Daily Activity Budgets Research Articles

Diurnal activity budgets for the giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa, in the Kalahari region of southern Africa

AbstractThe diurnal activity budgets of giraffes were effectively studied from June 2012 until August 2013, in the Kalahari Region of southern Africa. Direct field observations identified how the daily activity budgets varied amongst the different subgroups of giraffes and the effects of seasonal changes and the time of the day. Feeding was the highest‐performed activity whilst non‐feeding activities were, however, also prominent. This study aimed to determine why giraffes are willing to sacrifice time on non‐feeding activities. A deeper look into the social and non‐feeding‐related behaviour of giraffes might prove that giraffes devote significant time to various other activities to improve their health and comfort. It unveils trade‐offs between digestion efficiency and foraging, impacting energy gain. Understanding this balance informs conservation strategies, habitat management and their well‐being. Investigating the motivations behind these behavioural choices unveils adaptive mechanisms, shedding light on the intricate interplay between physiological and ecological needs, ultimately contributing to a holistic comprehension of giraffe's ecological roles and promoting their coexistence with their environment. Such investigations also aid in highlighting why giraffes' social structures should be considered as complex and why further research is needed to better understand these relationships, amongst subspecies.

Sex-specific foraging behaviour in a long-lived seabird

Sex-specific foraging behaviour may lead to differences between the sexes in both resource acquisition and exposure to threats and thereby contribute to sex-specific reproductive roles or mortality. As such, it is important to identify in which species sex-specific foraging behaviour occurs. We deployed GPS devices to incubating common terns (Sterna hirundo) from a German breeding population to study how sex and spatial or temporal extrinsic factors influence the daily activity budget, foraging distribution, and trip characteristics of this slightly sexually size dimorphic seabird. Birds of both sexes only foraged during the day, showing peaks of activity after sunrise and before sunset, perhaps in response to temporal variation in prey availability and/or as a strategy to overcome or prepare for nocturnal fasting. Furthermore, foraging was more frequent around low tide and at the beginning of the flood tide and mainly occurred in shallow (< 5 m depth) and coastal waters (< 2 km from coastline) up to 20 km from the colony. Females rested less, foraged closer to the colony in more coastal waters, and showed a lower maximum flight speed than males. Males foraged more outside protected areas than females and showed higher variability in their foraging distribution throughout the tide cycle. As such, our study provides evidence for sex-specific aspects of foraging behaviour in common terns and underlines the importance of considering sex-specific foraging distributions when assessing the impact of at-sea threats on seabirds, knowledge of which should be incorporated when developing conservation management strategies.

Welfare impacts associated with using aversive geofencing devices on captive Asian elephants

Animal-borne aversive geofencing devices (AGDs, or satellite-linked shock collars) are commercially available and used on livestock to restrict their movement within a virtual boundary. This technology has potential application as a human-wildlife conflict mitigation tool, where problem animals might be conditioned to avoid human-dominated habitats by associating an audio warning with a subsequent electric shock, which is delivered if the audio warning is ignored. Ensuring that high standards of animal welfare are maintained when implementing such tools is important for acquiring manager and community acceptance of such approaches. We conducted two pilot experiments with eight captive Asian elephants using mild electric shocks from a modified dog-training collar fitted around the neck, as part of an ongoing effort to develop AGDs suitable for mitigating human-elephant conflict. As part of these experiments, we assessed elephants' behavioural and physiological stress before, during and after the experiments. During the experiments elephants wore collars for up to nine consecutive days and received a small number of electric shocks on 1–3 consecutive days. Bootstrapped principal component analysis showed that daily activity budgets of individual elephants on experiment days were not different from the pre-experiment days. Generalised linear mixed-effects model (GLMM) showed that anxiety/stress behaviours increased on the first day of acclimatising to the collar and on testing days (i.e. days they received shocks) of the first experiment, but not during the second experiment relative to pre-experiment days. Analysis of faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentrations using GLMM showed that FCM concentrations were higher in samples collected ∼24 hrs and ∼48 hrs after testing days compared to baseline levels as expected given the lag time for excretion of cortisol metabolites. These elevated anxiety/stress behaviours and FCM concentrations returned to baseline levels shortly after the experiment. Therefore, we conclude that AGDs did not produce lasting behavioural or physiological stress effects in elephants during this short-term study but recommend further studies with a larger sample of elephants to confirm the transferability of these findings.

