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Sleeping Sites of Rhinopithecus brelichi at Yangaoping, Guizhou

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Abstract

Arboreal primates spend about half of their lives at sleeping sites; hence, selection of sleeping sites is crucial for individual survival, and data concerning them is important for conservation efforts. We collected data on sleeping sites for a group of the endangered snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) at Yangaoping (27°58′N, 108°45′E) from January 2006 to December 2007. All sleeping sites were located in the mid-slope and in the shadow of ridges facing the northeast and southeast. The monkeys remained quiet while entering and occupying sleeping sites, and slept in evergreen species during the cold season (December–March). Trees in sleeping sites were similar in height and girth at breast height to those elsewhere, but some trees in lower areas were larger. The monkeys usually slept in close proximity to the last feeding spot, and their daily activities usually occurred around the sleeping site. Areas adjacent to sleeping sites were used more intensively than those not adjacent. Monkeys left the sleeping sites later in the morning in the cold season. These behavioral responses suggested that predation risk, thermoregulation, and climate stresses are the main determining factors in the selection of sleeping sites for this temperate monkey.

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Acknowledgments

The National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB411605), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30630016, 30870375), the Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX2-YW-R-091), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society (8575-08), and the Central South University of Forestry & Technology supported this study. We thank Professor Colin Groves and Dr. Ken Sayers for language editing of the manuscript, the editor and anonymous reviewers for invaluable suggestions on both the science and language, the Administrative Bureau of Fanjingshan Nature Reserve for their support, and X. G. Yang, S. J. Yang, and X. H. Dong for field assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Zuo-Fu Xiang, Zong-Fei Chang, Fu-Wen Wei & Ming Li

  2. College of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha, Hunan, 410004, China

    Zuo-Fu Xiang & Shuai-Guo Nie

  3. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Zong-Fei Chang

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  1. Zuo-Fu Xiang
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  2. Shuai-Guo Nie
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  3. Zong-Fei Chang
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  4. Fu-Wen Wei
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  5. Ming Li
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Correspondence to Ming Li.

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Xiang, ZF., Nie, SG., Chang, ZF. et al. Sleeping Sites of Rhinopithecus brelichi at Yangaoping, Guizhou. Int J Primatol 31, 59–71 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-009-9378-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-009-9378-6

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