Home range variation of two different-sized groups of golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia, China: implications for feeding competition.

范鹏来 范鹏来,Peng-Lai Fan,Ze-Tian Liu,李义明 李义明,杨开华 杨开华,Yi-Ming Li,Craig B Stanford,刘学聪 刘学聪,李芳 李芳,Xue-Cong Liu,Kai-Hua Yang,Fang Li,刘泽田 刘泽田

doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2018.044

Abstract

Knowledge on the home range size of a species or population is important for understanding its behavioral and social ecology and improving the effectiveness of conservation strategies. We studied the home range size of two different-sized groups of golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia, China. The larger group (236 individuals) had a home range of 22.5 km2 from September 2007 to July 2008, whereas the smaller group (62 individuals) occupied a home range of 12.4 km2 from November 2008 to July 2009. Both groups exhibited considerable seasonal variation in their home range size, which was likely due to seasonal changes in food availability and distribution. The home range in any given season (winter, spring, summer, or winter+spring+summer) of the larger group was larger than that of the smaller group. As the two groups were studied in the same area, with the confounding effects of food availability thus minimized, the positive relationship between home range size and group size suggested that scramble feeding competition increased within the larger group.

Highlights

A home range is defined as the area in which animal individuals or groups spend their normal activities over a certain period in search of food and caring for young (Burt, 1943)
Knowledge on the home range size of a species or population is of great importance for understanding its behavioral and social ecology (Isbell, 1991; Snaith & Chapman, 2007; Zhou et al, 2007) and for improving the effectiveness of conservation strategies (Bryant et al, 2017; Huang et al, 2017)
We investigated the home range size of two different-sized R. roxellana groups in Shennongjia

Summary

Introduction

A home range is defined as the area in which animal individuals or groups spend their normal activities over a certain period in search of food and caring for young (Burt, 1943). Spatiotemporal distribution of food resources can affect the home range size both between and within primate species (Clutton-Brock & Harvey, 1977; Zhang et al, 2014; Zhou et al, 2007). For species inhabiting seasonal environments, the home range size of a group usually exhibits seasonal variation due to seasonal changes in food availability and distribution (Eulemur mongoz: Curtis & Zaramody, 1998; Trachypithecus francoisi: Zhou et al, 2007; Macaca leonina: Albert et al, 2013; Hoolock leuconedys: Zhang et al, 2014)

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