Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Diet, Ranging Patterns and Social Behavior of Lar Gibbons at Huai Kha Khaeng, Thailand: Exploring the Limits of Flexibility

博士论文改进：泰国Huai Kha Khaeng的Lar Gibbons的饮食、活动模式和社会行为：探索灵活性的极限

• 批准号: 1154603
• 负责人: Thad Bartlett
• 金额: $ 1.58万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at San Antonio
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-03-01 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1154603&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Diet; Ranging

Under the guidance of Dr. Thad Bartlett, Lydia Overbaugh will explore the degree of behavioral flexibility in the endangered white-handed gibbon in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary (HKK), Thailand. White-handed gibbons living at HKK inhabit an environment that is unique in many ways. First, the forest is considerably drier than other white-handed gibbon study sites, receiving less than half the amount of rainfall than elsewhere, making this forest the ecological extreme of the range of white-handed gibbons. Second, the forest is part of the largest continuous protected area in Southeast Asia, which has led to the reduction in anthropogenic stresses while maintaining a largely intact large mammal community (including elephant, tiger, 8 diurnal primates, two leopards and two canids). Finally, gibbons at HKK inhabit a mosaic landscape, including seasonally dry evergreen, hill evergreen, mixed deciduous and deciduous dipterocarp forest types. This presents a unique opportunity to examine how white-handed gibbons respond to ecological differences at the extreme of their range and in a diversity of habitats. To determine how habitat quality impacts gibbon behavior and ecology, the feeding and ranging behavior of 6 gibbon social groups will be studied over a period of 12 months to test the following predicitions: first, that gibbons in evergreen forest will (i) have smaller home ranges and travel less per day, (ii) spend less time foraging, and (iii) have a higher quality diet; and second, that these differences are a result of differences in home range quality as indicated by the density of fruiting trees.Current hypotheses in human evolution favor an increase in the behavioral and dietary flexibility of Homo as an explanation for the success of our lineage. By examining the degree of flexibility present in a more distantly related ape species, we can better evaluate the assertion that flexibility is a uniquely human innovation. As many gibbon researchers have described gibbons as being dependent upon evergreen forest, this study will demonstrate the ways in which white-handed gibbons cope with ecologically marginal habitats. Furthermore, gibbons are primarily monogamous, but significant rates of polyandry and polygyny have been recorded for some populations and these occurrences have been linked to ecological differences such as seasonal and geographic resource availability. This project will therefore increase our understanding of the role of habitat quality in the maintenance of social monogamy in white-handed gibbons.The proposed project will assist in graduate student training and increase the participation of women in scientific research while promoting a minority-serving institution. Additionally, the establishment of a new field site will provide opportunities for training Thai field assistants and instructing US undergraduate students. The most tangible impact of the proposed research is its applicability to primate conservation. By better understanding the degree of behavioral flexibility under distinct ecological conditions and at this species' ecological extreme, this project will inform conservation policies for white-handed gibbons. This knowledge can also provisionally be used for conservation purposes in the absence of comprehensive knowledge of other more critically endangered gibbon species.

在Thad Bartlett博士的指导下，Lydia Overbaugh将探索泰国Huai Kha Kha Khaeng Khaeng野生动物保护区（HKK）的濒危白人长臂猿的行为灵活性程度。居住在HKK的白手手吉本人居住在许多方面都是独特的环境。首先，森林比其他白色手臂研究地点要干燥得多，而降雨量的量不到一半，这使得这座森林成为白人手的生态极端。其次，森林是东南亚最大的连续保护区的一部分，这导致了人为应力的减少，同时保持了一个完全完整的大型哺乳动物社区（包括大象，虎，8个昼夜灵长类动物，两个豹子和两个甘田）。最后，HKK的长臂猿居住在镶嵌景观中，包括季节性干燥的常绿，山丘常绿植物，混合落叶和落叶的二翼型森林类型。这是一个独特的机会，可以研究白手手的范围和多种栖息地的生态差异如何应对生态差异。为了确定栖息地质量如何影响长臂猿行为和生态学，将在12个月的时间内研究6个长臂猿社会群体的喂养和范围行为，以测试以下谓词：首先，在常绿森林中将（i）较小的家庭范围和较小的家庭旅行，每天较小的旅行，（ii）花费更少的时间，（ii）花费更高的时间，并且（ii）饮食较高（iii）具有更高质量的饮食；其次，这些差异是由于基础树的密度所表明的，这是由于人类进化中的普通假设所表明的，这有利于同性恋的行为和饮食灵活性的提高，以解释我们血统的成功。通过检查更遥远的猿类物种中存在的灵活性程度，我们可以更好地评估柔韧性是人类独特的创新。由于许多长臂猿研究人员都将长臂猿描述为依赖常绿森林，因此这项研究将证明白手手的长臂猿应对生态上边缘的栖息地的方式。此外，长臂猿主要是一夫一妻制的，但在某些人群中已经记录了一夫多妻制和一夫多妻制的速率，并且这些事件与生态差异有关，例如季节性和地理资源可用性。因此，该项目将提高我们对栖息地质量在维持社会一夫一妻制在白手手吉本人中的作用的理解。拟议的项目将有助于研究生培训，并增加妇女参与科学研究，同时促进少数派服务机构。此外，建立一个新的现场站点将为培训泰国现场助手和指导我们的本科生提供机会。拟议的研究最有形的影响是它适用于灵长类动物保护。通过更好地理解不同生态条件下的行为灵活性程度，在该物种的生态极端，该项目将为白手手的长臂猿提供保护政策。在没有其他更为濒危的长臂猿物种的全面知识的情况下，这些知识也可以用于保护目的。