We studied the diet and food choice of 1 group of Francois' langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) from August 2003 to July 2004 in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, Guangxi province, China. The langurs consumed 90 plant s...
详细信息
We studied the diet and food choice of 1 group of Francois' langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) from August 2003 to July 2004 in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, Guangxi province, China. The langurs consumed 90 plant species, including 14 unidentified species. Leaves constituted 52.8% of the diet (38.9% young leaves and 13.9% mature leaves). Fruits and seeds accounted for 17.2% and 14.2%, respectively. Flowers and other items-including petioles, stems, roots, and bark-contributed to 7.5% and 7.4% of the diet, respectively. The langur diet varied according to season. They fed on more young leaves from April to September. Consumption of seeds, petioles, and stems increased between October and March, when young leaves were scarce. The diet shift corresponded to higher dietary diversity during the young leaf-lean period. Though the langurs fed on many plant species, 10 species accounted for 62.2% of the diet, only 2 of which were among the 10 most common tree species in vegetation quadrants, and the percentage of feeding records on a plant species and the percentage of individuals of the species in vegetation quadrants does not correlate significantly. Francois' langurs fed selectively, and they did not base their diet simply on the abundance of plant species in the habitat.
Various conservation options for the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin are discussed. The baiji is an entirely distinctive and little-known taxon in its own family. Its range is restricted to the human-dominated and hig...
详细信息
Various conservation options for the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin are discussed. The baiji is an entirely distinctive and little-known taxon in its own family. Its range is restricted to the human-dominated and highly distorted and disturbed Yangtze River, a waterway depended upon by millions of Chinese people. There is currently neither the money, government support, nor available habitat to preserve the baiji in the wild. Neither is there the knowledge or resources to breed and save it in captivity or semicaptivity. In future, the degree to which the conservation community can assess risks and make recommendations under conditions of near-total scientific uncertainty while maintaining an ethical, respectful, and civil demeanor would be a measure of the maturity of the discipline and its members.
We examined the criteria for sleeping place selection in a social band of Rhinopithecus bieti(black-and-white snubnosed or golden monkeys)living in the mountainous Samage Forest,Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve,Yunn...
详细信息
We examined the criteria for sleeping place selection in a social band of Rhinopithecus bieti(black-and-white snubnosed or golden monkeys)living in the mountainous Samage Forest,Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve,Yunnan,*** performed principal component analysis and found that slope aspect,tree height and trunk diameter were likely key variables influencing selection of sleeping *** sites were preferentially located in mixed deciduous/conifer *** monkeys slept exclusively in evergreen trees,of which 82%were conifers(mostly Picea likiangensis and Tsuga dumosa)and 18%evergreen oaks(Cyclobalanopsis oxyodon and Quercus spp.).Sleeping trees were tall(mean 30.5 m),had high boles(mean 18.4 m),large diameters(mean 62.6 cm)and large crown areas(mean 57.9 m^(2)).A comparative analysis of phytological and architectural features between trees in“sleeping site plots”(n=18)and trees in“non-sleeping-site plots”(n=66)revealed that diameter,crown surface area and tree height were significantly(P<0.01)larger in the former compared with the *** investigated roosting sites were situated on steep mountain *** and mountain ridges were *** also detected re-use of roosting sites on several occasions,but not on consecutive *** is most likely that a mix of factors(stability of trees,access to food,unit cohesion,monitoring potential)explains the pattern of sleeping site preference,but predation at night seems to be only slightly *** appears to have a profound influence on patterns of sleeping site selection in the monkeys’harsh temperate *** is demonstrated by the monkeys’preference for mixed forest at medium elevations over montane fir forest at high elevations and slopes instead of ridges,with reduced exposure to wind and precipitation inherent in the *** also emphasize the possibly substantial role that non-environmental factors(the nature of social organization and socio-behavioral strategies)play in deter
暂无评论