Ranging and site fidelity in northern pigtailed macaques (Macaca leonina) over different temporal scales

Abstract

Space-use patterns are crucial to understanding the ecology, evolution, and conservation of primates, but detailed ranging data are scarce for many species, especially those in Southeast Asia. Researchers studying site fidelity to either home ranges or core areas have focused mainly on territorial species, whereas less information is available for non-territorial species. We analyzed the ranging patterns and site fidelity of one wild troop of northern pigtailed macaques over 16 months at different temporal scales. We used characteristic hull polygons in combination with spatial statistics to estimate home ranges and core areas. The total home range and core areas were 449 ha and 190 ha, respectively. Average daily path length was 2,246 m. The macaques showed a high defendabili--ty index according to the expected ranging of a non-territorial species in which movement does not theoretically permit the defense of a large territory. Overall, the study troop ranged more extensively than conspecific groups and closely related species studied elsewhere. These differences may reflect variable troop size, degree of terrestriality and habitat characteristics, but could also reflect methodological differences. The location, size and shape of home ranges and core areas, and extent of daily path lengths changed on a monthly basis resulting in low site fidelity between months. The macaques also showed clear shifts in the location of daily home ranges with low site fidelity scores between consecutive days. Daily home range and daily path length were related to seasonality, with greater values during the fruit-abundant period. Low site fidelity associated with lack of territoriality is consistent with macaques structuring their movement based on available food sources. However, ranging patterns and site fidelity can also be explained by macaques feeding on the move, a foraging strategy that hinders frequent and long visits to the same location.

The effect of roads on spider monkeys’ home range and mobility in a heterogeneous regenerating forest

“…, José‐Domínguez et al . ). Following this method, all 30‐min locations were first connected in a map forming Delaunay triangles of various shapes and sizes based on their density and spatial distribution (Fig.…”

Northern pigtailed macaques rely on old growth plantations to offset low fruit availability in a degraded forest fragment

“…Based on the troop location every 30 min, we calculated the total and monthly CA and HR using characteristic hull polygons (CHPs) with the “Hot Spot Analysis with Rendering” tool available in ArcGIS 10.1 (Downs & Horner, 2009; José Dominguez, Savini, et al, 2015). This method assessed whether triangle perimeter lengths generated by the model were statistically clustered in space, and produced a z ‐score with a p ‐value for each triangle, representative of clustering intensity.…”

“…For N = 101 complete days, we calculated DPL by summing distances of successive 30‐min track points. Because mean day length varies between seasons, we analyzed DPL corrected for (i.e., divided by) the day length (José‐Domínguez, Savini, et al, 2015).…”

“…Resource and space use patterns, that is, daily path length (DPL), core area (CA), and HR, provide useful measurements of spatial requirements and energy expenditure needed for a species long‐term survival, especially in degraded environments during food scarcity periods (Mekonnen et al, 2017; Santhosh et al, 2015; Tesfaye et al, 2013). Besides, site fidelity, defined as the reuse of particular portions of both CA and HR over time, is increasingly employed as reflecting potential stable locations of resources for an animal or a group over time (José‐Domínguez, Savini, & Asensio, 2015; Wartmann, Juárez, & Fernandez‐Duque, 2014). Hidden Markov modeling (HMM), a method recently introduced in animal movement analysis, links the individuals' movement in HR, characterized by their behavioral states, with habitat properties (Leos‐Barajas et al, 2017; Li & Bolker, 2017; Whoriskey et al, 2017).…”

“…Although omnivorous, fruit is the most important part of its diet (Albert, Hambuckers, Culot, Savini, & Huynen, 2013). Former studies on ranging behavior of two troops inhabiting the well‐preserved forest of Khao Yai National Park (KYNP) in Thailand, one partially food‐provisioned and the other exclusively wild‐feeding, showed that the partially provisioned troop had significantly reduced DPL, CA, and HR size, as well as an increased fidelity to human areas compared to the wild‐feeding troop (José‐Domínguez, Huynen, et al, 2015, José‐Domínguez, Savini, et al, 2015). These studies also showed that these troops exhibited flexibility in foraging strategies with response to seasonal variation in fruit availability and a ranging pattern which reflects a low‐cost strategy (i.e., decreased ranging) during native food scarcity (Albert, Huynen, et al, 2013; José‐Domínguez, Savini, et al, 2015).…”