The Effect of Climatic Factors on the Activity Budgets of Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Majolo, Bonaventura; McFarland, Richard; Young, Christopher; Qarro, Mohamed

doi:10.1007/s10764-013-9678-8

Cited by 80 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…For example, geladas (Theropithecus gelada) increase the time spent feeding at low temperature and decreased habitat quality, due to increasing thermal requirements (Iwamoto and Dunbar 1983). A similar, negative relationship between temperature and time spent feeding has been found in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus, Majolo et al 2013) and Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Grueter et al 2013). In contrast, Japanese macaques (M. fuscata) decrease traveling and feeding time to save energy when temperatures are low and the thermoregulatory cost is severe (Hanya 2004).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Effects of food availability and climate on activity patterns of western black-crested gibbons in an isolated forest fragment in southern Yunnan, China

Xie

Grueter

et al. 2015

Primates

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The critically endangered western black-crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) is distributed in isolated habitat fragments in northern Vietnam, northwestern Laos, and southwestern China. To assess the behavioral adaptation of this species to forest fragments and its response to seasonal variation in food availability and climate, we present activity patterns of a group inhabiting an isolated forest based on two year-long studies in southern Yunnan, China. Annually, the gibbons spent nearly half of their active time resting, followed by moving and feeding. In both study periods, the time allocated to activities varied significantly between months, and was affected by food availability and climate factors. The group delayed retirement when tree fruit was abundant, and they decreased time spent moving and playing during periods of low fruit availability. In the cold months, the gibbons decreased time spent moving, and they decreased active time and resting time when rainfall was high. The results suggest that the group may seek to maximize net energy intake like energy maximizers when high quality food is most available, and adopt an energy-conserving strategy during periods of lower food availability and temperature. The gibbons showed similar diurnal variation in activity patterns to a group inhabiting a continuous forest at Dazhaizi, Mt. Wuliang, central Yunnan. However, they had a longer active period, and devoted more time to resting but less time to feeding. The individuals also spent lower percentages of time engaged in social behavior than those at Dazhaizi. These differences may be due to their smaller home range and unusual group composition caused by habitat fragmentation.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Effects of food availability and climate on activity patterns of western black-crested gibbons in an isolated forest fragment in southern Yunnan, China

Xie

Grueter

et al. 2015

Primates

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“…Nevertheless, our findings provide new insights into the adaptations of our study species to its challenging environment. Across the whole study period and in both the mating and non-mating seasons, T3 levels were negatively related to foraging time, an inverse measure of food availability [10]. Moreover, T3 levels across the whole study were lower in the wild-feeding group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Metabolic strategies in wild male Barbary macaques: evidence from faecal measurement of thyroid hormone

et al. 2016

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Selection is expected to favour the evolution of flexible metabolic strategies, in response to environmental conditions. Here, we use a non-invasive index of basal metabolic rate (BMR), faecal thyroid hormone (T3) levels, to explore metabolic flexibility in a wild mammal inhabiting a highly seasonal, challenging environment. T3 levels of adult male Barbary macaques in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, varied markedly over the year; temporal patterns of variation differed between a wild-feeding and a provisioned group. Overall, T3 levels were related to temperature, foraging time (linked to food availability) and intensity of mating activity, and were higher in the provisioned than in the wild-feeding group. In both groups, T3 levels began to increase markedly one month before the start of the mating season, peaking four to six weeks into this period, and at a higher level in the wild-feeding group. Our results suggest that while both groups demonstrate marked metabolic flexibility, responding similarly to ecological and social challenges, such flexibility is affected by food availability. This study provides new insights into the way Barbary macaques respond to the multiple demands of their environment.

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“…We do know that, at high temperatures, some studies have revealed that animals tend to spend more time resting (Stelzner, 1988;Hill, 2006;Campos and Fedigan, 2009;Korstjens et al, 2010;Sato, 2012;Majolo et al, 2013), and that resting and shade-seeking are critical for thermoregulation (e.g., Campos and Fedigan, 2009): high heat load can cause severe dehydration and potentially fatal hyperthermia (Taylor, 1970). In contrast to the reduced demand for shade-seeking and resting in colder temperatures, the energetic demands of thermoregulation and digestion are higher in cold conditions (Satinoff, 2011), meaning more time needs to be spent feeding (Satinoff, 2011;Majolo et al, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral flexibility of vervet monkeys in response to climatic and social variability

McFarland

Barrett

Boner

et al. 2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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Responses to environmental variability sheds light on how individuals are able to survive in a particular habitat and provides an indication of the scope and limits of its niche. To understand whether climate has a direct impact on activity, and determine whether vervet monkeys have the behavioral flexibility to respond to environmental change, we examined whether the amount of time spent resting and feeding in the nonmating and mating seasons were predicted by the thermal and energetic constraints of ambient temperature. Our results show that high temperatures during the nonmating season were associated with an increase in time spent resting, at the expense of feeding. Cold temperatures during the nonmating season were associated with an increase in time spent feeding, at the expense of resting. In contrast, both feeding and resting time during the mating season were independent of temperature, suggesting that animals were not adjusting their activity in relation to temperature during this period. Our data indicate that climate has a direct effect on animal activity, and that animals may be thermally and energetically compromised in the mating season. Our study animals appear to have the behavioral flexibility to tolerate current environmental variability. However, future climate change scenarios predict that the time an animal has available for behaviors critical for survival will be constrained by temperature. Further investigations, aimed at determining the degree of behavioral and physiological flexibility displayed by primates, are needed if we are to fully understand the consequences of environmental change on their distribution and survival.

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The Effect of Climatic Factors on the Activity Budgets of Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Cited by 80 publications

References 40 publications

Effects of food availability and climate on activity patterns of western black-crested gibbons in an isolated forest fragment in southern Yunnan, China

Effects of food availability and climate on activity patterns of western black-crested gibbons in an isolated forest fragment in southern Yunnan, China

Metabolic strategies in wild male Barbary macaques: evidence from faecal measurement of thyroid hormone

Behavioral flexibility of vervet monkeys in response to climatic and social variability

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