Effect of habitat fragmentation on ranging behavior of white-headed langurs in limestone forests in Southwest China
Effect of habitat fragmentation on ranging behavior of white-headed langurs in limestone forests in Southwest China
复制标题
西南石灰岩森林生境破碎化对白头叶猴测距行为的影响
DOI：
10.1007/s10329-017-0600-4
复制
发表时间：
2017-07-01
期刊：
影响因子：
1.7
通讯作者：
Zhou, Qihai
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Huang, Zhonghao;Yuan, Peisong;Zhou, Qihai
极度濒危的白头叶猴(Trachypithecus Leucocephalus)仅限于广西西南部喀斯特破碎的森林中，中国说。由于缺乏关于栖息地片断化对叶猴行为影响的信息，人们无法全面了解它们的活动范围行为，也无法制定有效的叶猴保护策略。我们收集了生活在轻度碎片化的扶绥林(G1、G2)和高度碎片化的崇左森林(G3、G4)的四个叶猴种群的时间预算、每日路径长度、栖息地范围和食量的比较数据。其目的是探索这种碎片化对叶猴测距行为的影响。研究结果表明，与崇左组相比，富遂组在运动上花费的时间较多，在进食和玩耍上花费的时间较少。日路径长度扶绥组为472.4-536.1米，崇左组为449.6-480.7米，表明站点间没有明显差异。扶绥组占据的家园范围(23.8-33.8公顷)比崇左组(14.5-15.8公顷)大得多。然而，所有的群体都有相似的月度家庭范围。不同的叶猴群体的饮食有很大的不同。与崇左组相比，富遂组的幼叶消耗量较多，食物多样性较低。我们的发现表明，栖息地碎片化是白头叶猴活动范围的关键决定因素之一，因为碎片化减少并限制了栖息地的范围。栖息地破碎化的叶猴采取了一种节能策略，其特点是将更多的时间用于取食，更少的时间用于移动，栖息地范围更小，消耗更多的植物物种。我们认为，将支离破碎的森林与走廊连接起来，应被视为更广泛、更全面的长期叶猴种群保护和栖息地管理战略的优先事项。
The critically endangered white-headed langur (Trachypithecus leucocephalus) is confined to fragmented karst forests of southwest Guangxi Province, China. A lack of information on the influence of habitat fragmentation on langur behavior has prevented a comprehensive understanding of their ranging behavior and the development of effective langur conservation strategies. We collected comparative data on time budgets, daily path lengths, home range and diets of four langur groups inhabiting the lightly fragmented Fusui forest (G1, G2) and the more heavily fragmented Chongzuo forest (G3, G4). The aim was to explore the effect of this fragmentation on langur ranging behavior. Our results showed that the Fusui groups spent more time on moving and less time on feeding and playing than the Chongzuo groups. Daily path lengths were 472.4–536.1 m for the Fusui groups and 449.6–480.7 m for the Chongzuo groups, indicating no marked inter-site variation. The Fusui groups occupied much larger home ranges (23.8–33.8 ha) than the Chongzuo groups (14.5–15.8 ha). However, all groups had similar monthly home ranges. Diets significantly differed among langur groups. The Fusui groups consumed more young leaves and had much lower diet diversity compared with the Chongzuo groups. Our findings indicate that habitat fragmentation is one of the crucial determinants of white-headed langur ranging behavior because fragmentation reduces and restricts the home range. Langurs in fragmented habitat adopt an energy conservation strategy characterized by devoting more time to feeding and less time to moving, with a smaller home range and consumption of more plant species. We argue that linking fragmented forests with corridors should be considered a priority in a wider and comprehensive longer term langur population conservation and habitat management strategy.