PARENT SESSION

Natural History 1 -- Session Chair: Patrick Zollner-- Nelson Hall East, Goodwin Forum

CROWNED EAGLE (STEPHANOAETES CORONATUS) PREDATION ON VERVETS (CHLOROCEBUS AETHIOPS) IN SOUTH AFRICA. Julian Kerbis Peterhans^1,2, Graham Avery³ and Elizabeth Webb². ¹ Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL; ² Division of Mammals, Field Museum, Chicago, IL; ³ Iziko Museums, Capetown, South Africa.

ABSTRACT- Predatory events are rarely observed; 'predatory' data is typically anecdotal. For mammalian predators, 'predation' is typically documented through secondary means including scat analysis, abandoned kills and denning sites. For avian predators, analyses of pellets and nest remains are favored entrées into predatory habits. Small samples of primate victims typically hamper attempts to meaningfully quantify selection on behalf of the predator. Here we document the selection of vervet monkey prey by Africa's foremost predator of primates, the crowned eagle. With over 140 individuals vervets represented from 36 nests, this is the largest number of individual primate victims documented from an extant avian predator. A review of the sex, age, and body part frequencies of these victims is presented. In addition to the insights into behavior of both predator and victim, these data provide important taphonomic implications in interpreting the fossil record. For example, the type specimen of Australopithecus africanus has been postulated to have been the victim of this eagle taxon, a claim which receives little support from this analysis.

KEY WORDS: predation