Effects of food availability and climate on the activity budget of Shortridge's langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei) in the Drung Valley, Gaoligong Mountains, China.

Food availability and climate represent environmental factors that affect species' social behavior, ranging patterns, diet, and activity budget. From August 2012 to September 2013, we examined the effects of seasonal changes in food availability, temperature, and rainfall on the diet and behavioral ecology of Shortridge's langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei) an Endangered primate species inhabiting moist evergreen broadleaf forests in the Eastern Himalayas. Our field site represents the northernmost latitudinal distribution of this species. Data were collected using scan sampling at 10 min intervals, and analyzed based on generalized linear models. The results indicate that the langurs experienced two feeding peaks (9:00 and 17:00) and two traveling peaks (10:00 and 19:00) during each day. Periods of rest, mainly occurred between 10:00 and 13:00, and overnight. Feeding accounted for 38.5% of the daily activity budget, followed by resting (35%), traveling (24.5%), and socializing (2%). During periods when young leaves were most available, the langurs increased feeding time on young leaves (35% vs. 4%). During periods of maximum fruit availability, the langurs decreased total time spent feeding (36.6% vs. 40.4%), devoted more time to traveling (28.1% vs. 21%), and increased time spent consuming fruit (49.1% vs. 11.8%). During the winter, the langurs increased their consumption of mature leaves (44.5%) and reduced time spent traveling (20.2% vs. 25.4%). Overall, time spent resting was greatest in the spring (47.5%), time spent feeding was greatest during the summer (51.1%), and time spent in traveling was greatest in the autumn (33.2%). The frequency of social interactions remained relatively constant throughout the year. Foraging effort was greatest in the summer, when fruits dominated the diet. Like other species of temperate langurs, T. shortridgei devoted less time to resting, more time to feeding, and was characterized by a greater year-round foraging effort than tropical/subtropical langurs.

Activity behavior of goitered gazelles in an arid environment

The daily activity pattern in ruminants consists mainly of alternating foraging with bouts of resting, while other behaviors usually play a minor role in the daily activity budgets of ungulates most of the year. Interactions of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors force animals to adopt compromises to form optimal time proportions for foraging and resting to satisfy their daily energy demands. This paper considers the impact of ambient temperature, pasture conditions, body-size, and the effects of lactation and animal growth on the daily activities of goitered gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa). My study found: 1) temperature was the most significant factor leading to the greatest daily hour-to-hour variations in activity, as well as significant monthly changes in activity fluctuations; 2) seasonal improvement of forage conditions did not have a distinctive effect on daily activity; 3) the effect of body size, lactation and fawn growth also did not noticeably change activity fluctuations; but 4) factors related to hiding behavior had a significant impact on goitered gazelle activity. Though goitered gazelles are a sexually dimorphic species, they did not demonstrate any significant deviation between males and females in their daily activities in contrast to typical dimorphic ruminants. The goitered gazelles’ hiding behavior may provide a possible explanation for this distinction, as other previously observed dimorphic ungulates were mainly species where fawns followed their mothers from birth. Among other influences, ambient temperature and features of their hiding behavior were the most significant factors influencing diurnal activity of goitered gazelles, while age and sex had a weaker impact on daily behaviors.

Dynamic winter weather moderates movement and resource selection of wild turkeys at high-latitude range limits.

