Purple-faced Langurs in Human-Modified Environments Feeding on Cultivated Fruits: A Comment to Dela (2007, 2012)

Nijman, Vincent

doi:10.1007/s10764-012-9609-0

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Nevertheless, the diets of these two species are understudied, and more recent work suggests strong similarities between the two species (Vandercone, Dinadh, Wijethunga, Ranawana, & Rasmussen, 2012). Furthermore, in Western Sri Lanka, where purple‐faced langurs are found commonly in “urban” gardens, they feed on fruits when alternative resources are unavailable (Dela, 2012; Nijman, 2012), challenging the hypothesis that specialist species are unable to thrive in human‐modified environments (Davies et al., 2004; Nowak & Lee, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiome, diet, and conservation of endangered langurs in Sri Lanka

et al. 2020

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Understanding the mechanisms by which organisms respond to environmental change is critical to conservation biology. Recent research indicates that the gut microbiome may mediate mammalian responses to the environment and can be used as a biomarker to understand host ecological strategies. Here, we explore the relationship between the gut microbiome, host dietary niche, and potential resilience to habitat alteration using two closely related, sympatric non-human primate species: the tufted gray langur (Semnopithecus priam) and the purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus). The gray langur is suspected to be a habitat generalist less perturbed by anthropogenic disturbance, while the purple-faced langur is suspected to be a specialist more sensitive to disturbance. To test these characterizations, we assessed the gut microbiome using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of fecal samples collected from Kaludiyapokuna Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka (gray langur n = 50 samples, purple-faced langur n = 7 samples). Our results demonstrate that despite strong gut microbial similarities, gray langurs had a more diverse gut microbiome that harbored Prevotella and Akkermansia, taxa involved in starch degradation, while the purplefaced langur gut microbiome harbored Roseburia, Clostridium, and Ruminococcus, taxa involved in processing plant structural carbohydrates. Compared to related species in other locations, both Sri Lankan langurs harbored more pathogenic bacteria. These differences suggest that gray langurs have more generalist diets, making them more resilient to anthropogenic change, but also indicate that they are not impervious to human encroachment. Our findings suggest that microbiome analyses are an important tool for langur ecology and conservation, and should be integrated into ongoing studies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiome, diet, and conservation of endangered langurs in Sri Lanka

et al. 2020

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“…crop raiding) to supplement their diets with abundant and accessible food items that contain more digestible carbohydrates and less fibre and toxins compared to foods found in the wild [ 21 – 23 ]. In particular, primates living in urban areas may eat garden plants and/or be deliberately fed by city dwellers or by tourists [ 24 , 25 ]. As human population growth and urban expansion lead to increasing opportunities for encounters (and potential conflicts) between monkeys and humans, it has become critical to study monkeys in cities [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They primarily focus on Asian macaques ( Macaca fascicularis , [ 27 , 28 ], M . radiata , [ 29 , 30 ]), chacma baboons ( Papio ursinus , [ 31 ]) and purple-faced langurs ( Semnopithecus vetulus nestor , [ 25 , 32 – 34 ]), and to a lesser extent on New World primates (capuchins Cebus libidinosus , [ 35 ], marmosets Callithrixpenicillata , [ 36 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Diet Flexibility an Adaptive Life Trait for Relictual and Peri-Urban Populations of the Endangered Primate Macaca sylvanus?

et al. 2015

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Habitat loss, fragmentation and urban expansion may drive some species to marginal habitats while others succeed in exploiting urban areas. Species that show dietary flexibility are more able to take advantage of human activities to supplement their diet with anthropogenically abundant and accessible resources. The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is an endangered species due to the loss of its habitat, and human pressure. The population of Gouraya National Park (Algeria) lives in a relictual habitat that constitutes about 0.6% of the species range. In addition, this population is a unique case where urban expansion favours contact zones between Barbary macaque habitats and a big city (Bejaia). We quantified the dietary composition of Gouraya macaques over an annual cycle with the objective to understand how diet flexibility of this species may help it adapt to a relictual habitat or cope with urban expansion. We recorded the phenology of plant species every month. This study shows that Gouraya macaques, compared to those living in other forest types of the distribution area, are under lower seasonal constraints. They consume a greater amount of fruit and seeds that are available throughout much of the year, and a lesser amount of costly to find and extract subterranean foods. Therefore the Gouraya relictual habitat appears as a favourable environment compared to other major habitats of that species. This study also shows that colonizing peri-urban zones increases the availability and species richness of diet resources for Barbary macaques as they consume more human foods and exotic plants than in farther sites. Adult males eat more human foods than adult females and immatures do. The exploitation of high-energy anthropogenic food could favour macaque population growth and expansion towards the city center associated with human/macaque conflicts. We recommend applying management actions to restore macaques back to their natural habitat.

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“…Of these seven crops, three plants, rubber, banana and jackfruit, were listed as most consumed. However, in some cases of colobines, fruits of cultivated plants dominate their diet even though such fruits are not preferred (Nijman 2012). This suggests that excessive human activity may force P. femoralis to consume cultivated fruits despite their natural preferences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Najmuddin

Haris

Norazlimi

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Banded langurs, Presbytis femoralis, are distributed in southern Peninsular Malaysia, i.e., Johor and its borders including Singapore. It has been estimated that there are only < 250 mature individuals of P. femoralis in Malaysia and Singapore, and it is currently assessed as Critically Endangered. The dietary information of P. femoralis and even other closely related species has rarely been reported. This study, therefore, aimed to describe their dietary habits and discuss interaction between their feeding behaviour and its surrounding. This study was conducted from February to November 2018, with 15 sampling days each month. We collected a total of 186 sighting hours, using a scan sampling method with 10-min intervals, on a five-langur focal group. We have identified 29 species with 47 items consumed by the banded langur, mostly young leaves (51 %) followed by fruits (45 %), and flowers (3.8 %). The study group spent slightly more time consuming non-cultivated plants but relied on cultivated plants for the fruits. Over 75% of fruit feeding involved consuming cultivar plants; in most cases (73%), they ate only the pule, not the seeds. Since the cultivated plants was planted in human settlement, there is an urgent need to implement conservation measures to untangle the human-langur conflicts for instance, reforestation of a buffer region using non-cultivated plants. There is a potential for building upon our new findings with more detailed investigations, such as more extensive ecological factors influencing the dietary adaptation which would be necessary to support conservation efforts and management decisions of this species.

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Purple-faced Langurs in Human-Modified Environments Feeding on Cultivated Fruits: A Comment to Dela (2007, 2012)

Cited by 6 publications

References 16 publications

Gut microbiome, diet, and conservation of endangered langurs in Sri Lanka

Gut microbiome, diet, and conservation of endangered langurs in Sri Lanka

Is Diet Flexibility an Adaptive Life Trait for Relictual and Peri-Urban Populations of the Endangered Primate Macaca sylvanus?

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

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