Do baboons act as keystone species in disturbed habitats? An exploration of ‘backstop’ ecosystem services

Species declines can threaten ecosystem viability due to the loss of ecological services, such as pollination and seed dispersal. Generalist species such as baboons may play a critical role in buffering such defaunated habitats from collapse. This is because baboons perform many of the same ecological services as other herbivores, such as antelope and zebra, but are less vulnerable to hunting and habitat disturbance. Baboons may thus become the sole service providers after more vulnerable species have become locally extinct. Despite this potential keystone function in threatened ecosystems, there have been no studies to assess this critical ‘backstop’ role in baboons.

The performance of these ecosystem services may also vary between individuals due to their complex social structures, e.g., seed dispersal is dependent on foraging decisions and movement patterns, both of which will vary between individuals of different dominance rank and social network position. If baboons become the primary seed dispersers, the influence of such individual variation on plant populations could be substantial.

This project will explore these questions in a long-term study in Namibia, the Tsaobis Baboon Project.  Individual baboons will be followed on foot to record social, foraging, and movement patterns. Seed dispersal will be assessed through faecal analysis and germination studies. The findings will inform the conservation of baboons and threatened habitats.