Abstract
The intermittent distribution of various animal and plant species in the world, has long been at the core of conservation biology and community ecology. It is therefore vital to know the processes and factors that impact rarities and endemism in the plant and animal world. The mechanism that regulates this rarity and limits a species’ distribution and abundance is still not fully understood. We are now beginning to understand that certain plants play an important role during periods of food scarcity. Generally, the plants that sustain animals during periods of food shortage are themselves not abundant (relative to other food trees), and during periods of food abundance, these plants may not be eaten at all. But Cullenia and Ficus species are the most sought after by the lion-tailed macaques and are important food resources throughout the year. Here we show how these much-favored food trees govern the distribution and very existence of this primate.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Berg CC (1989) Classification and distribution of Ficus. Exp Dermatol 45:605–611
Borges RM (1993) Figs, Malabar giant squirrels, and fruit shortages within two tropical Indian forests. Biotropica 25:183–190
Fleming TH (1992) How do fruit- and nectar-feeding birds and mammals track their food resources? In: Hunter MD, Ohgushi T, Price PW (eds) Effects of resource distribution on animal-plant interactions. Academic, San Diego, pp 355–391
Fooden J (1975) Taxonomy and evolution of lion tail and pigtail macaques (Primates: Cercopithecidae). Fieldiana (Zoology) 67:1–169
Ganesh T, Davidar P (1997) Flowering phenology and flower predation of Cullenia exarillata (Bombacaceae) by arboreal vertebrates in Western Ghats. India J Trop Ecol 13:459–468
Gautier-Hion A, Michaloud G (1989) Are figs always keystone resources for tropical frugivorous vertebrates? A test in Gabon. Ecology 70:1826–1833
Green SM, Minkowski K (1977) The lion-tailed macaque and its south Indian rainforest habitat. In: Prince Rainier HSH III, Bourne GH (eds) Primate conservation. Academic, New York, pp 290–337
Heithaus ER, Fleming TH (1978) Foraging movements of a frugivorous bat, Carollia perspicillata (Phyllostomatidae). Ecol Monogr 48:127–143
Howe HF (1986) Seed dispersal. In: Murray DR (ed) Seed dispersal by fruit-eating birds and mammals. Academic, Sydney, pp 123–189
Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1986) Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. In: Soulé ME (ed) Commonness and rarity in a neotropical forest: implications for tropical tree conservation. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts, pp 205–231
Janzen DH (1979) How to be a fig. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 10:13–51
Jordán F, Takács-Sánta A, Molnár I (1999) A reliability theoretical quest for keystones. Oikos 86:453–462
Kadambi K (1954) Cullenia excelsa, Wight. (C. zeylanica, Gardner, Durio zeylanicus Gardner). Indian For 79:443–445
Krishnamani R (1994) Diet composition of the bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) in a tropical dry evergreen forest of southern India. Trop Biodivers 2:285–302
Krishnamani R, Kumar A (2000) Phyto-ecology of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) habitats in Karnataka, India: floristic composition and density of food trees. Primate Rep 58:27–56
Kumar A (1985) The lion-tailed macaque: status and conservation. In: Heltne PG (ed) Patterns of extinction in India, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere in southeast Asia: implications for lion-tailed macaque wildlife management and the Indian conservation system. Alan R. Liss, New York, pp 65–89
Kumar A (1987) The ecology and population dynamics of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) in south India. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, 174 p
Kumar A (1995) Birth rate and survival in relation to group size in the lion-tailed macaque, Macaca silenus. Primates 36:1–9
Lindburgh DG (1987) Comparative primate biology, vol 2: behavior, cognition and motivation. In: Mitchell G, Erwin J (eds) Seasonality of reproduction in primates. Alan R. Liss, New York, pp 167–218
Medley KE (1993) Primate conservation along the Tana River, Kenya: an examination of the forest habitat. Conserv Biol 7:109–121
Ménard N, Vallet D (1996) Evolution and ecology of macaque societies. In: Fa JE, Lindburg DG (eds) Demography and ecology of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) in two different habitats. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 106–131
Milton K (1980) The foraging strategy of howler monkeys: a study in primate economics. Columbia University Press, New York