For wide-ranging species in temperate environments, populations at high-latitude range limits are subject to more extreme conditions, colder temperatures, and greater snow accumulation compared with their core range. As climate change progresses, these bounding pressures may become more moderate on average, while extreme weather occurs more frequently. Individuals can mitigate temporarily extreme conditions by changing daily activity budgets and exhibiting plasticity in resource selection, both of which facilitate existence at and expansion of high-latitude range boundaries. However, relatively little work has explored how animals moderate movement and vary resource selection with changing weather, and a general framework for such investigations is lacking. We applied hidden Markov models and step selection functions to GPS data from wintering wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) near their northern range limit to identify how weather influenced transition among discrete movement states, as well as state-specific resource selection. We found that turkeys were more likely to spend time in a stationary state as wind chill temperatures decreased and snow depth increased. Both stationary and roosting turkeys selected conifer forests and avoided land covers associated with foraging, such as agriculture and residential areas, while shifting their strength of selection for these features during poor weather. In contrast, mobile turkeys showed relatively weak resource selection, with less response in selection coefficients during poor weather. Our findings illustrate that behavioral plasticity in response to weather was context dependent, but movement behaviors most associated with poor weather were also those in which resource selection was most plastic. Given our results, the potential for wild turkey range expansion will partly be determined by the availability of habitat that allows them to withstand periodic inclement weather. Combining hidden Markov models with step selection functions is broadly applicable for evaluating plasticity in animal behavior and dynamic resource selection in response to changing weather. We studied turkeys at northern range limits, but this approach is applicable for any system expected to experience significant changes in the coming decade, and may be particularly relevant to populations existing at range peripheries.

Is the inclusion of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) pulp in the concentrate of weaned light lambs worth it?

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of dietary carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) pulp, a by-product of the fruit processing industry, on light lamb performances, time budget behaviour, coefficients of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) and blood metabolites. A total of 144 crossbred lambs with 41 ± 5.5 days of age were monitored in two consecutive batches. They were housed in groups of 6 lambs (3 females and 3 males) balanced according to weaning body-weight and assigned to one of three isoenergetic and isoproteic concentrate-based diets: C0 (without carob pulp), C15 (150 g/kg of carob pulp) and C30 (300 g/kg of carob pulp). At 50, 65 and 80 days of age, feed, faeces and blood samples were collected, and behaviour was recorded. The type of concentrate did not have effect on lamb growth and concentrate intake (P > 0.05). However, the concentrate feed conversion ratio (FCR) was higher for C15 and C30 compared to C0 (P < 0.05). The time budget behaviours were not affected by diets (P > 0.05). The time spent lying resting and standing static increased throughout the fattening period (P < 0.05), but self-grooming, feeding, exploration, movement and positive social interactions decreased with age (P < 0.05). Regarding the CTTAD of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP), it was noted that C30 had the lowest digestibility of these nutrients with respect to C0 and C15 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the total condensed tannins (CT) content in faeces was higher in C30 compared to C0 and C15 (P < 0.05). The age of lambs affected the CTTAD of DM, OM, CP and phosphorus, which were lower at 50 days than in the rest of control days (P < 0.05). Blood metabolites were not affected by experimental diets (P > 0.05). However, urea concentrations increased significantly from 50 to 65 days of age, while glucose decreased concomitantly (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary carob pulp inclusion up to 300 g/kg does not negatively affect animal daily gains, daily activity budgets and metabolic nutritional status, but reduces diet digestibility and increases the concentrate FCR. Although a carob pulp inclusion of up to 150 g/kg in the energy-rich concentrate-based diet for weaned light lambs increases the concentrate FCR while keeping the daily gain, this dietary strategy would be a good trade-off between animal performances and circular economy principles.

