Search

We collected fecal samples of white-headed langurs from 3 of the 4 remaining habitat fragments (Fa, Fb and CZ) located in southwestern Guangxi, China in Nov 2005, and used 5 microsatellite loci and the SRY gene to assess the relatedness between 46 langurs within and between groups. We observed 2 forms of group structure: one-male/multi-female groups (OMGs) and all-male groups (AMGs). One AMG in Fa was composed of 2 generations, included a father, 2 sons and 1 unrelated male, and all OMGs in all 3 habitats included 1 resident male, several adult females and offspring. Of the 21 identified father-offspring cases, the resident male fathered 20 (95%) and the non-resident male sired 1 (5%), suggesting that adult males had overwhelming priority of access to females as the resident male in an OMG, while the non-resident male may also have the opportunity to adopt surreptitious mating strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the positional behavior and habitat use of primates can help elucidate relationships among species' morphology, behavior, and environment, and contribute to our understanding of species' behavioral and ecological adaptations. Limestone habitats provide a unique and challenging habitat for primates, but there have been few detailed studies of the genus Macaca in such habitats, making a comparative understanding of extant limestone primates' behavioral adaptations incomplete. We collected data on positional behavior and habitat use by sympatric Assamese macaques ( Macaca assamensis) and rhesus macaques ( M. mulatta) in limestone habitat at Nonggang Nature Reserve, southwestern Guangxi, China, and examined the effects of morphological and ecological factors on positional behavior and habitat use. Our results indicate interspecific differences in positional behavior, showing different preferences for locomotor modes and substrates. Rhesus macaques tended to walk horizontally, whereas Assamese macaques more often climbed vertically. Rhesus macaques used smaller substrates (twigs) more frequently than did Assamese macaques. Time spent in different zones of limestone hills and forest strata also varied significantly between the two macaques. Assamese macaques most often used cliff faces, and tended to be terrestrial. Rhesus macaques were most likely to stay low on the hillsides, and spent most of their time in the lower strata of trees. These differences in positional behavior and habitat use are linked to differences in limb length and body size in the two species, and may be explained by the spatial distribution of preferred foods and structure of the forest in different areas of the limestone hills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ranging behavior and habitat utilization are important indicators of ecological influences on individual behavior. We collected data on the ranging behavior and habitat use of two groups of Assamese macaques ( Macaca assamensis) between September 2005 and August 2006 in a limestone habitat within Nonggang Nature Reserve, Guangxi, China. We evaluated the influences of spatial and temporal distribution of food resources on ranging behavior and habitat utilization. During the study period, total home range sizes for the two focus groups were 53 ha and 65 ha; mean daily path lengths were 590 m and 782 m, much smaller than those observed in other species of macaques. Assamese macaques did not use their home ranges uniformly. Fifty percent of location records occurred within 11% (group 1) and 13% (group 2) of their respective home ranges. A significant and positive correlation was found between the intensity of site use and the distribution of group feeding for both study groups. Macaques spent 71.1% of the daytime hours on cliffs during maintenance activities, including feeding. The differential utilization of the group's home range and more intense occupation of cliffs can be related to the spatial distribution of their staple food resources, the leaves of Indocalamus calcicolus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]