Managing the Cayo Santiago rhesus macaque population: The role of density.

ABSTRACT: Cayo Santiago is the oldest continuously operating free-ranging rhesus monkey colony in the world. Population control of this colony has historically been carried out by periodic live capture and removal of animals. However, the effect of such a strategy on the size, growth rate, age structure, and sex ratio of the population has not been analyzed. This study reviews past removal data and uses a population projection model to simulate the effects of different removal schemes based on Cayo Santiago demographic data from 2000-2012. The model incorporates negative density-dependence in female fertility, as well as male and female survival rates, to determine the population-level effects of selective removal by age and sex. Modeling revealed that removal of sexually immature individuals has ne

SUBMITTER: Hernandez-Pacheco R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4504838 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature