Abstract
Polyspecific associations, in which individuals of multiple species move together, have not been reported in Asian primates. However, only one study in India has shown this lack of association quantitatively. We collected data on interspecific encounters among 5 species of diurnal primates in Danum Valley by censusing 4 predetermined routes of 9.9 km, covering 1544.3 km, and tracking red leaf monkeys (Presbytis rubicunda) for 423 h over 25 mo. We tested the null hypothesis that the frequency and duration of encounters did not differ from chance levels. During censuses, we detected primates 373 times and found 2 species on the same 100-m segment only 6 times. This frequency was not significantly different from the chance level. While following red leaf monkeys, the frequency of encounters was lower than expected by chance with Müeller’s gibbons (Hylobates muelleri) but higher than expected by chance with Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in the nonfruiting season. Interspecific encounters accounted for 6.4% of tracking time, and the encounter duration was significantly longer than expected by chance for orangutans. Red leaf monkeys did not change their rate or direction of travel on meeting another species. We could not distinguish the association between red leaf monkeys and orangutans in the nonfruiting season from the possibility that the two species were independently attracted to the same place. In conclusion, we show the absence of active and consistent polyspecific association and identify avoidance in some species pairs in an Asian primate community.
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Acknowledgments
This study would not have been possible without the hard work of our field assistants, Syamsudin Jail, Sharry bin Mustah, Saharudin Idos, Unding Jami, Sallehudin Jail, and Rayner Jupili. We are greatly indebted to the staff of the Danum Valley Field Centre and our colleagues there for their hospitality and help, in particular Jimmy Omar, Mike Bernadus, Glen Reynolds, Tomoko Kanamori, Noko Kuze, and Siew Te Wong. The Economy Planning Unit of Malaysia and the State of Sabah and the Danum Valley Management Committee of Yayasan Sabah permitted our study. Valuable comments by the editor and the reviewers greatly improved the manuscript. We appreciate Maho Hanzawa's advice on the analysis of movement trajectory. This study was financed by the JSPS Core-to-Core Program (HOPE), the MEXT Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Overseas Fellows, Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists B (No. 20770195) and A (No. 22687002) and Scientific Research B (No. 25291100), Promotion of Joint International Research A (15KK0256) and B (19KK0186) to GH, Primate Society of Japan, and Global COE Program “Formation of a Strategic Base for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Research: from Genome to Ecosystem.”
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GH and HB conceived and designed the data collection. GH performed the fieldwork and data analysis. GH wrote the manuscript and HB provided editorial advice.
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Hanya, G., Bernard, H. Interspecific Encounters Among Diurnal Primates in Danum Valley, Borneo. Int J Primatol 42, 442–462 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-021-00211-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-021-00211-9