Spatial Use And Food Habit In Winter And Spring Of Taihangshan Macaques, Jiyuan, China

(Department of Bioengineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou,450001) (Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou,450001)1 Sleeping Site Selection of Rhesus Macaques(Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) in Taihangshan National Nature Reserve, Jiyuan, ChinaBy using methods of tracking observation and sampling, we investigated sleeping site selection of Taihangshan macaques (Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) was conducted in Mt. Wangwushan area (E 112°12′～112°22′, N 35°05′～35°15′) within Taihangshan National Nature Reserve, Jiyuan, Henan, China. Eighteen sleeping sites were found and we recorded 18 non-sleeping sites referred to control groups. Fifteen ecological factors were measured in sleeping sites and control group, respectively. SPSS for Windows and PCA were employed in data analysis. The results showed that: 1) most of the sleeping sites were seated at hillside (15/18), the others were located in ridge (3/18), (χ2=8.00, df=1, P=0.005), and all the hillside sleeping sites occupied the up position (11/18) and middle position (7/18), while none in the down position.2) macaques preferred the sleeping sites whit slope degree of 37.89±1.49°(t=4.877, P<0.001), tree density of 6.33±0.69 (ind./100 m2) (t=4.468, P<0.001), canopy cover of 70.56±1.85% (t=3.293, P=0.004), concealment of 38.61±4.98m (t=-2.887, P=0.010); 3) macaques preferred roosts with the size more than 20 cm in diameter, and the roosting places were usually 10 m in height, while exhibited no significant preference on shrub and herb coverage within sleeping sites; and 4) selection in sleeping site of Taihangshan macaques, based on PCA result, was significantly associated with tree density, concealment, slope degree and weather.2 Spatial position in a Rhesus Macaques(Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) group in Taihangshan National Nature ReserveGroup living is a source that means both costs and benefits for animals. Benefits may contain decreased predation risk, and the increased ability to find food; the most prominent cost is probably increased competition for food within the group. Commonly, animals will try to minimize the cost they receive relative to the corresponding benefit. Because costs and benefits will change between spatial positions within the group, animals should prefer those spatial positions with the lower costs and higher benefits. For groups whose members are organized by a social dominance rank, the higher rank may have the more access to preferred spatial positions than the lower rank. Based on the identification of each individual, the relationship between dominance rank and spatial positions of a provisioned group of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) was researched by instantaneous and scan samplings and all occurrence sampling. The results showed that the spatial position of Rhesus Macaques correlated with dominance rank significantly. The high-rank individual of male often located in center area of group while the low-rank individual located in edge. The spatial position of female was nearly similar to that of male, but it did not correlate with dominance rank while female had newborn infants.3 Food habits of the Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) in Taihangshan National Nature Reserve in winter and springBased on 40 piles of faeces of Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta tcheliensis) and 91 categories of plant specimen collected from Taihangshan National Nature Reserve, the food habit of the Rhesus Macaques was studied by using the faecal analysis method. The results show that twenty one species of plants belonging to thirteen families were identified as food items in winter. Quercus variabilis, Quercus aliena, Eriophorum russeolum, Perilla frutescen, Zelkova schneideriana, Zelkova sinica Schenid were the six major food categories, occupying 61.3% of winter diet constitution of Rhesus Macaques. Carpinus cordata, Celastrus orbiculatus, Diospyros lotus et al,10 species of plants in total, constituted 33.8% of the Rhesus Macaques's winter diet. And the other 5 species of plants, which were less eaten by Rhesus Macaques, occupied 5.9% of the winter diet constitution. In spring thirty seven species of plants belonging to twenty four families were identified as food items. Quercus variabilis, Quercus aliena, Poa annua, Zelkova schneideriana, Zelkova sinica, Carpinus cordata, Carpinus tureazaninowii were the seven major food categories, occupying 60.4% of spring diet constitution of Rhesus Macaques. Carpinus cordata, Celastrus orbiculatus, Diospyros lotus et al,14 species of plants in total, constituted 29.8% of the Rhesus Macaques's spring diet. And the other 16 species of plants, which were less eaten by Rhesus Macaques, occupied 9.8% of the spring diet constitution. Some plants were eaten by Rhesus Macaques both in winter and spring. The Rhesus Macaques usually eaten burgeon and seed in wenter, and leaf and flower in spring. The diet of Rhesus Macaques in spring was more extensive than that in winter.