© Stephanie Mercier
Scientific publications
Barnes, P., Robira, B., Mercier, S., & Forss, SIF. (2026). Behavioural flexibility and its drivers in semi-urban vervet monkeys. Behavioral Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arag070
| Barnes Paige, et al, Behavioral Ecology, 2026 |
Felsch, J., Mas-Carrió, E., Mercier, S., Schneider, J., Forss, SIF., van de Waal, E., & Fumagalli, L. (2026). Investigating Anthropogenic and Social Influences on Diet of Semi-Urban Vervet Monkeys Using DNA Metabarcoding. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73008
| Felsch Joey, et al, Ecology and Evolution, 2026 |
Robira, B., Bande, N., Mercier, S., Manser, A., Vanderlocht, C. & Forss, SIF. (Pre-print, under review). Living with urban fear: vervet monkey response to an evolutionarily new predator. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.04.679731
| Robira Benjamin, et al, preprint, 2025 |
Barnes, P., Robira, B., Mercier, S., & Forss, SIF. (Pre-print, under review). Behavioural flexibility and its drivers in semi-urban vervet monkeys. bioRxiv, 2025-06. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.06.658231.
| Barnes Paige, et al, preprint PLOS Biology, 2025 |
Johnson-Ulrich, L & Forss, SIF. (2025). How cognitively demanding is the urban niche? Reconsidering exaptation and habituation. Animal Cognition. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01965-y.
| Lily Johson-Ulrich & Sofia Forss, 2025, Animal Cognition pdf |
Ellington, L., Mercier, S., Motes-Rodrigo, A., van de Waal, E. & Forss, SIF (2024). Urbanization does not increase ‘object curiosity’ in vervet monkeys, but semi-urban individuals selectively explore food related anthropogenic items. Current Zoology. Special issue on “Behavioural Flexibility and Novel Environments”. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae022.
| 2024 Ellington_et_al_current_zoology_curiosity |
| 2024 Ellington_et_al_current_zoology_curiosity_supplementary_information |
Student theses
Luscher O., Problem-solving performance and preliminary assessment of handedness in a string-pulling task across captive, semi-urban and wild vervet monkeys, unpublished master thesis (University of Lausanne, Switzerland).
| Oceane Luscher, unpublished master thesis, 2025 |
Bande N., (2024), Primate behaviour in a semi-urban world: an investigation of the interactions between vervet monkeys and domestic dogs, unpublished master thesis (University of Strasbourg, France).
| Natacha Bande, unpublished master thesis, 2024 |
McConnell, A., (2024) What do urban monkeys eat: describing the diet diversity and anthropogenic food consumption in an urban monkey population at the Simbithi Eco-Estate, South Africa, unpublished master thesis (University of Lausanne, Switzerland).
| Adrian Mcconnell, unpublished master thesis, 2024 |
Felsch, J., (2024), Influence of an urbanised environment on wild vervet monkeys’ diet assessed by DNA metabarcoding of faecal samples, unpublished master thesis (University of Lausanne, Switzerland).
| Joey Felsch, unpublished master thesis, 2024 |
Ellington L., (2023), Cognitive personality traits in semi-urban vervet monkeys, unpublished master thesis (University of Groningen, Netherlands).
| Ellington Lindsey, unpublished master thesis, 2023 |
Desaivres M., (2023), Human-vervet monkeys' interactions in a semi-urban environment, unpublished master thesis (University of Sorbonnes, Paris, France).
| Desaivres Manon, unpublished master thesis, 2023 |
Previous Simbithi Publications
Thatcher, H. R., Downs, C. T., & Koyama, N. F. (2021). The costs of urban living: human–wildlife interactions increase parasite risk and self-directed behaviour in urban vervet monkeys. Journal of Urban Ecology, 7(1), juab031.
| Thatcher et al, 2021 |
Thatcher, H. R., Downs, C. T., & Koyama, N. F. (2020). Understanding foraging flexibility in urban vervet monkeys, Chlorocebus pygerythrus, for the benefit of human-wildlife coexistence. Urban Ecosystems, 23(6), 1349-1357.
| Thatcher et al, 2020 |
Thatcher, H. R., Downs, C. T., & Koyama, N. F. (2019). Positive and negative interactions with humans concurrently affect vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) ranging behavior. International Journal of Primatology, 40, 496-510.
| Thatcher et al, 2019 |
Thatcher, H. R., Downs, C. T., & Koyama, N. F. (2019). Anthropogenic influences on the time budgets of urban vervet monkeys. Landscape and Urban Planning, 181, 38-44.
| Thatcher et al, 2019 |
Patterson, L., Kalle, R., & Downs, C. T. (2019). Living in the suburbs: Space use by vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in an eco‐estate, South Africa. African Journal of Ecology, 57(4), 539-551.
| Patterson et al, 2019 |
Thatcher, H. R. (2019). Anthropogenic influences on the behavioural ecology of urban vervet monkeys. Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom).
| Thatcher, PhD thesis, 2019 |
Thatcher, H. R., Downs, C. T., & Koyama, N. F. (2018). Using parasitic load to measure the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on vervet monkeys. EcoHealth, 15, 676-681.
| Thatcher et al, 2018 |
Patterson, L. (2018). Urban Ecology of the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Unpublished PhD thesis, (University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa)
| Patterson, PhD thesis, 2018 |
