Temporal Partitioning by Animals Visiting Salt Licks

Abstract

Temporal partitioning of resources according to feeding period occurs in situation of food type specialization, such as for the use of salt licks by ecologically similar animal species. Camera traps placed at salt licks can be used to determine animal activity patterns. This study was carried in a logging concession area in central Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Sampling was carried from September 2010 to January 2011, and May to September 2011. Activity data at salt lick sites showed that sambar deer Rusa unicolor was mostly nocturnal, with high number of records occurring after dark from 20:00hrs onwards, peaking after midnight before slowly decreasing until early morning at 08:00hrs. Bornean yellow muntjac's Muntiacus antherodes activity was restricted to during the day, which peaked at 11:00 to 12:00hrs. There was no clear pattern observable in mousedeer Tragulus spp. and bearded pig Sus barbatus activity data. Significant differences between the proportion of daily activity were observed between Bornean yellow muntjac and bearded pig (Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, W=165.5, p=0.004), followed by sambar deer (W=195.5, p=0.053) and mousedeer (W=213, p=0.074). Human presence and hunting pressure may affect the behaviour of some game species, such as the Bornean yellow muntjac which showed peak activity periods during the earlier part of the day, and over a much shorter time span in more human accessible salt lick sites.