Seasonal Variation in Activity Budget of Assamese Macaques in Limestone Forest of Southwest Guangxi, China

Abstract

The activity budget is important for understanding behavioural variability and adaptation in primates. Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) found in the limestone forest of Guangxi Nonggang National Nature Reserve, Southwest China, primarily feed on young leaves of Bonia saxatilis (a shrubby, karst-endemic bamboo). To understand how a specific bamboo leaf-based diet and ecological factors affect activity budget, one group of Assamese macaques was studied using instantaneous scan sampling for 1 year. The macaques spent most of their time feeding (32.7 ± 5.4%), followed by resting (28.6 ± 6.3%), moving (28.6 ± 5.3%), grooming (8.0 ± 3.0%), playing (1.7 ± 1.6%) and other activities (0.4 ± 0.2%). Their activity budget was similar to that of typical frugivorous primates and bamboo-dominated primates, which spent more time on active behaviours (feeding and moving, 61.3 ± 6.0%) than on inactive behaviours (resting and grooming, 36.6 ± 6.4%). The macaques spent significantly more time resting during the fruit-lean season and more time moving during the fruit-rich season. Their activity budget was significantly affected by diet. Resting time increased with decreased fruit consumption, whereas moving time decreased with the increasing mature leaf consumption. Playing time decreased when the macaques consumed more young bamboo leaves. The activity budget was also influenced by food availability and climatic factors. Resting time increased with decreasing temperature, whereas moving time increased with increasing day length and young leaf availability. Grooming time increased with decreasing day length and increasing temperature, and playing time increased with increasing day length. Our findings provide evidence of the importance of diet, food

Predator avoidance and food patch proximity influence sleeping site use of Assamese macaques in a limestone forest of Southwest Guangxi, China

“…Therefore, prediction 3 was not supported by our results. In limestone forests, fruits are one of the favorite foods of Assamese macaques, and are concentrated on hill slopes and bottoms during the fruit‐rich season (Huang et al, 2015; Li et al, 2020b). The macaques' sleeping site selections were not close to the fruit distribution areas during the rainy season, which may reflect a trade‐off between foraging benefits and safety concerns.…”

“…Primates may adopt energy minimization strategies in response to periodical scarcity in food resources, which may be exemplified by Assamese macaques' energy‐minimizing strategies, as revealed in existing studies (Li et al, 2020a). For example, they usually have a small home range size, short daily ranging distance, and spend relatively less time moving and more time resting (Li et al, 2020a; Li et al, 2020b). Sympatric François's langurs show a similar pattern in sleeping site use, which may be related to reducing travel costs (Zhou et al, 2009).…”

Food availability, temperature, and day length drive seasonal variations in the positional behavior of white‐headed langurs in the limestone forests of Southwest Guangxi, China

“…Langurs select ledges and caves in the middle and upper cliffs as sleeping sites (Huang, 2002). Moreover, limestone forests are characterized by high plant species diversity with low biomass (Huang et al, 2010) and demonstrate marked seasonal variations in food availability, ambient temperature, and rainfall (Huang, 2002;Li et al, 2020b). During the dry season, when food availability and temperatures are low, these langurs spend more time feeding (Zhou et al, 2010) and tend to sunbathe on bare rocks (Huang, 2002).…”

Personality as a Predictor of Time-Activity Budget in Lion-Tailed Macaques (Macaca silenus)

“…We did not find a difference in time-activity budget between the Apenheul and Blijdorp groups. Time-activity budget differences among wild lion-tailed macaque groups were accounted for by seasonal variation, group size, and habitat quality; this was also evident in other primate species (i.e., Assamese macaques ( Macaca assamensis ) [ 83 ], vervet monkeys ( Chlorocebus pygerythrus ) [ 20 ], and chimpanzees [ 84 ]. In captivity, however, food items do not depend on seasonality.…”