Behavioural thermoregulation by montane ungulates under climate warming

AbstractAimGlobal warming is threatening species survival worldwide. Cold‐adapted montane ungulates may be among the first species to be affected by global warming. Here, we investigate the behavioural thermoregulation hypothesis that montane ungulates buffer the effects of warming climate through behavioural adjustment.LocationFoping National Nature Reserve (FNNR) on the southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi, China.MethodsWe used infrared camera traps over six consecutive years to monitor behavioural responses of montane ungulates to seasonal and diurnal changes in ambient temperature. We evaluated how seasonal altitudinal migration and changes to their daily activity budget may mitigate the effect of warming on montane ungulates.ResultsAll four montane ungulate species examined here preferred ambient temperatures &lt;22°C in summer. On this basis, we estimate that 27.9% (+2°C) and 46.7% (+3°C) of suitable summer habitats will become unsuitable under climate change. Chinese muntjac and tufted deer displayed behavioural changes to daily activity budgets, which may help them overcome global climate warming to a certain extent. By contrast, golden takin and wild boar did not display similar behavioural changes, and it may be because they are not affected by current shifts in climate due to larger body size and thus lower thermal stress.Main ConclusionsThese analyses demonstrate different species responses to warming are likely and are determined by specific tolerances to ambient temperature thresholds. However, it remains to be seen whether species interactions caused by behavioural shifts may affect species ability to respond to climate.

A mechanistic model of functional response provides new insights into indirect interactions among arctic tundra prey.

Prey handling processes are considered a dominant mechanism leading to short-term positive indirect effects between prey that share a predator. However, a growing body of research indicates that predators are not necessarily limited by such processes in the wild. Density-dependent changes in predator foraging behavior can also generate positive indirect effects but they are rarely included as explicit functions of prey densities in functional response models. With the aim of untangling proximate mechanisms of species interactions in natural communities and improving our ability to quantify interaction strength, we extended the multi-prey version of the Holling disk equation by including density-dependent changes in predator foraging behavior. Our model, based on species traits and behavior, was inspired by the vertebrate community of the arctic tundra, where the main predator (the arctic fox) is an active forager feeding primarily on cyclic small rodent (lemming) and eggs of various tundra-nesting bird species. Short-term positive indirect effects of lemmings on birds have been documented over the circumpolar Arctic but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We used a unique data set, containing high-frequency GPS tracking, accelerometer, behavioral, and experimental data to parameterize the multi-prey model, and a 15-year time series of prey densities and bird nesting success to evaluate interaction strength between species. We found that (1) prey handling processes play a minor role in our system and (2) changes in arctic fox daily activity budget and distance traveled can partly explain the predation release on birds observed during lemming peaks. These adjustments in predator foraging behavior with respect to the main prey density thus appear as the dominant mechanism leading to positive indirect effects commonly reported among arctic tundra prey. Density-dependent changes in functional response components have been little studied in natural vertebrate communities and deserve more attention to improve our ability to quantify the strength of species interactions.

Classifying the posture and activity of ewes and lambs using accelerometers and machine learning on a commercial flock

Early decision making in commercial livestock systems is key to maximising animal welfare and production. Detailed information on an animal’s phenotype is needed to facilitate this, but can be difficult to obtain in a commercial setting. Research into the use of bio-logging on sheep to continuously monitor individual behaviour and indirectly inform health and production has seen rapid growth in recent years. Much of this research, however, has been conducted on small numbers of animals in an experimental setting and over limited time periods. Previous studies have also focused on ewes and there has been little research on the potential of bio-logging for collecting behavioural data on lambs, despite clear potential relevance for production. The present study aimed to test the feasibility of deploying accelerometers on a commercial sheep flock at a key point in the annual production cycle (lambing), to validate the viability of automated monitoring of sheep behaviour in a commercial setting. Also, we aimed to develop robust machine learning algorithms that can classify both the posture and physical activity of adult sheep and lambs. We used a Random Forest machine learning algorithm to predict: two mutually exclusive postures in ewes and lambs (standing and lying), achieving average accuracies of 83.7% and 85.9% respectively; four mutually exclusive activities in ewes (grazing, ruminating, inactive and walking), achieving an average accuracy of 70.9%; and three mutually exclusive activities in lambs (inactive, suckling, walking), achieving an average accuracy of 80.8%. These performance accuracies on large numbers of individuals afford the opportunity to provide a detailed understanding of the daily activity budget of ewes and lambs. Monitoring changes in daily patterns across the annual production cycle while capturing changes in environmental conditions such as weather, day length, terrain and management could reveal key indicator metrics that may inform production and health and provide early warning systems for key issues in commercial flocks.

