Behavioral responses of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) to variations in environmental conditions in Algeria

Abstract

In this study, the behavioral responses of Barbary macaques to seasonal and interhabitat variations in resource availability were analyzed over an entire annual cycle. Two groups, one in an evergreen cedar–oak forest (Djurdjura) and the other in a deciduous oak forest (Akfadou), were observed. In this paper, references to data on resource availability published elsewhere are made. Time budget has been studied. Variations in foraging and moving time, in day–range lengths, and in time moving in trees have been considered to estimate the variations in foraging effort and thus energy expenditure. Great monthly variations in foraging effort and other activities were observed in both habitats. In early spring, when resource availabilities were maximal, foraging effort was low while monkeys maximized their feeding time (about 5 h/day). In June, during the peak of the birth season and the rearing period, monkeys minimized their feeding time to the benefit of social interactions (to 1.6–2.7 h/day), whatever the food availability, which was low in Akfadou and high in Djurdjura. In addition, foraging effort remained low in Djurdjura, while it increased in Akfadou. Thus, at the beginning of the dry summer period, monkeys in Akfadou were in a less favorable position than those in Djurdjura. At both sites, in periods of food shortage in summer or in winter, monkeys displayed two different strategies. In the former case, their foraging effort increased, while in the second one it remained relatively low. Whatever the foraging effort, monkeys did not reach the same amount of feeding time as in early spring. In the poorest site of Akfadou, foraging effort was globally greater than in the richest site of Djurdjura, especially for adults. At both sites, adult males spent more time feeding than juveniles and less time in social interactions. Results are discussed according to rearing period, temperatures, and day length constraints. The limits of adaptability to different habitats are considered in light of the demographic parameters. Am. J. Primatol. 43:285–304, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Ecology of an endemic primate species (Macaca siberu) on Siberut Island, Indonesia

“…), Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, May – Jun. ’11 and May – Aug. ‘12; M. nigra : O’Brian & Kinnaird (1997), Tangkoko, Sulawesi; M. siberu : this study; M. sylvanus : 2 groups from Ménard & Vallet (1997) at Djurdjura and Akfadou, Algeria; 1 group (group 6) from Deag (1974), Ain Kahla, Marocco; M. tonkeana : 2 groups from Pombo et al (2004), Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, 1 group in disturbed forest.…”

“…comm. ), seasonal wet evergreen forest, forest group Ch; 5) Albert et al (2011), seasonal wet evergreen forest, close to the national park’s visitor center, group HQ; 6) Aldrich-Blake (1980), tropical lowland evergreen forest; 7) MacKinnon & MacKinnon (1980), site at Kuala Lompat: tropical lowland evergreen forest, site in Sumatra: habitat type not given by the authors; 8) Wheatley (1980), mixed lowland forest; 9) Schülke et al (2011), dry evergreen forest; 10) Caldecott (1986a), tropical broadleaf evergreen forest surrounded by oil palm plantations, value is the mean of spot observations and activity assessments; 11) Bernstein (1967), tropical broadleaf evergreen forest, same study site as Caldecott (1986a); 12) Crockett & Wilson (1980), swamp, lowland, hill and submontane forest; 13) Lu et al (1991), mainly primary broadleaf forest; 14) Kohlhaas (1993), primary lowland rainforest, with some patches of secondary growth and grasses, 15) Dittus (1977), semi-evergreen forest, dry zone plain; 16) this study; 17) Sugiyama (1971), dry decidious forest; 18) O’Brian & Kinnaird (1997), some parts disturbed forest; 19) Giyarto (2010), Rambo I group (1 st value) mainly primary forest, Rambo II group mainly secondary forest; 20) Yotsumoto (1976), secondary broadleaf decidious forest, some parts with broadleaf evergreen trees; 21) Chatani (2003), evergreen forest less than 5 m high; 22) Ménard & Vallet (1997), temperate decidious oak forest at Akfadou, temperate evergreen cedar-oak forest at Djurdjura; 23) Chopra et al (1992), forest; 24) Goldstein & Richard (1989) and Goldstein (1984), temperate mixed coniferous decidious forest with disturbed areas.…”

“…comm. ), tropical lowland evergreen rainforest; 18) Kohlhaas (1993), primary lowland rainforest, with some patches of secondary growth and grasses; 19) Kumar et al (2006), subtropical broadleaf evergreen forest, secondary scrub and agricultural fields; 20) Wang (2004); 21) Lu et al (1991), mainly primary broadleaf forest; 22) Singh & Vinanthe (1990), dry decidious forest; 23) Seth & Seth (1986), deciduous forest; 24) Teas et al (1980), open and wooded parklands, small tracts of forest, temple grouds; 25) Chopra et al (1992), forest; 26) Goldstein & Richard (1989) and Goldstein (1984), temperate mixed coniferous deciduous forest with disturbed areas; 27) Agetsuma (1995b), warm temperate broadleaf forest; 28) Maruhashi (1981), warm temperate broadleaf forest; 29) Agetsuma & Nakagawa (1998), Yakushima: warm temperate broadleaf forest, Kinkazan: mixed forest of deciduous and coniferous trees; 30) Hanya (2004b), coniferous forest; 31) Hashimoto (1991), deciduous broadleaf forest; 32) Ménard & Vallet (1997), Akfadou: temperate deciduous oak forest, Djurdjura: temperate evergreen cedar-oak forest; 33) Deag (1985), temperate cedar forest.…”

Influence of environmental variables, small-scale fisheries and vessel traffic on the distribution and behavior of bottlenose dolphins in a tropical lagoon

“…An analysis of focal follows was also used to understand which habitat variables influence activity budgets (e.g., [35]). For each focal follow, the mean values of the habitat variables were calculated over the time series.…”

Behavioral adjustments of endangered Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) living at the edge of an agricultural landscape in Morocco

“…In the natural sites, we estimated monthly diets and time budgets as an average over 2 years for certain months (May and June in Akfadou, and May, June and October in Tigounatine). Because the diets and activity‐budgets of Barbary macaques differ between age and sex classes (Ménard & Vallet, 1997), we calculated, for each group, mean monthly diets, and activity‐budgets as the weighted mean of three separate age‐sex classes: adult females (>4 year‐old), adult males (>5 year‐old) and immatures (excluding infants <1‐year‐old), based on a “standard” group composition of this species, which is about 25% adult females, 25% adult males, and 50% immatures (Ménard, 2002). Diet compositions are presented as a percentage of the feeding time spent eating each category of food.…”