Collaborative Research: Conservation and ecology of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey at Khau Ca, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam

北极猴是由杜尔曼(1912年)命名的，但在接下来的几十年里，很少有人看到它，这使得西方科学家认为它已经灭绝，直到1990年的最近一次目击。虽然还没有灭绝，但北极猴(Rhinopithecus Avunculus)目前仅限于越南北部的三个小地方，在那里它是地方性的。这项研究集中在越南河江省Khau Ca地区最有生存能力的北金丝猴种群。保护、保存和扩展(在人口和地理上)是该项目的主要目标，但也寻求对金丝猴属生态多样性的更深层次了解。有人认为，环境跃层在现存的四种犀猴中产生了形态和行为的分级，其中北极猴生活在相对较低的热带常绿森林中，而中国的其他三种猴子生活在越来越高和更冷的栖息地。初步数据显示，北极熊在开发各种相对坚韧的植物食物的同时，下颌骨出人意料地粗壮。这些发现表明，金丝猴物种之间存在一种不能用克隆假说解释的适应复合体。该项目的保护策略包括动植物调查、活动模式和范围的评估，以及详细的种群和物候监测。将收集有关社会行为、觅食和运动的额外数据，以检验克隆假说。这些发现将在同行评议和大众期刊上传播，并将为额外的资金奠定基础。该项目将协调非政府组织和越南森林保护部之间的保护工作。它将有助于建设属于若干少数民族的当地村民的林业能力。将通过与当地领导人的互动和对当地同行的培训来提高公众意识。越南首席研究人员将获得支持，以撰写一篇关于北极熊的生态、行为和保护的博士论文。这项研究将有助于为新提议的Khau CA TSN猴子物种/栖息地保育区制定可行的策略。

The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey was named by Dolman (1912), but very few sightings of it occurred in the following decades leading western scientists to suggest its extinction until recent sightings in 1990. While not extinct, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) is presently restricted to as few as three small sites in the north of Vietnam, where it is endemic. This study focuses on the most viable population of Tonkin snub-nosed monkey at Khau Ca area in Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. Protection, conservation, and expansion (both demographically and geographically) are the primary goals of this project, but a deeper understanding of the ecological diversity of the genus Rhinopithecus is also sought. It has been suggested that an environmental cline has produced a gradation of morphology and behavior among the four extant Rhinopithecus species, with the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey living in relatively low lying tropical evergreen forest as opposed to the other three species in China which inhabit increasingly higher and colder habitats. Preliminary data reveal unexpected mandibular robusticity in the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey accompanied by the exploitation of a diverse array of relatively tough plant foods. These findings suggest an adaptive complex among Rhinopithecus species that cannot be explained by the clinal hypothesis. The conservation strategy of this project involves faunal and floral survey, assessment of activity patterns and ranging, and detailed population and phenological monitoring. Additional data on social behavior, foraging and feeding, and locomotion will be collected to test the clinal hypothesis. These findings will be disseminated in peer reviewed and popular journals and will lay the foundation for additional funding.This project will coordinate conservation efforts between NGOs and the Forestry Protection Department of Vietnam. It will help to build the forestry capacity of local villagers belonging to a number of ethnic minorities. Public awareness will be enhanced through interactions with local leaders and through the training of local counterparts. The lead Vietnamese researcher will gain support for the development of a doctoral thesis on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey. This study will aid in developing a viable strategy for the newly proposed Species/Habitat Conservation Area for the TSN monkey at Khau Ca.