenons: a review. In: Gautier-Hion A., Bourlière F., Gautier J., Kingdon J. (Eds). A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons. Cambridge University Press, New York: pp 54-78.

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Skinner J.D., Smithers R.H.N. (1990). The mammals of the Southern African subregion. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

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Struhsaker T.T., Butynski T.M., Lwanga J.S. (1988). Hybridization between redtail (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) and blue (C. mitis stuhlmanni) monkeys in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. In: Gautier-Hion A., Bourlière F., Gautier J., Kingdon J.(Eds). A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons. Cambridge University Press, New York: pp 477-506.

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Wasser S.K. (1993). The socioecology of interspecific associations among the monkeys of the Mwanihana rain forest, Tanzania: a biogeographic perspective. In: Lovett J.C., Wasser S.K. (Eds). Biogeography and ecology of the rain forests of eastern Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K: chap. 13, 267-280.

Wilson D.E., Reeder D.M. (Eds) (1993). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.

Yalden D.W., Largen M.J., Kock D., Hillman J.C. (1996). Catalogue of the mammals of Ethiopia and Eritrea. 7. Revised checklist, zoogeography and conservation. Tropical Zoology: 9, 73-164.