Feeding Ecology of Assamese Macaque (Macaca assamensis) in Nagarjun Forest of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal
Abstract
Macaques have been described as primarily frugivorous but Assamese macaques are highly folivorous and are omnivorous according to some studies. Systemic studies in feeding ecology of Assamese macaque is rare in Nepal; so to explore the feeding ecology of the macaque this study was carried out in the Nagarjun Forest of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (SNNP) during rainy and autumn seasons of 2012. Two troops of the macaques from different two sites were selected for the study and scan sampling was adopted to collect the data. There was significant difference in diet composition between two troops of macaque studied; one feeding on waste food from Army canteen area and the next is totally dependent on natural food. Unlike other studies macaques were highly frugivorous during the study period, fruit accounted for 80.48% of the total plant parts consumed and majority of fruits came from four plant species: Castanopsis tribuloides, Syzygium cumini, Machilus duthiei and Choerospondias axillaris. Macaques were observed to forage on 37 plant species which include 22 families, 28 species of tree, four species of vine, three species of shrubs and two species of herbs. Castanopsis tribuloides, Syzygium cumini and Machilus duthiei accounted for 29.01%, 15.26% and 15.26% respectively of the total plant diet. IVI for the entire feeding tree were 206.4 and 203.4 in two study sites. Most of food species in both sites are patchily distributed in space.
References
Altman, J. 1974. Observational study of Behavior: Sampling Methods. Behavior 49: 227-267.
Ahsan, M.F. 1994. Feeding ecology of the primates of Bangladesh. In Thierry, B. Anderson, R.J. Roeder, J.J. Herrenschmidt N ed. Current Primatology. Vol 1. Ecology and Evolution. Strasbourg: University of Louis Pasteur, 79–86.
Boonratana R., Chalise M. K., Das J., Htun, S. and Timmins, R.J. 2008. Macaca assamensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. . Downloaded on 01 August. 2012.
Caselli, C.B. and Setz E.Z.F. 2011. Feeding ecology and activity pattern of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) in a semideciduous tropical forest of southern Brazil. Primates. 52: 351–359.
Chalise, M.K. 1999a. Report on Assamese monkeys (Macaca assamensis) of Nepal. Asian Primates 7: 7-11.
Chalise, M.K. 1999. Some behavioral and ecological Aspects of Assamese Monkeys (Macaca assamensis) in Makalu-Barun Area, Nepal. Nepal Journal of Science & Technology 1: 85-90.
Chalise, M.K. 2000. Biodiversity of wild food plants in relation to the monkeys feeding ecology. Proceeding of Eighth International Workshop of BIO-REFOR, Japan, under Biotechnology Applications for Reforestation and Bio-divesrsity Conservation: 289-294.
Chalise, M.K. 2003. Assamese Macaques (Macaca assamensis) in Nepal. Primate Conservation 19: 99-107.
Chalise, M.K. 2010. A study of Assamese monkey in Sebrusbeshi of Langtang National park, Nepal. Journal of Natural History Museum 25: 54-61.
Chalise, M.K. 2013. Fragmented Primate Population of Nepal. In: L.K. Marsh and C.A. Chapman (eds.), Primates in Fragments: Complexity and Resilience, Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects, 329-356pp. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-8839-2_22, © Springer Science + Business Media New York 2013 Library of Congress C No: 2013945872.
Chalise, M.K., Bhattarai, G.P. and Pandey, B. 2013. Ecology and Behavior of Assamese monkey in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal. Journal of Natural History Museum 27: 12-24.
Chalise, M.K., Karki, J.B. and Ghimire, M.K. 2005. Status in Nepal: Non-human Primate. Special issue published on the occasion of 10th Wildlife Week, 2005. Dept. of National Parks & Wildlife Cons. HMG Nepal. 19-26 p.
Chaudhary, R.P. 1998. Biodiversity in Nepal (Status and Conservation). Published by Devi, S. Tecpress Books 487/42 Sio Wattansilp, Pratunam, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand. Pp 23-30 and 174-239.
Gupta, A.K. 2005. Dietary differences between two groups of Phayre’s langur Trachypithecus phayrei in Tripura, India: Responses to food abundances and human disturbance. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 102(1): 3-9.
