Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate
Abstract Background Research of many mammal species tends to focus on single habitats, reducing knowledge of ecological flexibility. The Javan lutung (Trachypithecus auratus) is considered a strict forest primate, and little is known about populations living in savannah. In 2017–2018, we investigate...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2020-02-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Zoology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-020-00352-2 |
| _version_ | 1819110933018968064 |
|---|---|
| author | Malene Friis Hansen Ventie Angelia Nawangsari Floris M. van Beest Niels Martin Schmidt Mikkel Stelvig Torben Dabelsteen Vincent Nijman |
| author_facet | Malene Friis Hansen Ventie Angelia Nawangsari Floris M. van Beest Niels Martin Schmidt Mikkel Stelvig Torben Dabelsteen Vincent Nijman |
| author_sort | Malene Friis Hansen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Research of many mammal species tends to focus on single habitats, reducing knowledge of ecological flexibility. The Javan lutung (Trachypithecus auratus) is considered a strict forest primate, and little is known about populations living in savannah. In 2017–2018, we investigated the density and distribution of Javan lutung in Baluran National Park, Indonesia. We conducted ad libitum follows and line transect distance sampling with habitat suitability analysis of Javan lutung. Results Estimated density was 14.91 individuals km− 2 (95% CI 7.91–28.08), and estimated population size was 3727 individuals (95% CI 1979 – 7019). Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) habitat suitability was the main driver of lutung habitat suitability as the probability of lutung occurrence increased greatly with macaque habitat suitability. Distance to roads, and distance to secondary forest had a negative relationship with lutung occurrence. Lutung habitat suitability decreased with increasing elevation, however, Mt Baluran and the primary forest on Mt Baluran was under-sampled due to treacherous conditions. Follows of six focus groups revealed considerable use of savannah, with terrestrial travel. The follows also revealed polyspecific associations with long-tailed macaques through shared sleeping sites and inter-specific vocalisations. Conclusions Our study provides new knowledge on the general ecology of Javan lutung, such as use of savannah habitats, underlining our need to branch out in our study sites to understand the flexibility and adaptability of our study species. Another undocumented behaviour is the polyspecific association with long-tailed macaques. We encourage more research on this subject. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:49:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4ff0256e0c024a1db82f7e71ed057556 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1742-9994 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:49:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Zoology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4ff0256e0c024a1db82f7e71ed0575562022-12-21T18:40:02ZengBMCFrontiers in Zoology1742-99942020-02-0117111310.1186/s12983-020-00352-2Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primateMalene Friis Hansen0Ventie Angelia Nawangsari1Floris M. van Beest2Niels Martin Schmidt3Mikkel Stelvig4Torben Dabelsteen5Vincent Nijman6Research and Conservation, Copenhagen ZooResearch and Conservation, Copenhagen ZooDepartment of Biosciences, Aarhus UniversityDepartment of Biosciences, Aarhus UniversityResearch and Conservation, Copenhagen ZooBehavioral Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes UniversityAbstract Background Research of many mammal species tends to focus on single habitats, reducing knowledge of ecological flexibility. The Javan lutung (Trachypithecus auratus) is considered a strict forest primate, and little is known about populations living in savannah. In 2017–2018, we investigated the density and distribution of Javan lutung in Baluran National Park, Indonesia. We conducted ad libitum follows and line transect distance sampling with habitat suitability analysis of Javan lutung. Results Estimated density was 14.91 individuals km− 2 (95% CI 7.91–28.08), and estimated population size was 3727 individuals (95% CI 1979 – 7019). Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) habitat suitability was the main driver of lutung habitat suitability as the probability of lutung occurrence increased greatly with macaque habitat suitability. Distance to roads, and distance to secondary forest had a negative relationship with lutung occurrence. Lutung habitat suitability decreased with increasing elevation, however, Mt Baluran and the primary forest on Mt Baluran was under-sampled due to treacherous conditions. Follows of six focus groups revealed considerable use of savannah, with terrestrial travel. The follows also revealed polyspecific associations with long-tailed macaques through shared sleeping sites and inter-specific vocalisations. Conclusions Our study provides new knowledge on the general ecology of Javan lutung, such as use of savannah habitats, underlining our need to branch out in our study sites to understand the flexibility and adaptability of our study species. Another undocumented behaviour is the polyspecific association with long-tailed macaques. We encourage more research on this subject.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-020-00352-2AbundanceDensityDistributionMacaca fascicularisPolyspecific associationTrachypithecus auratus |
| spellingShingle | Malene Friis Hansen Ventie Angelia Nawangsari Floris M. van Beest Niels Martin Schmidt Mikkel Stelvig Torben Dabelsteen Vincent Nijman Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate Frontiers in Zoology Abundance Density Distribution Macaca fascicularis Polyspecific association Trachypithecus auratus |
| title | Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate |
| title_full | Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate |
| title_fullStr | Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate |
| title_short | Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a “strict” forest primate |
| title_sort | habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a strict forest primate |
| topic | Abundance Density Distribution Macaca fascicularis Polyspecific association Trachypithecus auratus |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12983-020-00352-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT malenefriishansen habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate AT ventieangelianawangsari habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate AT florismvanbeest habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate AT nielsmartinschmidt habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate AT mikkelstelvig habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate AT torbendabelsteen habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate AT vincentnijman habitatsuitabilityanalysisrevealshighecologicalflexibilityinastrictforestprimate |