Milton K (1987) Food and evolution: toward a theory of human food habits. In: Harris M, Ross EB (eds) Primate diets and gut morphology: implications for Hominid evolution. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, pp 93–115
Milton K, Windsor DM, Morrison DW, Estribi MA (1982) Fruiting phenologies of two neotropical Ficus species. Ecology 63:752–762
Morrison DW (1978) Foraging ecology and energetics of the frugivorous bat Artibeus jamaicensis. Ecology 59:716–723
O’Brien TG, Kinnaird MF (1997) Behavior, diet, and movements of the Sulawesi crested black macaque (Macaca nigra). Int J Primatol 18:321–351
Pascal J-P 1988. Wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of India: ecology, structure, floristic composition and succession. Pondicherry: French Institute, 346 p
Pascal J–P, Shyamsundar S, Meher-Homji VM (1982) Forest map of south India: Mercara-Mysore. Forest Departments of Karnataka and Kerala and French Institute, Pondicherry
Polis GA, Strong DR (1996) Food web complexity and community dynamics. Am Nat 147:813–846
Preston FW (1962a) The canonical distribution of commonness and rarity. Ecology 43:185–210
Preston FW (1962b) The canonical distribution of commonness and rarity. Ecology 43:410–432
Rabinowitz D, Cairns S, Dillon T (1986) Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. In: Soulé ME (ed) Seven forms of rarity and their frequency in the Flora of the British Isles. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts, pp 182–204
Regal PJ (1977) Ecology and evolution of flowering plant dominance. Science 196:622–629
Rudran R (1978) Socioecology of the blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) of the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Smith Contrib Zool 249:1–88
Sasidharan N, Augustine J (1999) Ficus caulocarpa Miq. and F. costata Ait. (Moraceae) – addition to the flora of India. Rheedea 9:77–80
Soulé ME (1986) Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts
Struhsaker TT (1978) Recent advances in primatology. Vol. 1: behaviour. In: Chivers DJ, Herbert J (eds) Food habits of five monkey species in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Academic, London, pp 225–248
Sussman RW (1991) Primate origins and the evolution of angiosperms. Am J Primatol 23:209–223
Terborgh J (1986a) Frugivores and seed dispersal. In: Estrada A, Fleming TH (eds) Community aspects of frugivory in tropical forests. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 371–384
Terborgh J (1986b) Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. In: Soulé ME (ed) Keystone plant resources in the tropical forest. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts, pp 330–344
Terborgh J, Stern M (1987) The surreptitious life of the saddle-backed tamarin. Am Sci 75:260–269
Terborgh J, Lopez L, Nuñez P, Rao M, Shahabuddin G, Orihuela G, Riveros M, Ascanio R, Adler GH, Lambert TD, Balbas L (2001) Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragments. Science 294:1923–1926
Thomas L, Laake JL, Derry JF, Buckland ST, Borchers DL, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Strindberg S, Hedley SL, Burt ML, Marques F, Pollard JH, Fewster RM (1998) Distance 3.5. Research Unit for Wildlife Population Assessment, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews. Available at http://www.ruwpa.st-and.ac.uk/distance/
van Schaik CP, Djojosudharmo S (1992) Why are orang utans so rare in the highlands? Altitudinal changes in a Sumatran forest. Trop Biodivers 1:11–22
Wendeln MC, Runkle JR, Kalko EKV (2000) Nutritional values of 14 fig species and bat feeding preferences in Panama. Biotropica 32:489–501
Acknowledgments
We thank the Forest Departments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka for giving us the necessary permits to do this study. We thank Drs. Ramachandra Swamy, Sasidharan, and Ravikumar for identifying the plant specimens and Appu and Ronnie for their assistance in the field. This study was supported by Chicago Zoological Society, Primate Conservation, Inc., International Primatological Society, Wildlife Conservation Society, and National Geographic Society.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Krishnamani, R., Kumar, A. (2018). Why Are Lion-Tailed Macaques Rare?. In: Sivaperuman, C., Venkataraman, K. (eds) Indian Hotspots . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6605-4_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6605-4_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-6604-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-6605-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)