Theses and Dissertations

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Macaca silenus

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    PHYTO-ECOLOGY OF THE LION-TAILED MACAQUE (Macaca silenus) HABITATS IN SOUTHERN INDIA
    (SACON, 2002) KRISHNAMANI, R; Kumar, Ajith
    The causal factors for the very high species diversity in tropical rainforests have been the focus of ecological research for several decades. It has become obvious that the high tropical species diversity has three major components, local (often called α-diversity), regional (β-diversity), and landscape (γ- diversity). Contribution of each of these components to overall diversity might vary from place to place, and from taxon to taxon. The pattern of variation in plant diversity is of particular interest since this would have a profound impact of the distribution and abundance of secondary consumers. In this study, I examine the nature and extent of spatial variation in the species diversity of woody plants in the rainforest of the Western Ghats mountain ranges in south India, one among the eight most threatened biodiversity hotspots of the world. I also examine whether the diversity of food trees of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), an endemic to the tropical rainforest of the Western Ghats and phylogenetically the ancestor of all extant Asian macaques, also show variation at different spatial scales that is similar to that of all wood plants. Since the phenology of plants also affects the secondary consumers, this issue is examined at one site. Although the Western Ghats mountain ranges extend over 1600 km, from 8°-21° N, this study was restricted to the tropical rainforest between 8°30’ and 14°17’ N within an altitudinal range of 100-1500 m, which formed the habitat of the lion-tailed macaque. The rainforest north of this is also heavily disturbed and highly fragmented. The variation in the woody plant community was examined primarily with reference to their species richness, density, and basal area.
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    Intra-specific variation in seed dispersal effectiveness of Lion-tailed Macaques Macaca silenus
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Bindu, K.; Kumar, H.N. Dr. H. N. Kumara Dr. Navendu Page Dr. Rohit Naniwadekar; Page, Navendu V.; Naniwadekar, Rohit
    1. Tropical forests are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. Seed dispersal is one of the important interactions that maintains species richness and ecosystem functions. Vertebrate frugivores, especially birds and mammals, play a crucial role in dispersing seeds. The dispersal effectiveness of these dispersers is influenced by factors such as size, age, sex, dominance hierarchy and behaviour types. Invasive species pose significant threats to tropical ecosystems, rapidly forming mutualistic relations with native dispersers. This study focuses on the lion-tailed macaques Macaca silenus in the Western Ghats to explore how age-sex categories influence seed dispersal of native and exotic species in terms of diversity and quantity of fruits consumed, quantity of seeds dispersed, daily distance travelled and seed deposition site. 2. I employed non-invasive behavioural sampling on four troops of the lion-tailed macaques for four months. Focal animal sampling of 375.9 hours was employed on individuals belonging to three age sex categories, including adult males, adult females and subadults. Faecal samples were collected to assess quantity of seeds dispersed, and the substrate at seed deposition site was recorded. The movement of focal individual was tracked for the entire duration of the observation. 3. Subadults consumed higher diversity of fruits than females and males. Subadults also consumed more native fruits, while females consumed more non-native fruits. The pairwise dietary overlap between all age-sex categories was high. The rate of consumption of nonnative fruits increased as day progressed. Subadults dispersed significantly less Ficus seeds than the other age-sex categories. Daily movements showed no significant differences across age-sex categories. However, I found weak evidence of males being more likely to disperse seeds on trees, which could be more suitable for Ficus germination. The differences in 7 feeding patterns also highlight the greater importance of subadults in the dispersal of a greater diversity of fruit plant species. 4. The invasives Coffea spp. and Lantana camara constituted up to 90% of the diet of the three age-sex categories. There was difference in the relative proportions of these two species. Males consumed more Coffea spp., whereas subadults and females consumed more Lantana fruits. The macaques dispersed Ficus seeds in clumps, increasing the risk of predation or microbial infection. 5. This study generates novel information on intra-specific variation in seed dispersal, a relatively understudied topic. It also highlights lion-tailed macaques' significant role in dispersing alien invasive species in degraded rainforests and provides valuable insights into their understudied role as seed dispersers.
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    Social Behaviour and Communication Among Wild Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus) in the Indira Ganghi Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2001) Raghavan, Roopali; Gupta, A.K.; Johnsingh, A.J.T.
    This study on the social behaviour and communication among wild lion-tailed macaque was carried out between November 2000 and April 2001, on a group of lion-tailed macaques that inhabit the wet evergreen Puthutotam forest fragment. located within the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in the Anaimalai hills, Tamil Nadu.The troop consisted of 16 to 19 animals. For the purpose of this study, social interactions within and between adults and subadults of both sexes were considered. Focal animal sampling and instantaneous scan sampling was thus conducted on only ten identified individuals (four males and six females) in the troop. A complete ethogram describing all behaviour observed during the period of the study was repared. The time-activity budget was calculated for the troop. The predominant behavioural states among all the individuals were Active Forage (mean ± SD of 22.4 ± 0.08%), Active Feed (17.0 ± 0.05%), Sit (16.6 ± 0.04%), Move (13 ± 0.030/0), Passive Forage (6.8 ± 0.02%) and Passive Feed (6.5 ± 0.02%). The adult males and females of the study troop differed in the proportion of time spent by them in the different behavioural states. Autogroom and Allogroom accounted for the principal difference between the sexes. Adult males spent relatively greater time Autogrooming than females, while females allogroomed relatively more. Dominance ranks were calculated independently for males and females in the study troop. Among both males and females, rank position in the dominance hierarchy appeared to be influenced strongly by body size. This is an unusual finding for the females of cercopithecine primate species, implying the existence of an unique individual-based dominance hierarchy among the study females. There was i.e remarkable similarity in the frequency with which dominant and subordinate females displayed virtually all behaviours towards each other in dyadic interactions. This provides support to the prevailing view that lion-tailed macaques indeed display an egalitarian nature. Classification of the gestures and vocalisations were observed to be largely dependent on the dominance rank of the individuals. with certain gestures being characteristic of submission. Males and females showed differential use of the gestures and expressions.