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Home range studies are essential for understanding an animal's behavioral ecology and for making wildlife conservation efficient. The home range of a group of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys ( Rhinopithecus bieti Milne-Edwards, 1897) was estimated using a global positioning system collar from December 2003 to October 2004 in northern Yunnan Province, China. To measure the ranging area of the study group 1291 animal locations were fixed. Based on the 100% minimum convex polygon method, the home range size was approximately 32.8 km2; based on the grid-cell method it was approximately 17.8 km2 using a 250-m grid and 23.3 km2 using a 500-m grid. We assessed seasonal changes in the home range of this monkey population and found a different ranging pattern of from earlier studies. Daily range size was calculated as 4.80 ± 5.81 ha (mean ± standard deviation), with arange of 45.66 ha (0.01–45.67 ha). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characterization of fracture structures is key for evaluating the permeability of coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs, and an interconnected fracture network is essential for the production of CBM. Taking the Upper Permian coal in the eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou region as an example, we systemically studied the characteristics of coal deformation and fracture development through direct observation of coal faces and hand specimens. An image processing technique was used to obtain high-resolution fracture images (with an actual resolution of approximately 2 μm), followed by the statistics of the porosity parameters such as micro-fracture density, intersection point density, and plane areal porosity. The multifractal theory was applied to study the micro-fracture structures of the coal, and a practical algorithm and corresponding technical procedure was proposed to characterize the multifractal characteristics of coal fractures. The quantitative characterization of the heterogeneity of the whole and partial fracture structure was then performed, and the indicating significance of the generalized dimension spectrum, the singularity spectrum, and the calculated characteristic parameters was described. Our results suggest that the micro-fracture structures of coal are multifractal, which can be measured by combining image processing and multifractal methods. The fracture development and the distribution heterogeneity in the target coal seams show significant differences, both vertically and laterally. Coal seam groups with well-developed fracture systems and high connectivity were identified by combining macro- and micro-scale fracture observations and multifractal characterization, including the 8–12 coal seam group in the Tucheng mining area, the 3–7 group of the Yueliangtian mine in the Pan'guan mining area, the 8–12 group in the Pan'guan mining area, the 13–18 group in the Enhong mining area, and the 3–7 group in the Laochang mining area. • The fracture structures in coal were analyzed by statistics using optical microscope. • A practical algorithm and a technical procedure for multifractal analysis were proposed. • The multifractal method was used to characterize the distribution heterogeneity of coal fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's expanding economy, many tunnels are being designed and constructed. However, tunneling in hazardous geologic terrain, with faults, fractures, water-bearing openings, and other adverse geological conditions, construction safety is seriously endangered. To ensure the safety of tunnel construction, a tunnel geological prospecting method was proposed and applied at the Xiangyun Tunnel in Yunnan Province, China. In the investigation stage, the engineering geological and hydrogeological conditions were analyzed to recognize high-risk sections. In the construction stage, the ''tunnel ahead'' prospecting scheme was optimized based on the macroscopic geological conditions. Geological mapping of the tunnel, seismic ahead prospecting and transient electromagnetic soundings were employed as well as resistivity models to image potential adverse conditions. Horizontal drilling and tunnel excavation records verified the geophysical predictions and interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Allomaternal nursing, common in several species of social mammals, also has been reported in nonhuman primates. However, the function of this behavior in enhancing infant survivorship remains poorly understood. Methodology and Principal Findings: The study was conducted on a free-ranging group of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) in the Baimaxueshan Natural Reserve. Direct observation and ad libitum sampling were used to record allocare behavior during a 20 month field study. R. bieti exhibits a multilevel social organization in which a large single troop, consisting of over 100 individuals, is divided into many one-male units (OMUs: 6∼41). These OMUs coordinate their daily activities, and feed, forage, travel, and rest together. Here we report on one case of infant temporary adoption in which an adult female from one OMU engaged in allomaternal nursing and cared for an infant from a different OMU of the same troop. This event began when the mother and her five-month-old infant were found to became separated accidentally. The victim infant was observed staying in another OMU. Over the next several days we observed a lactating female in the new OMU to care for and nurse both her infant and the immigrant infant, who also was tolerated by and cared for by the harem male. Conclusions and Significance: Our findings suggest that lactating primate females are primed to care for young infants and, that the misdirected parental care hypothesis may offer the strongest explanation for allomaternal nursing in R. bieti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most extant nonhuman primates occasionally prey on fast-moving, warm-blooded animals; however, Indriidae, Lepilemuridae, and Colobinae either scavenged for meat or did not eat meat at all. Here we report six cases of animal consumption by the snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus bieti in a wild, habituated group between 2004 and 2009 in Yunnan, China. At present, only males in an all-male unit within the study group were involved in active hunting. Such a male-biased activity may be related to the group structure and spatial spread of R. bieti. Two females were observed eating freshly killed birds. The findings confirmed that R. bieti engaged in scavenging and, when hunting, employed a cranio-cervical bite to kill their prey. Meat eating is likely a nutrient maximization feeding strategy in R. bieti, especially in males. A begging behavior occurred after successful prey capture. Although begging was observed, no sharing of the meat was seen. The present findings illuminate the dietary diversity of R. bieti and their ability to expand their dietary spectrum [Current Zoology 56 (2): 227-231, 2010]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated composition and structure of a temperate montane forest called Samage at Baimaxueshan National Nature Reserve in Yunnan, one of the last refuges for the highly endangered black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys ( Rhinopithecus bieti). There is a patchwork of vegetation types at Samage, and we distinguished 6 major land cover types within the home range of the focal group. We tracked the semihabituated Gehuaqing band for a full annual cycle to study their habitat utilization and altitudinal ranging. We analyzed the group’s selective use of particular habitat types via selection ratios. We calculated habitat availability from a GIS database. We found that they used mixed deciduous broadleaf/conifer forest disproportionately to its availability in all months. Subjects completely avoided meadows. Pine and evergreen broadleaf forests acted as corridors between patches of mixed forest and monkeys visited them occasionally, but at low frequencies and mostly in transit. The focal band stayed at elevations ranging from ca. 2600 m to 4000 m, and the mean elevation used is 3200 m. We found evidence for seasonal variation in use of elevational zones. The band stayed at significantly higher elevations in summer than in spring. The descent in spring was likely related to a flush of immature leaves at low-lying elevations. Availability of preferred fruits also had a highly positive influence on altitudinal ranging, i.e., during months with high fruit availability (late summer, early fall), the band stayed at medium elevations where preferred fruits were most abundant. Higher concentrations of lichens and the snub-nosed monkeys’ search for not yet depleted fruits probably caused them to remain at mid-elevations in winter. There is no significant correlation between climate parameters and elevation used. One of the main inferences of this investigation is that, contrary to previous accounts, Rhinopithecus bieti is not universally associated with high-elevation dark fir forest, but at Samage exhibits an overwhelming preference for mixed forest. Moreover, our analyses support the hypothesis that elevational migration, in this temperate-subtropical forest, is influenced by the temporal fruiting of major food trees and that climate has only a negligible effect on elevation use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]