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

东京仰鼻猴是由Dolman（1912）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了，直到1990年才有了最近的发现。虽然没有灭绝，但东京仰鼻猴（Rhinopithecus avunculus）目前仅限于越南北部的三个小地点，在那里它是地方性的。本研究以越南河江省Khau Ca地区的东京金丝猴最适生存种群为研究对象。保护、保存和扩展（人口和地理）是该项目的主要目标，但也寻求对鼻猿属的生态多样性有更深入的了解。研究表明，环境的变化导致了现存的四种鼻猿物种形态和行为的渐变，其中东京金丝猴生活在相对较低的热带常绿森林中，而中国其他三种则生活在海拔越来越高、温度越来越低的栖息地。初步数据揭示了东京仰鼻猴出人意料的下颌强健性，同时还利用了一系列相对坚硬的植物性食物。这些发现表明，鼻古猿物种之间存在一种无法用临床假说解释的适应性复合体。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、觅食和喂养以及运动的额外数据，以检验临床假设。这些研究结果将在同行评议的大众期刊上传播，并将为获得更多资金奠定基础。该项目将协调非政府组织和越南林业保护部门之间的保护工作。这将有助于建设当地一些少数民族村民的林业能力。将通过与当地领导人的互动和培训当地对口人员来提高公众的认识。越南首席研究员将获得支持，撰写一篇关于东京金丝猴生态、行为和保护的博士论文。这项研究将有助制订可行的策略，以建立新建议的九龙滘猴物种/生境保护区。

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.