Abstract
In this research, we use a combination of ethnographic observation and GIS analysis to explore the use of space by humans and gibbons (Hylobates moloch) to determine areas of potential space competition in the sacred forest and nature reserve Cagar Alam Leuweung Sancang in West Java, Indonesia. More specifically, we test whether gibbons respond to the presence of humans in a manner consistent with predator-avoidance and predicted that the gibbon study subjects would avoid areas visited by humans (Risk-Disturbance Hypothesis). Data were collected August 2010-June 2011. We collected GPS locations and behavioral data on both the humans (6,652 hours) and the gibbons (1,253 hours) in the forest using 10 minute instantaneous sampling. Results indicate that humans preferentially assemble at the most sacred spot in the forest (Cikajayaan waterfall). Two gibbon groups’ home ranges encompassed most of the sacred areas. Group B avoided areas of high human use, as high human use areas and high gibbon use areas did not overlap. Group C, though, continued to use areas that were heavily visited by humans. We thus found partial support for the Risk-Disturbance Hypothesis, although the variation in gibbon response to human disturbance indicates behavioral flexibility. We suggest that understanding the effects of shared space on wildlife is necessary for informing conservation policy in human-visited forests.
Highlights
A central goal of landscape ecology is to determine how spatial and temporal distribution of species influences community interactions, including competition for space [1]
We evaluate two predictions that test each of these potential avoidance strategies in Javan gibbons
As the number of people observed per scan increased within Group B’s home range, members of Group B were less likely to be present for the scan (n = 23733, β = 0.2372, S.E. = 0.015, P
Summary
A central goal of landscape ecology is to determine how spatial and temporal distribution of species influences community interactions, including competition for space [1]. While conflict between humans and other species over shared space has garnered much research attention, it is frequently from the perspective of animals entering human landscapes (e.g., crop raiding, predation), where costs to both humans and animals are evident [2,3,4,5]. Nature-based tourism is generally considered to be a low source of conflict between humans and wildlife, especially relative to crop raiding, hunting, or habitat destruction [6,7,8,9]. Human presence at PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0146891. Habitat Use in a Space Shared by Humans and Javan Gibbons Human presence at PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0146891 January 20, 2016
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