PrimaTourism: Plant selection by Schlegel’s Banded Langur Presbytis neglectus in Johor

Abstract

Schlegel’s Banded Langur, P. neglectus is an understudied primate species in Johor. However, no data were recorded on the species feeding ecology from previous study. This study aims to assess the food selection of P. neglectus in Kampung Johor Lama, Kota Tinggi, Johor. Observations were made using scan sampling techniques and identification of plants was made using dichotomous key to record and identify the plants eaten by P. neglectus in Kampung Johor Lama, Kota Tinggi, Johor. 27 species of plants were recorded from 17 families during 2 months of observation starting from July 2018 to August 2018. Plant species found in the area comprises of a mixture of mangroves plants, orchard plants, pioneer forest plants and others. A notable plants species selected by P. neglectus includes pome trees, Nephelium lappaceum, commodity plants, Elaeis guineensis and Hevea brasiliensis, mangrove plants, Rhizophora mucronate, pioneer tree species, Macaranga gigantea and others. Plants selected by P. neglectus in this study suggested a viable adaptation to human settlement in Kampung Johor Lama.

Metabarcoding data analysis revealed the plant dietary variation of long-tailed macaque Macaca fascicularis (Cercopithecidae, Cercopithecinae) living in disturbed habitats in Peninsular Malaysia

“…Habitat quality may also affect dietary diversity ( Mohd-Daut et al 2021 , Mohd-Daut and Md-Zain 2021 ). Primates living in undisturbed forests with greater tree species diversity have more foraging options and are less likely to experience food scarcity than primates living in more fragmented forests ( Poulsen et al 2001 , Najmuddin et al 2019 , Najmuddin et al 2021 ). Intraspecific comparisons of the proportion of plant food resources in different primate groups living in habitats with varying disturbance levels are one technique for investigating how these species respond to human habitat alteration and dietary adjustments ( Wieczkowski 2003 , McLennan et al 2017 ).…”

Dietary habits of free-ranging banded langur (Presbytis femoralis) in a secondary-human modified forest in Johor, Malaysia

“…Reforestation of our study area with non-commodity plants preferred by P. femoralis could serve as a buffer between the forest and other crops and, as a result, reduce their crop-raiding. Promoting ecotourism, and specifically ‘PrimaTourism’ (a term referring to primate-based tourism) (Najmuddin et al 2019a), at the study site along with broader conservation education programmes may also help increase both income to villagers and awareness for P. femoralis . This type of tourism and education has succeeded in protecting other colobines (e.g., Lhota et al 2019a, Lhota et al 2019b) and thus provides a useful tool for protecting P. femoralis as well.…”

“…This habitat allows daytime observations of the monkeys on foot. Consequently, authors of other studies have reported the population distribution, activity budget and predation threats of P. femoralis at this study site (Abdul-Latiff et al 2019a, Najmuddin et al 2020, Najmuddin et al 2019a, Najmuddin et al 2019b), though knowledge about the feeding ecology of P. femoralis is incomplete. Thus, this study aimed to describe P. femoralis dietary habits and discuss the interactions between their feeding behaviour and their surroundings.…”

“…The dietary habits of P. femoralis and other closely related species have rarely been reported. Notable exceptions are the studies conducted by Ang (2010) and Srivathsan et al (2016) which describe the plants consumed by P. femoralis inhabiting the largest nature reserve in Singapore (53 identified plant species) and by Najmuddin et al (2019a) in the human-modified forest patch in Johor (27 plant species), respectively. The only long-term study on feeding habits with over 1,500 observation hours found a total of 136 plant species were consumed by the closely related species (or subspecies), P. percura (or Presbytis f. percura) , living in Sumatra, Indonesia (Megantara 1989).…”

DAILY ACTIVITY BUDGET OF BANDED LANGUR (Presbytis femoralis) IN MALAYSIA

“…Generally, P. femoralis are herbivores but also consume fruits and seeds as well (Caton, 1990;Nijboer, 2006;Kirkpatrick, 2017). Based on preliminary study on the P. femoralis, it can forage up to 27 species of plants from 17 families in severely fragmented habitat in Johor (Najmuddin et al, 2019a). in their preliminary study using ad libitum observation method had found the P. femoralis spending 36.85% of their activity budget resting, followed by moving (35.65%) and feeding (21.79%) 2019c).…”