Diet of the mona monkey Cercopithecus mona in the Gnanhouizounmè community forest in Southern Benin

Abstract

The mona monkey Cercopithecus mona Schreber, 1774 is an arboreal and diurnal species occurring in some forests in Benin. The present study determined the feeding ecology of the species in the Gnanhouizounmè community forest, a forest fragment in Southern Benin. The ad libitum observation method was used to collect data during the minor wet and the major dry seasons. Descriptive statistics, proportion comparison tests, and diversity indices were used to analyse data. Results showed that the mona monkey foraged on 22 plant species in the study forest, with Ceiba pentandra, Dialium guineense, Elaeis guineensis and Spondia monbin constituting its major diet. Three species of leguminous plants were the most common food type. Fruits, both mature and immature, were the top food item in the diet, while other items were leaves, buds, tubers, stalks and flowers. Dietary diversity was low (H = 2.09 in the wet season, H = 1.74 in the dry season) with a low similarity between the two seasons (Morisita–Horn's index = 0.31). In forest fragments, the mona monkey has adapted to feed on few plant species and adjusts its diet to resources available each season. Plants consumed by this species should be taken into account in future tree-planting campaigns for the sustainable conservation of these monkeys in the study area.