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A COMPARISON OF HABITAT USAGE, RANGE AND BEHAVIOUR WITHIN TWO GROUPS OF MACAQUES

AIM 

Comparison of habitat usage, range and behaviour within two groups of Buton macaques at Kakenauwe and Kaweli.

OBJECTIVES 

To compare the way in which the two troupes of macaques at Kakenauwe and Kaweli: 

• Utilize the forest plots in relation to range use. 

• Utilize the structure and composition of the two forest plots in relation to behaviour. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Buton macaque is a sub-species of the booted macaque, M. ochreata which is one of 19 species of macaque found worldwide. The Buton macaque, Macaca ochreata brunnescens, is endemic to the islands of Buton and Muna, South East Sulawesi. Both islands have unique forest structures compared to that of other tropical rainforests but have undergone extensive deforestation due to population expansion and farming. The Kakenawe and Kaweli forest plots are situated in central Buton and hold populations of Buton macaques. Kakenawe is a relatively undisturbed forest, whilst that at Kawele is much more disturbed, with selective logging and areas of agricultural land.  

METHODS 

The study was carried out between July and August 2002, on the Kakenauwe and Kaweli grids. At each site a single troupe of macaques were followed throughout the day. Each individual macaques behavior, position within the tree or on the ground, and their grid reference was recorded. The behavior categories were split into rest, locomotion, feeding, foraging, aggression, play and grooming. The macaque’s individual position was also split in to a number of categories. The tree was split into outer canopy, inner canopy, outer sub-canopy, inner sub-canopy, trunk, fallen logs and the ground. Recordings were carried out whenever macaques were spotted, or with a minim of five-minute between each scan to prevent recording of the same individual twice. 

A habitat survey was also carried out of the two study grids. Measurements were taken from the northeast corner of every grid intersection, 100m apart. A 10 meter by 10 meter quadrat was set up 5 meters from each grid intersection. Within the quadrat the percentage vegetation cover at <1m, 1-5m, 5-20m, >20m was recorded using the Braun Blonquet scale where:

0-5%               1

5-25%             2

25-50%          3

50-75%          4

75-100%        5 

Percentage sky cover was also recorded using the same scale. The circumference of all trees with a CBH > 30cm was recorded, as was the height of the tallest tree in the quadrat.

INITIAL RESULTS

Initial results show a difference in time budgets of behavior between the macaques at Kakenauwe and Kaweli. This can be related back to the structure and composition of the area used by the macaques within the two forest plots.

Further analysis of the results will include: 

• Home range within the two grids by the troupes
• Position of the macaques on the tree/ground in relation to behavior
• Analysis of the habitat over both grids

REPORT 

A dissertation entitled Comparison of habitat usage, range and behaviour within two groups of Buton Macaques at Kakenauwe and Kaweli will be produced by Aneeta Chana, Kings College London by April 2003.