Human-Lemur Coexistence in a Multiple-Use Landscape

Human impacts on the natural world are increasing and are generally considered a threat to wildlife conservation and the persistence of species. However, not all human activities are antithetical to conservation and not all taxa are impacted in the same ways. Understanding how wildlife respond to human activities at the population and individual level will help inform management of landscapes where humans and wildlife can coexist. We examined the effects of anthropogenic activities on a critically endangered primate, Verreaux’s sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), at a multiple-use reserve in southwest Madagascar. Specifically, we sought to determine which activities the sifakas perceived as disturbances, using the framework of the risk disturbance hypothesis (RDH). The RDH holds that animals will respond to perceived disturbances as they do to predation threats. We therefore predicted that sifakas would be more vigilant, spend more time in high forest strata, reduce their daily feeding time, and occur at lower densities in response to high levels of perceived disturbance. Using data on sifaka behavior and spatial distribution, and the frequencies of anthropogenic activities, we found that sifakas increased vigilance and their height above the ground in response to certain human-related activities, notably those of domestic dogs. Contrary to our predictions, however, we did not find a negative effect of anthropogenic activities on daily activity budgets or population density. The relationship between the occurrence of sifakas and the intensity of tree cutting was actually positive. Our results indicate that sifakas perceive certain anthropogenic activities as threats and respond with immediate behavioral shifts, but that these activities do not have a discernible negative impact on the reserve’s population at this time. These results suggest that lemur conservation can be successful even in areas that are subject to moderate human use.

On the marine feeding behavior and activity budgets of Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) during the post-fledging period

Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) are widely distributed across aquatic environments in North America, but their behavior in marine habitats remains understudied, especially during the post-fledging period. We recorded daily activity budgets of adult and fledgling Belted Kingfishers on San Juan Island, Washington, and investigated the effects of tides and age class on feeding behaviors. Feeding attempt rate was highest at high tide, but strike success was highest at low tide. Adults foraged more successfully than juveniles and caught fish almost twice as large, consistent with juvenile inexperience during the post-fledging period. Strike success rates also varied between study sites for both adults and juveniles, potentially reflecting habitat quality. These results improve our understanding of how Belted Kingfishers behave in marine environments, and to our knowledge provide the first study of marine Belted Kingfishers during the post-fledging period. Follow-up studies quantifying prey availability and comparing seasonal behaviors of kingfishers in freshwater and marine habitats may help clarify the mechanisms behind the patterns we observed.

Land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program supports roosting ecology of the lesser prairie-chicken

All animals must select sites to rest and may spend a large portion of their lives doing so. Despite the importance of this period in their daily activity budget, we lack information about rest/roost ecology for most animals, including the imperiled lesser prairie-chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ; hereafter “LEPC”). Therefore, we sought to identify how landcover, anthropogenic features, and human policy (i.e., presence of the Conservation Reserve Program [CRP]) influenced roost site selection and movement patterns of the LEPC. From March to May 2013–2015, we captured and fitted GPS transmitters to 106 LEPCs ( n = 72 males; n = 34 females) within Beaver County, Oklahoma and recorded two nocturnal locations per 24-hour period, annually. We used discrete choice models and generalized linear mixed effects models to determine how vegetation cover, CRP patches, and anthropogenic features influenced roost site selection and movements to roosting sites, respectively. We found that roost sites were closer to CRP, leks, and croplands than would be expected at random. Conversely, roost sites were located farther away from shortgrass prairie, roads, and transmission lines than expected. The probability of a LEPC roosting in a location increased by 15% and 4.5% for every 36-meter decrease in distance to a CRP patch and distance to their lek of capture, respectively. Similarly, individuals roosting in CRP patches would travel shorter distances to get to roost sites if their last diurnal location was near CRP. Bird’s movements to roosts in CRP were 1.4 times shorter for every meter decrease in the distance of their last diurnal location to a CRP patch, indicating that individuals modify their movement based on CRP presence. Our results indicate that CRP is influential to roosting ecology of the LEPC within this region and may be meeting critical cover requirements.

