| Food is the link between animals and the environment,providing the necessary energy and nutrients for the survival of animals in order to maintain various life activities.The distribution of food has spatio-temporal heterogeneity so that animals need to adopt optimal foraging strategies to survive and reproduce better.Rhesus macaque(Macaca mulatta)is one of the most wildly distributed non-human primates in nature,having a wide range of intertropical,subtropical and temperate zones.Taihangshan macaque(M.m.tcheliensis)is located in the northern boundary of the distribution of wild macaques and endemic to China,having unique diet and feeding behavior.In order to understand the foraging strategies and food selection mechanism of it,this study was conducted from June 2016 to August 2017 in the Tiantanshan area of the Taihangshan Macaque National Nature Reserve(TMNNR),and studied the dietary source plants in the habitat environment of a free-ranging troop of Taihangshan macaques(WW-1 troop).Through field observation and sample survey,the diet and the temporal and spatial variation of the dietary source plants were studied in detail.The main contents and results are as follows:1 The dietary source plants of Taihangshan macaquesAccording to the methods of tracking observation and sample investigation,combining with the previous literature,the species of dietary source plants for the annual feeding of Taihangshan macaques was sorted out.The results showed: 1)There are 185 species of dietary source plants,belonging to 88 genera and 41 families.Among them,there are 44 species of trees,belonging to 23 genera and 15 families,lianas 14 species,belonging to 5 genera and 5 families,shrubs 58 species,belonging to 22 genera and 10 families,herbaceous 69 species,belonging to 38 genera and 11 families.2)In the diet,the family with the most species is Rosaceae,with 28 species.The genus with the largest number of species is Lespedeza,with 9 species.3)According to the seed flora analysis,the 41 families can be divided into 6 distribution types and 1 variant.Among them,there are 14 families belonging to the pan-tropic distribution,including Moraceae,Fagaceae and Ulmaceae.The 88 genera can be divided into 12 distribution types and 6 variants.There are 27 genera belonging to the north temperate distribution,including Quercus,Ulmus and Carpinus.2 Seasonal variation of dietary source plants of Taihangshan macaquesUsing the method of sample method,the species of different seasonal food sources were collected and analyzed,and the seasonal variation of main food types and availability was analyzed.The results showed: 1)In spring(March to May),there are 113 species of dietary source plants,belonging to 59 genera and 29 families,mainly in 10 subjects,such as Leguminosae,Liliaceae and Labiatae.The mian types of diet are herbaceo leaves,leaves,young twigs,buds and seeds.2)In summer(June to August),there are 59 species of dietary source plants,belonging to 29 genera and 18 families,mainly in Liliaceae,Ranunculaceae and Rosaceae,and the main types of food are herbaceo leaves,leaves and fruits.3)In autumn(September to November),there are 13 families of dietary source plants,belonging to 18 genera and 55 species,mainly concentrated in Leguminosae,Fagaceae and Rosaceae.The main types of food are herb.leaves,leaves,herb.roots,fruits and seeds.4)In winter(December to the next year's February),there are 18 families of dietary source plants,belonging to 26 genera and 75 species,mainly concentrated in 6 families including Leguminosae,Caprifoliaceae and Ranunculaceae.The main food types include herb.leaves,herb.roots,young bark,fruits and seeds.The diversity and availability of dietary source plants may affect the food selection of Taihangshan macaques.1)In winter,the diversity of diet was the highest(H'=4.92±0.42),with significant difference(P=0.003<0.05,P=0.002<0.05,P=0.001)compared with other three seasons of spring(H'=3.47±0.40),summer(H'=3.31±0.18)and autumn(H'=3.15±0.60).The diversity of the whole year shows a trend of decreasing firstly and then rising.The availability of dietary source plants was the highest in autumn(73291.03±19984.66),with significant differences(P=0.005<0.05,P<0.001,P=0.001),compared with other three seasons of summer(36507.04±324.91),winter(17568.93±2880.35)and spring(24655.17±11200.39).The availability of dietary source plants in the whole year shows a trend of ascending firstly and then descending.3 Changes of dietary source plants of Taihangshan macaques with altitudeAlong the main peak of the study area,we set up samples at a certain altitude gradient,and through the samples,we analyze the changes of the life forms of the dietary source plants with altitude,including diversity and the richness indexes.The results showed: 1)In tree layer,Quercus variabilis is the dominant species in the multi-elevation segment.The advantages of shrubs and lianas are significantly different at different elevation.The dominant species of herbaceous layer have obvious differences in lower elevations and higher elevations.2)With the rising of altitude,the total number of plant species decreased.Among them,the number of shrubs and herbaceous plants also decreased,in addition,the number of herbs decreased obviously.Whereas the number of trees remains essentially unchanged.3)The tree diversity index(0.95±0.39)is an irregular distribution and no linear correlation with elevation.Shrub diversity index(2.15±0.25),with the rising of elevation,is approximately unimodal distribution,and is not linearly dependent with elevation.The herbaceous diversity index(1.50±0.35),which varies with elevation,is not affected by elevation.4)The tree richness index(1.18±0.33)fluctuates less with altitude.The shrub and herbaceous richness indexes(3.20±0.79,1.81±0.60)are the same as the variability of their diversity indexes.Conclusions1 It was found that Taihangshan macaques are abundant in food sources,with obvious tropical affinity and temperate significance.As compared to the group of rhesus monkeys living in low latitudes,there are a larger number and more various types of dietary source plants,obviously in herbaceous species.2 Taihangshan macaques have a wide range of dietary source plants.There are significant changes in the species,quantity and feeding place of dietary source plants in different seasons,which have a significant influence on the foraging strategies of the macaques.The diversity and availability of the dietary source plants fluctuate with the seasonal variation,which reflects the adaptability of the macaques to climate change during the long-term evolution.3 Under the limitation of the highest altitude,the diversity and richness indexes of three types of life forms of the dietary source plants,have no obvious response to the elevation gradient,showing random variation.In the hillside(1000~1300 m),the number of the three kinds of life forms are relative rich,and the diversity and abundance are higher,which can provide abundant food source,plenty of space and good concealment place for the rhesus macaque. |
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