Rethinking Tolerance to Tourism: Behavioral Responses by Wild Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra) to Tourists

Bertrand, D. A.; Berman, Carol M.; Agil, Muhammad; Sutiah, U.; Engelhardt, Antje

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-14919-1_4

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…(H2) When tourists were within the two tourism groups, females in R1 experienced a pattern of change in FGCM levels that was consistent with predictions for acute stress; FGCM levels rose from undisturbed levels following exposure to tourists within their groups and then returned to undisturbed levels thereafter (H2a). This result is also consistent with our earlier findings that these females displayed increases in aggression and decreases in sociality when tourists were present within their groups [ 56 ]. A return to undisturbed FGCM levels after exposure to a stressor is generally considered an adaptive response and is often seen as an indication that the stressor is unlikely to cause long-term physiological harm [ 91 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…(H3) When no tourists were present (i.e., during undisturbed conditions), FGCM levels increased with the numbers of researchers for females from the research-only group and for both sexes in one tourism group (R1) (H3). This is consistent with previous research showing that females in tourism groups displayed higher levels of in-group aggression on the days when more researchers were present [ 56 ]. In contrast, FGCM levels in the research-only group decreased with the numbers of researchers for males.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The fact that FGCM levels in females in the research-only group remained constant suggests that they may also have benefited from staying out of the areas perceived to be risky. We previously found that the same groups of M. nigra responded to tourists in the forest with behavioral inhibition, suggesting increased vigilance (similar to when primates detect predators at a distance) rather than increases in stress-related behavior [ 56 ]. Prior research has shown that low levels of predation risk in a variety of species may increase vigilance, without increasing FGCMs, or may even be accompanied by a decrease (see review by [ 90 ]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this reason, we controlled for food availability by using phenology data to calculate a food availability index ( cf [ 71 ]) (see below). Phenology data were collected monthly by MNP using a method designed by Dr. Oliver Schülke (see [ 56 ] for methodological details). We controlled for food availability even though we did not expect these factors to be major confounds in TNR.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Paulsen [ 55 ] found that crested macaques displayed aggressive behaviors more frequently and escalated aggression more quickly when in the presence of tourists, and also that fecal cortisol metabolite levels (pooled by group) were lower in a group experiencing intermediate numbers of tourists than either a group experiencing more tourists or a group experiencing almost no tourism. More recently, Bertrand et al [ 56 ] found that M. nigra groups displayed behavioral changes when exposed to tourists. Specifically, macaques showed signs of behavioral inhibition (a general decrease in several behaviors indicative of vigilance) when more tourists were present in the forest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Tourist and Researcher Presence on Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Levels in Wild, Habituated Sulawesi Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra)

Bertrand,

Berman,

Heistermann

et al. 2023

Animals

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Ecotourism managers and researchers often assume that apparently habituated primate groups no longer experience adverse consequences of prolonged exposure to tourists or researchers. We examined the effects of tourists and researchers on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite output (FGCM) in three critically endangered, wild crested macaque (Macaca nigra) groups in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia. We assayed FGCM from 456 fecal samples collected from thirty-three adults. Tourists can walk through and among macaque groups freely. Hence, we examined the possible effects of tourists both (1) in the reserve when away and not interacting with the study groups and (2) when they were present within the macaque groups. Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) analysis indicated that when tourists were present in the forest, but not directly among the macaques, FGCM levels in the macaque tourism groups were higher in months with more tourists. When tourists were among the macaque groups, some female macaques experienced rises and subsequent postexposure decreases in FGCM levels, consistent with predictions for acute stress. Male FGCM levels increased with tourist numbers within the group. Nevertheless, they were not significantly different from levels during undisturbed or postexposure conditions. FGCM responses related to researchers in groups varied by group, sex, and tourist presence. However, the temporal patterning of FGCM responses showed little evidence of chronic stress from tourism at this site.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%