Gibbon focused tourism as a conservation tool: the behavioural response of Skywalker hoolock gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) to tourists

ABSTRACT Biodiversity is declining in part due to destructive and unsustainable human activity. Nature-based tourism, informed by scientific data, has the potential to replace some income generated by unsustainable practices. We observed two groups of Hoolock tianxing gibbons – one exposed to tourists and the other to small research teams – at Gaoligong National Nature Reserve, China. We found that H. tianxing gibbons spent significantly more time scanning and less time resting in the presence of tourists, and that these effects were amplified by the number of tourists. We did not find a difference in overall daily activity budgets of individuals exposed to tourism compared to individuals exposed to research teams, suggesting that behavioural changes are currently restricted to periods when tourists are present. Gibbon-focused tourism programs have the potential to contribute to conservation efforts and our study demonstrates that programs informed by scientific research can be an ethical and sustainable conservation tool.

Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta (Mammalia: Primates: Cercopithecidae) in a human-modified landscape: population, activity budget, and societal perceptions in Bangladesh

Rhesus Macaques are widely distributed and ecologically diverse primate species that attract special focus from the research and conservation approaches. We studied population, activity budget, and societal perceptions of Rhesus Macaque at Old Dhaka City, Bangladesh from March 2015 to February 2016. Total count was used to determine the group size and composition. Daily activity budgets of Rhesus Macaques were studied using scan sampling method. Questionnaire survey was conducted to know the attitudes of local people towards monkey conservation in the area. Seven groups with a total of 169 individuals were recorded. The population density was 15.5 individuals/ km² and group size ranged from 8 to 63 individuals. Rhesus Macaque spent most of their time in resting (38.5%) followed by feeding (25.7%), moving (18.4%), grooming (12.8%), and playing or object manipulation (4.6%). There was a significant variation in each behavioral activity among the age-sex classes. Questionnaire survey revealed that property damage was the main problem created by the monkeys. A significant majority of people (83.4%) held a positive outlook toward conservation of this species. Variables such as religion, education, and occupation of the respondents significantly influenced their opinion about conservation. These findings have implications for not only conservation and management interventions of Rhesus Macaque but also helpful for minimizing human-monkey interactions in urban areas.

COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE DAILY ACTIVITY BUDGET OF SUN BEAR (Helarctus malayanus) IN CAPTIVITY AND SEMI-CAPTIVITY

A comparative study on the daily activity budget of the sun bear was conducted in Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and Borneon Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) Malaysia. The behaviour of 22 individuals was recorded using the Instantaneous scan sampling method. A total of 330 hr were collected, with 180 hr were collected at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and 150 hr at BSBCC. Thirteen behavioural activities were recorded using the Ad-libitum sampling method in both captive and semi- captive bears, which were then grouped into three categories; active, passive, and abnormal behaviours classes and tabulated in an ethogram. Captive sun bears are kept permanently under human control, such as in zoos, while semi-captive sun bears are released to the forest during the day but kept in the cage at night. This study shows that semi-captive bears are significantly more active than captive bears. More passive and abnormal behaviours are present in captive bears. Stereotypic pacing scored the highest percentage of observation with 24% for abnormal behaviour in captive bears. Both captive and semi-captive bears showed a similar pattern of active and passive behavioural rhythms. The peak for active behaviours was from 1000 to 1100 hr, and the peak for passive behaviours was from 1300 to 1400 hr. In conclusion, although there was a difference in activities done between captive and semi-captive bears, the pattern of behavioural rhythms between both group of bears was similar. The introduction of enrichment programmes is crucial to captive bears to reduce stereotypic pacing behaviour.

