Abstract
Food availability is an important factor affecting the feeding strategies of animals. Primate species living in habitats with high human activity have the potential to employ unique strategies to utilize human food resources. This study describes the feeding ecology of provisioned free-ranging long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) inhabiting Alas Purwo National Park, East Java, Indonesia. The activity budgets, dietary compositions, vertical usage, and ranging patterns of macaques were recorded between October 2021 and March 2022, and their relationships with the number of visitors (a proxy of human food availability) were examined. The macaques consumed more human food (mean ± SD: 53.9 ± 25.6%) than natural food (43.8 ± 25.5%), followed by unidentified food (2.3 ± 6.3%). Human food has several effects on the behavioral ecology of macaques, including reduced movement and increased social activity in response to the number of visitors, decreased consumption of natural food, frequent use of the ground and subcanopy strata, and decreased home range when the number of visitors increases. Thus, the relative importance of human food has substantially changed the essential behavioral ecology of provisioned macaque troops. Understanding the behavioral plasticity of macaques, particularly their responses to anthropogenic effects, could guide and contribute to the formulation of conservation policies and management plans.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Alas Purwo National Park for granting us permission and supporting our research. We also thank the forest ranger and staff of Pancur Resort, Alas Purwo National Park, for their contributions and accommodations during our fieldwork. The research was conducted in accordance with the Secretariat of Scientific Authority for Biodiversity (SKIKH), National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) for collecting the plant diet of macaques (No: B-5886/IV/KS.01.04/7/2021) and was conducted in full compliance with the standards of animal ethics from the committee of IPB University (No:210 – 2021 IPB). This study was financially supported by the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) of the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia.
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Conceptualization and methodology: MUH, KAW, YT, PR; Data collection and formal analysis: MUH; Writing–original draft preparation: MUH; Writing–review and finalize the manuscript: MUH, KAW, YT, PR; Funding acquisition and resource: MUH; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Hasan, M.U., Widayati, K.A., Tsuji, Y. et al. Feeding ecology of free-ranging long-tailed macaques in East Java, Indonesia: Relationship with human food availability. Primates 64, 429–438 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-023-01062-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-023-01062-z