Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia
Deforestation is a major threat to terrestrial tropical ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia where human activities have dramatic consequences for the survival of many species. However, responses of species to anthropogenic impact are highly variable. In order to establish effective conservati...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/12462.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797417854407016448 |
|---|---|
| author | Anna Holzner D. Mark Rayan Jonathan Moore Cedric Kai Wei Tan Laura Clart Lars Kulik Hjalmar Kühl Nadine Ruppert Anja Widdig |
| author_facet | Anna Holzner D. Mark Rayan Jonathan Moore Cedric Kai Wei Tan Laura Clart Lars Kulik Hjalmar Kühl Nadine Ruppert Anja Widdig |
| author_sort | Anna Holzner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Deforestation is a major threat to terrestrial tropical ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia where human activities have dramatic consequences for the survival of many species. However, responses of species to anthropogenic impact are highly variable. In order to establish effective conservation strategies, it is critical to determine a species’ ability to persist in degraded habitats. Here, we used camera trapping data to provide the first insights into the temporal and spatial distribution of southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina, listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN) across intact and degraded forest habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, with a particular focus on the effects of clear-cutting and selective logging on macaque occupancy. Specifically, we found a 10% decline in macaque site occupancy in the highly degraded Pasoh Forest Reserve from 2013 to 2017. This may be strongly linked to the macaques’ sensitivity to intensive disturbance through clear-cutting, which significantly increased the probability that M. nemestrina became locally extinct at a previously occupied site. However, we found no clear relationship between moderate disturbance, i.e., selective logging, and the macaques’ local extinction probability or site occupancy in the Pasoh Forest Reserve and Belum-Temengor Forest Complex. Further, an identical age and sex structure of macaques in selectively logged and completely undisturbed habitat types within the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex indicated that the macaques did not show increased mortality or declining birth rates when exposed to selective logging. Overall, this suggests that low to moderately disturbed forests may still constitute valuable habitats that support viable populations of M. nemestrina, and thus need to be protected against further degradation. Our results emphasize the significance of population monitoring through camera trapping for understanding the ability of threatened species to cope with anthropogenic disturbance. This can inform species management plans and facilitate the development of effective conservation measures to protect biodiversity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:25:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3f3d45d92518443abfb9aac2cd51ab5f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:25:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-3f3d45d92518443abfb9aac2cd51ab5f2023-12-03T11:20:49ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592021-12-019e1246210.7717/peerj.12462Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular MalaysiaAnna Holzner0D. Mark Rayan1Jonathan Moore2Cedric Kai Wei Tan3Laura Clart4Lars Kulik5Hjalmar Kühl6Nadine Ruppert7Anja Widdig8Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaWildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomBehavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, GermanySchool of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, MalaysiaDepartment of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyDeforestation is a major threat to terrestrial tropical ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia where human activities have dramatic consequences for the survival of many species. However, responses of species to anthropogenic impact are highly variable. In order to establish effective conservation strategies, it is critical to determine a species’ ability to persist in degraded habitats. Here, we used camera trapping data to provide the first insights into the temporal and spatial distribution of southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina, listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN) across intact and degraded forest habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, with a particular focus on the effects of clear-cutting and selective logging on macaque occupancy. Specifically, we found a 10% decline in macaque site occupancy in the highly degraded Pasoh Forest Reserve from 2013 to 2017. This may be strongly linked to the macaques’ sensitivity to intensive disturbance through clear-cutting, which significantly increased the probability that M. nemestrina became locally extinct at a previously occupied site. However, we found no clear relationship between moderate disturbance, i.e., selective logging, and the macaques’ local extinction probability or site occupancy in the Pasoh Forest Reserve and Belum-Temengor Forest Complex. Further, an identical age and sex structure of macaques in selectively logged and completely undisturbed habitat types within the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex indicated that the macaques did not show increased mortality or declining birth rates when exposed to selective logging. Overall, this suggests that low to moderately disturbed forests may still constitute valuable habitats that support viable populations of M. nemestrina, and thus need to be protected against further degradation. Our results emphasize the significance of population monitoring through camera trapping for understanding the ability of threatened species to cope with anthropogenic disturbance. This can inform species management plans and facilitate the development of effective conservation measures to protect biodiversity.https://peerj.com/articles/12462.pdfCamera trappingDeforestationImperfect detectionMacaca nemestrinaSouthern pig-tailed macaquesOccupancy |
| spellingShingle | Anna Holzner D. Mark Rayan Jonathan Moore Cedric Kai Wei Tan Laura Clart Lars Kulik Hjalmar Kühl Nadine Ruppert Anja Widdig Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia PeerJ Camera trapping Deforestation Imperfect detection Macaca nemestrina Southern pig-tailed macaques Occupancy |
| title | Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia |
| title_full | Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia |
| title_short | Occupancy of wild southern pig-tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in Peninsular Malaysia |
| title_sort | occupancy of wild southern pig tailed macaques in intact and degraded forests in peninsular malaysia |
| topic | Camera trapping Deforestation Imperfect detection Macaca nemestrina Southern pig-tailed macaques Occupancy |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/12462.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annaholzner occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT dmarkrayan occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT jonathanmoore occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT cedrickaiweitan occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT lauraclart occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT larskulik occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT hjalmarkuhl occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT nadineruppert occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia AT anjawiddig occupancyofwildsouthernpigtailedmacaquesinintactanddegradedforestsinpeninsularmalaysia |