Glade use by Olive baboons and Blue monkeys in Mount Meru Game Reserve, Tanzania

Forest glades have conservation value for primates, with interspecies differences reported. Blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) are forest-glade edge species, whereas Olive baboons (Papio anubis) prefer the open grassland of the glade interior. In this study, scan sampling was used to record the presence and absence of each species, group sizes and individual behaviours in three glade types in Mount Meru Game Reserve, Tanzania. Glade characteristics and primate usage for the three glade types were studied: five man-made, fifteen lower natural and five upper natural glades. During 200 (3-h morning and afternoon) observation periods, Blue monkeys and Olive baboons were observed during 43% (86/200) and 31% (62/200) of the observation periods, respectively. Blue monkeys used upper natural glades more than man-made and lower natural; Olive baboons used man-made glades more than lower and upper natural. Differences in glade type, in regard to vegetation, altitude and disturbance due to trail routes, influenced gladetype use and species behaviours. In conclusion, although the management practice of clearing in and around man-made glades provides no direct conservation value for Blue monkeys, it likely reduces overuse of natural glades and human-wildlife conflict by enhancing plant species richness and diversity important to Olive baboons.