Effects of food availability and climate on the activity budget of Shortridge's langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei) in the Drung Valley, Gaoligong Mountains, China

Food availability and climate represent environmental factors that affect species' social behavior, ranging patterns, diet, and activity budget. From August 2012 to September 2013, we examined the effects of seasonal changes in food availability, temperature, and rainfall on the diet and behavi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of primatology 2023-04, Vol.85 (4), p.e23467-n/a
Main Authors: Zhang, Jia‐Yang, Li, Ying‐Chun, Yang, Yin, Garber, Paul A., Han, Ke‐Guo, Huang, Zhi‐Pang, Cui, Liang‐Wei, Xiao, Wen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
activity budget
Animals
Availability
Behavioral ecology
Budgets
China
Climate
Coniferous forests
Diet
Diet - veterinary
dietary strategies
Endangered
Endangered animals
Endangered species
Environmental aspects
Environmental factors
Feeding
Feeding Behavior
Food
Food availability
Foraging behavior
foraging effort
Forests
Fruit
Fruits
Generalized linear models
Geographical distribution
Leaves
Linear analysis
Mountains
Presbytini
Rainfall
Resting
Seasonal variations
seasonality
Social Behavior
Social factors
Social interaction
Social interactions
Statistical models
Summer
Thallomys shortridgei
Trachypithecus
Trachypithecus shortridgei
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Summary:Food availability and climate represent environmental factors that affect species' social behavior, ranging patterns, diet, and activity budget. From August 2012 to September 2013, we examined the effects of seasonal changes in food availability, temperature, and rainfall on the diet and behavioral ecology of Shortridge's langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei) an Endangered primate species inhabiting moist evergreen broadleaf forests in the Eastern Himalayas. Our field site represents the northernmost latitudinal distribution of this species. Data were collected using scan sampling at 10 min intervals, and analyzed based on generalized linear models. The results indicate that the langurs experienced two feeding peaks (9:00 and 17:00) and two traveling peaks (10:00 and 19:00) during each day. Periods of rest, mainly occurred between 10:00 and 13:00, and overnight. Feeding accounted for 38.5% of the daily activity budget, followed by resting (35%), traveling (24.5%), and socializing (2%). During periods when young leaves were most available, the langurs increased feeding time on young leaves (35% vs. 4%). During periods of maximum fruit availability, the langurs decreased total time spent feeding (36.6% vs. 40.4%), devoted more time to traveling (28.1% vs. 21%), and increased time spent consuming fruit (49.1% vs. 11.8%). During the winter, the langurs increased their consumption of mature leaves (44.5%) and reduced time spent traveling (20.2% vs. 25.4%). Overall, time spent resting was greatest in the spring (47.5%), time spent feeding was greatest during the summer (51.1%), and time spent in traveling was greatest in the autumn (33.2%). The frequency of social interactions remained relatively constant throughout the year. Foraging effort was greatest in the summer, when fruits dominated the diet. Like other species of temperate langurs, T. shortridgei devoted less time to resting, more time to feeding, and was characterized by a greater year‐round foraging effort than tropical/subtropical langurs. Research Highlights This is the first study examining the activity budget and feeding effort of the Endangered Trachypithecus shortridgei. Food availability played a more critical role in the foraging effort and activity budget of Trachypithecus shortridgei than did rainfall or temperature. Similar to other temperate Trachypithecus species, T. shortridgei in the Gaoligong Mountains adopted a time minimizing behavioral strategy and had a greater annual foraging effort
ISSN:0275-2565
1098-2345
DOI:10.1002/ajp.23467