Effect of group size on daily travel distance and activity budget of Rhinopithecus bieti during the winter and spring seasons in Mt. Lasha, Yunnan, China

Effect of group size on daily travel distance and activity budget of Rhinopithecus bieti during the winter and spring seasons in Mt. Lasha, Yunnan, China

AgentSeal: Agent-based model describing movement of marine central-place foragers

Understanding why animals move as they do when searching for resources is a central question in ecology, and a prerequisite for the development of predictive process-based models for conservation and management. Many species are central-place foragers (CPF). While several models for CPFs have been proposed, they often assume well-defined return rules to the focal point (like breeding). For some CPFs, however, the decisions to return to central sites are governed by multiple interactions between environmental and physiological factors.We present AgentSeal, a behaviour- and physiology-based, spatially explicit, agent-based model. We use harbour seals, a marine CPF, as a case study and focus on individuals outside their breeding and moulting seasons to capture general fine- and large-scale movements and drivers behind CPF. We model movement decisions based on optimal foraging strategy, cognitive and physiological processes in a realistic landscape, coupled with realistic prey distribution and tuned to a range of behavioural and physiological patterns observed at different scales and levels of organisation (pattern-orientated modelling, POM).The model can reproduce energetic, movement and other behavioural patterns such as net energy balance, at-sea and on land site fidelity, daily activity budgets and trip extents. The model reveals the crucial elements needed to model return-trips of CPFs including movement characteristics that vary as a function of local environmental conditions, cognitive mapping of foraging areas as points of attraction in subsequent foraging trips, and physiological requirements defining switches between resting and foraging.We discuss potential applications and extensions of the model, including investigations of fundamental questions in foraging ecology: how spatial distribution and aggregation of resources affect movement of marine CPFs; what are the main drivers behind their at-sea site-fidelity to foraging patches? We also discuss applied objectives such as improving our understanding of population-level consequences of anthropogenic disturbances and ultimately evolving AgentSeal into a practical management tool.

DAILY ACTIVITY BUDGET OF BANDED LANGUR (Presbytis femoralis) IN MALAYSIA

Banded langur (Presbytis femoralis) is an endangered leaf-eating colobine, found in Johor and Pahang in Malaysia. However, with less than 500 individuals reported to be surviving in Johor, their behaviour and ecology remain unknown among primatologists. This study provides the first systematic data on the daily activity budget of the species in Malaysia. Scan sampling technique was used to observe and record P. femoralis behaviour with 10 min interval starting from February 2018 to November 2018. The results are based on 186 h and 20 min of direct observation in the wild. The animals spent most of the time for resting (43 ± 13%) followed by moving (26 ± 9%), feeding (26 ± 7%), social activities (4 ± 3%), and others (1 ± 0%). Seasonality significantly influences the activity budget of the animals resulting in increased resting and moving in the non-fruiting season. Feeding activities decreased in the non-fruiting season compared with the fruiting season, whereas social activities remained the same. We concluded that the daily activity budget of P. femoralis in this study portrays comparable behavior to other langurs in Malaysia that would help in conservation and management of the species in terms of understanding temporal and spatial requirements of P. femoralis in a highly fragmented habitat.

Effect of Feeding Level and Breed on the Daily Activity Budget of Lactating Beef Cows Fed Total Mixed Ration

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of two feeding levels and two breeds on the daily activity budget of indoor-housed lactating beef cows fed total mixed ration (TMR). We used a total of 20 cows from Parda de Montaña (PA, n = 14) and Pirenaica (PI, n = 6) breeds. To evaluate the feeding level, PA cows were fed the TMR at the maintenance level and in a restricted amount. To evaluate the breed effect, PA and PI cows were fed at maintenance. All cows were video recorded for 24 consecutive hours at weeks 3, 8 and 13 of lactation. Scan sampling at 10-min intervals was used to obtain information on their daily activity budget. The restricted feeding level did not affect the time standing or lying, but it reduced the time eating the TMR and increased the time exploring and/or eating straw bedding. Both breeds showed a similar daily activity budget, except for the time that they spent foraging straw, which was lower in PA than in PI breed. In conclusion, feeding level and breed of lactating beef cows fed on TMR during the indoor housing period did not affect the main contributors to the daily activity budget.