Hagen, T. 1959. Geological map of Nepal (1951-1959) [Poster] Kathmandu. Central Department of Geology. Tribhuvan University.
Hanya, G. 2004. Diet of Japanese Macaque Troop in the coniferous Forest of Yakushima. International Journal of Primatology 25(1): 55-71.
Hanya, G., Noma, N. and Agetsuma, N. 2003. Altitudinal and seasonal variations in the diet of Japanese macaques in Yakushima. Primates 44: 51–59.
Harris, T.R., and Chapman, C.A. 2007. Variation in diet and ranging of black and white colobus monkeys in Kibale National Park,Uganda. Primates 48: 208–221.
Hill, C. 2002. Primate conservation and local communities. Ethical issues and debates. Am. Anthropol 104: 1184–1194.
Kanai, H., Shakya. P.R. 1970. Vegetation Survey of Nagarjun Forest. In; Flora of Nagarjun [ Bulletin of the department of Medicinal Plants, No. 4 ] Kathmandu : His Majesty’s Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forests, Department of Medicinal Plants p iii – vi, 1- 93 and I – XIX.
Kummee, S. and Intarakas, N. 2008. Antimicrobial activity of Desmos chinensis leaf and Maclura cochinchinensis wood extracts. Songklanakarin J. Sci. Technol. 30(5): 635-639.
Li, Y.K., Jiang, Z.G. Li, C.W. and Grueter, C.C. 2010. Effects of Seasonal Folivory and Frugivory on Ranging Patterns in Rhinopithecus roxellana. Int J Primatol 31: 609–626.
Newmark, W., Manyanza, D., Gamassa, D. and Sariko, H. 1994. The conflict between wildlife and local people living adjacent to protected areas in Tanzania: human density as a predictor. Conserv. Biol 9: 249–255.
O’Brien, T.G and Kinnaird, M.F. 1997. Behaviour, diet and movement of the Sulawesi crested black macaque Macaca nigra. International Journal of Primatology 18: 321-351.
Poulsen, J.R., Clark, C.J., and Smith, T.B. 2001. Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of the GreyCheeked Mangabey (Lothocebus albigena) in Cameroon. Am. J. Primatol. 54: 91–105.
Riley, E.P. 2007. Flexibility in diet and activity pattern of Macaca tonkeana in response to anthropogenic habitat alteration. International Journal of primatology 28: 107-133.
Rosenberger, A. L. 1992. Evolution of feeding niches in New World monkeys. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 88: 525–562.
Sarkar, P., Srivastava, A. Dasgupta, S. and Bhattacharjee, P.C. 2012. Activity profile of free ranging forest group of Assamese Macaque. The Clarion 1(2): 59-67.
Schulke, O., Pesek, D., Whitman, B.J., and Ostner, J. 2011. Ecology of Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) at Phu Khioe Wildlife Sanctuary, Thiland. Journal of Wildlife in Thiland 18(1): 23-29.
Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park. 2011. A booklet published by Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Kathmandu, Nepal. Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal.
Shrestha, T.K. 2001. Birds of Nepal: Field Ecology, Natural History and Conservation. Kathmandu: Bimala Shrestha. Vol II, xiv +562p
Srivastava, A. 1999. Primates of Northeast India. Megadiversity Press, Bikaner, pp: 1- 208
Wada, K. 2005. The distribution Pattern of Rhesus and Assamese monkeys in Nepal. Primate 46: 115-119.
Yeager, C.P. 1996. Feeding ecology of the long tailed macaque in lalimantan Tengah, Indonesia. International Journal of primatology 17: 51-62.
Zhao, Q.K. 1996. Etho-ecology of Tibetan macaques at Mount Emei, China. In: Fa JE, Lindburg DG ed.Evolution and Ecology of Macaque Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 263–289.
Zhou, Q.H, Wei, H. Huang, Z.H. and Huang, C.M. 2011. Diet of the Assamese macaque Macaca assamensis in limestone habitats of Nonggang, China. Current Zoology 57(1): 18-25
The Nepalese Journal of Zoology has a licensing policy that permits distribution, remixing, adaption, and build upon your work under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License. Authors retain the copyright of the contents published in NJZ and need to grant the right of first publication to the journal. It also allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., on their website) prior to and during the submission process (e.g., as a preprint), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work. However, authors need to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements with NJZ for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in an institutional book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
