This book explores how seasonal variation in resource abundance might have driven primate and human evolution.

The emergence of the genus Homo is widely linked to the colonization of 'new' highly seasonal savannah habitats. However, until recently, our understanding of the possible impact of seasonality on this shift has been limited because we have little general knowledge of how seasonality affects the lives of primates. This book documents the extent of seasonality in food abundance in tropical woody vegetation, and then presents systematic analyses of the impact of seasonality in food supply on the behavioural ecology of non-human primates. Syntheses in this volume then produce broad generalizations concerning the impact of seasonality on behavioural ecology and reproduction in both human and non-human primates, and apply these insights to primate and human evolution. Written for graduate students and researchers in biological anthropology and behavioural ecology, this is an absorbing account of how seasonality may have affected an important episode in our own evolution.

A ground breaking study of primates that live in flooded habitats around the world.

Primate Ecology: Studies of Feeding and Ranging Behavior in Femurs, Monkeys and Apes describes the behavioral aspects of ecology, including activity patterning, food selection, and ranging behavior. The book is composed of 19 chapters; 17 of which are concerned with the ecology or behavior of particular social groups of primates, arranged in the taxonomic order of the species concerned. The final two chapters review some of the generalizations emerging from comparison of inter- and intraspecific differences in feeding and ranging behavior. The book aims to suggest areas of particular interest where research can be usefully developed.