How animals allocate their time to various activities has significant consequences for their survival because they reflect the different constraints on time-energy balances. Many ecological variables, such as day length, temperature, food availabil- ity, are supposed to effect on activity budgets allocation of temperate primates. To examine the potential influence of these three variables, the activity budgets ofRhinopithecus bieti was studied at Xiaochangdu, Tibet from June 2003 to March 2005. Pearson correlations were utilized to assess potential relationships between activity budget and day length, food availability and temperature, and stepwise multiple regressions to identify the priority of resting and other activities （activities besides feeding, moving and resting）. Time spent resting and doing ＂other activities＂ is positively related to day length, temperature and food availability. No significant correlations were found between feeding/moving time and any of these variables. This suggests that foraging time （feeding ＋ moving） takes priority over rest and other activities. Day length and foraging time （as independent variables） were related to the time spent in the other two activities besides feeding/moving （as dependent variables）. Both time spent resting and in ＂other activities＂ were highly significant positive functions of day length, with the latter a highly significant negative function of feeding time and moving time. Resting time may therefore be interpreted as taking priority over ＂other activities＂ time. These results provide further evidence of the importance of day length, temperature and food availability to seasonal activity budgets [Current Zoology 56 （6）： 650q559, 2010].
Extractive foraging(EF)involves the exploitation of hidden or embedded foods,generally any food that is not visible to the naked eye.Therefore,EF is particularly important for survival in marginal habitats as it provides seasonal fallback foods in low food availability seasons.Although many studies consider primates’EF behavior and category,colobine species are usually categorized as non-extractive foragers and few studies quantitatively examine their EF behavior.In this study,we examined the EF behavior of one colobine species,the gray snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus brelichi),at Yangaoping in Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve,Guizhou.We recorded 6 categories of EF behaviors.The most frequently sought-out foods were seeds,young bamboo and invertebrates.Extracted foods accounted for an average of 26.02%of feeding records.As the monkey engages in little EF behavior in the winter when the food availability is low,these results seem to do not support the hypothesis that EF serves to secure additional resources during lean times in marginal or seasonal habitats.According to these findings,we suggest R.brelich should be considered as an extractive forager.Our study also highlights the need for increased representation of colobines in the EF literature to better inform the discussion concerning its link to primate brain evolution.
Tourism has been widely used as a conservation strategy that directly compensates local people or management authorities, thereby contributing to development and creating incentives to preserve the landscape. Reserves or parks that are inhabited by flagship species may be able to generate more revenue through tourism than those without such species because flagship species have great potential for raising funds and creating publicity for conservation goals. In this paper, we examine flagship species tourism focused on observing the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (SNNR). After the program was launched in 2006, both the number of tourists and amount of revenue received by SNNR increased as the general trends of tourism revenue in the country also increased. As a result, SNNR significantly increased rein- vestment in tourism and conservation infrastructure. Furthermore, after senior politicians visited the golden snub-nosed monkey, they abruptly changed their attitudes toward biological conservation, as indicated by an increase in both regular and additional funding for the species conservation. We conclude that flagship species tourism may not only generate revenue for conservation and management but also can improve officials' attitudes toward preserving biodiversity. However, it is important to ensure the continued safety and sustainability of such programs, from both the human and animal perspective, and we suggest stricter measures are introduced to reduce the risk of aerosol disease transmission from tourists to the monkeys.
Found in the Trans-Himalayas of north-west Yunnan and south-east Tibet, the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey （Rhinopithecus bieti） is one of the world’s most endangered primates. A recent survey indicates that only 15 groups with 2500 individuals remain in the wild. However, the Tibetan Xiaochangdu group may be the only equilibrium group in the field since the last investigation in 1988. To evaluate the effects of traditional culture and socioeconomic activity on biodiversity conservation of R. bieti, we conducted a case study in the Honglaxueshan National Nature Reserve in southeast Tibet from June 2003 to May 2005. Interviews, direct observations, and analysis of socioeconomic data indicated major advantages to the conservation of R. bieti, which included that： 1） traditional culture mainly depended on raising livestock and collecting non-timber products rather than forest planting of Tibetan highland barley; 2） religious beliefs, against to kill any wildlife living on the sacred mountain, were mainly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism; and 3） bigger household numbers were induced by the polyandrous marriage system, which resulted in lower per capita resource consumption than smaller ones.
We studied the ranging pattern of the wild black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys(Rhinopithecus bieti) at Xiaochangdu,Tibet from June 2003 to March 2005.Using the map grid cell method,the group home range were 16.75 km 2 in summer,10.50 km 2 in winter,and 21.25 km 2 total over two years.The daily travel length(DTL) averaged 765 m with a range of 350-3500 m.The results showed that DTL in winter was significantly shorter than those of in summer and spring.Temperature,rainfall,food availability,and human disturbance correlated positively with DTL.According to the maximum observed group size and estimated total home range,population density and biomass of R.bieti were 9.1 individuals/km 2 and 88.6 kg/km 2,respectively.The temporal and spatial variations of food resources and patterns of human disturbance largely determine the ranging behavior of R.bieti at Xiaochangdu.
