Distribution, Population And Preliminary Research On Behavial Ecology Of Francois' Langur Trachypithecus Francoisi In Guangxi

Fran(?)ois' langur ( Trachypithecus francoisi )is a rare primate endemic to limestone forest eco-system. Fran(?)ois' langur is a little known primate, Its population declined rapidly. We studied its distribution, population, feeding ecology, activity budget and habitat selection aiming to effectively conserve this primate. Results are as followings:1. The population size of Fran(?)ois' langur in Guangxi was estimated to be about 300, existing in severely fragmented habitats in 10 counties. Hunting was the main factor causing the decline of the Fran(?)ois' langur population in Guangxi.2. Totally Fran(?)ois' langur consumed 61 species. Of which arbor was 11 species,, shrub 32 species, grass 3 species. The feeding time on these life forms varied among the months.3. Fran(?)ois' langur spent the majority of their feeding time on leaves; Among the food species, 2 were staple food, 30 rare food, 25 Seasonal food species, 4 fallback species. The feeding time on these food species varied.4. The annual food diversity index was 3.03. The monthly mean diversity index was 2.26.5. The 3 months with most abundant food resource were May, June and July, and the 3 months with lest availability were October, November and December. The food availability is higher in April to September, and the rest months have lower index.6. There was significant variation in the average water content among the months. Water content varied among different plant parts. The average water content of food had no significant influence on food selection.7. Variation in the energy content was found among food parts. There were no significant, variation among the monthly average energy content of the food parts (p>0.05 ) . Significant variation of energy content was found among the life forms (p<0.01 ) .8. The average tannic content of food was 60.96mg/g, which varied among months. The tannic content of both food parts and life forms had no evident influence on the food selection. 9. Rough protein content varied among different plant parts and life forms. The rough protein content of food had no significant influence on food selection of Fran(?)ois' langur (p>0.05 ) .10. The activities of Fran(?)ois' langur were as followings: cave-leaving in the morning, move, feeding, rest, sun-bathing, day time cave-entering, social association, nightfall cave-entering and night-staying in the cave. There was variation in the time budget in different months, and temperature was one of the factors influencing the time budget of Fran(?)ois' langur. The food parts and food availability had different influence on the behavior of Fran(?)ois' langur.11. Fran(?)ois' langur selectively used their habitat which has no significant correlationship with vegetation abundant of the habitat. Their spent their major time on hilltop, followed by the time on cliffs.12. The average range length of Fran(?)ois' langur was 609.7m (±105.7m) . There was severely significant variation among the months (p<0.01) , but such variation was not found between dry season and rainy season (p>0.05 ) and among the daily range length (p>0.05 ) . The range length of Fran(?)ois' langur was not influenced by average temperature, rainfall, time budget and the food availability( p>0.05 ).The range behavior was influenced by habitat fragmentation, not influenced by food.13. The home range of Fran(?)ois' langur was 16.0ha, which covered 62.3 % of their habitat area. The average range area of Fran(?)ois' langur was different among months. No significant variation in average range area was found between dry season and rainy season (p>0.05 ) . The home range was influenced by habitat fragmentation, not influenced by food.