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Identification of individual adult female Javan lutungs (Trachypithecus auratus sondaicus) by using patterns of dark pigmentation in the pubic area

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Abstract

In a series of field surveys of wild Javan lutungs (Trachypithecus auratus sondaicus) conducted at Pangandaran Nature Reserve in West Java, Indonesia, from 2011 to 2012, we tried to use a method of individual identification by using individual-specific patterns of dark pigmentation in the pubic area. During the 2011 dry season, we used a digital SLR camera with a 400-mm telephoto lens to photograph the pubic area of each individual of a habituated group. These photographs were the basis for identifying 14 different adult females. During the rainy season of 2011 and the dry season of 2012, we checked the presence/absence of each of the identified individuals and found that these patterns were stable, at least during our study period. We found that two adult females and one adult female disappeared from the subject group between the first and second and between the second and third surveys, respectively, and that one adult female gave birth between the first and second surveys, but the infant had disappeared from the group between the second and third surveys. We could not confirm the validity of the method for juvenile females because of the dense white hair in their pubic areas and the fact that few individuals had clear patterns. Furthermore, we could not use this method for males because of the lack of pigmentation in the pubic area. As patterns of pigmentation in the pubic area are known to be present in other Trachypithecus species, our method can be useful for identification of individual adult females of these species, on which few individual-based behavioral studies have been conducted. Collecting individual-based behavioral data would enable us to track the presence of individuals in groups or movements between groups; determine the effects of social rank and age on within-group competition and copulation; and examine population data.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the forest rangers of PNR, especially Mr Yana Hendrayana, for access to their facilities, and Mr Bambang Prayitno, for his assistance during our fieldwork. We also thank the staff of the Department of Biology of Bogor Agricultural University, Drs F. Bercovitch, A.F. Dixson, K. Wada, and C.M. Huang, and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. This study was funded by a grant from the AS-HOPE of the Japan Society of Promotion of Science to Y. Tsuji (2010–2011) and by a Grant-in-Aid from the Department of Academy and Technology of Japan (nos 23780160 and 24405018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Behavior, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan

    Yamato Tsuji & Kunio Watanabe

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia

    Kanthi Arum Widayati, Islamul Hadi & Bambang Suryobroto

  3. Biology Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Mataram University, Mataram, Indonesia

    Islamul Hadi

Authors
  1. Yamato Tsuji
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  2. Kanthi Arum Widayati
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  3. Islamul Hadi
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  4. Bambang Suryobroto
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  5. Kunio Watanabe
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Correspondence to Yamato Tsuji.

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Tsuji, Y., Widayati, K.A., Hadi, I. et al. Identification of individual adult female Javan lutungs (Trachypithecus auratus sondaicus) by using patterns of dark pigmentation in the pubic area. Primates 54, 27–31 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-012-0334-2

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