Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.2. Variations in home range size (km 2 ) and daily ranges (in meters)
of Macaca fascicularis.
Home Range
Daily Range
Group Size
Reference
2.0
± 30
Furuya ( 1965 )
0.8
40-50
Poirier and Smith (1974)
0.8
400-1000
16
Kurland ( 1973 )
0.7-1.0
16
Rodman ( 1978a )
0.462
1400
17.0 m
MacKinnon and MacKinnon ( 1980 )
0.35*
150-1500 (760 m)
23
Aldrich-Blake ( 1980 )
1.25
1869
30.0 m
Wheatley ( 1982 )
0.42
27.4 m
van Schaik and van Noordwijk ( 1985 )
0.33
30-40
Lucas and Corlett ( 1991 )
0.50
8-60
de Ruiter and Geffen (2009)
0.57
85
This Study
1.17
72
This Study
* = approximate
m = mean
conservative. As in the Mauritian macaques, groups are multi-male/multi-
female with a sex ratio averaging around one adult male to around three adult
females ( Table 8.1 ). Other aspects of social structure that are relatively fixed
among these macaques are: female philopatry, male emigration from natal
groups, and some solitary males and all-male groups. Breaking into subgroups
throughout the day also is a common feature among long-tailed macaques
throughout their range (Kurland, 1973 ; Poirier and Smith, 1974 ; Aldrich-
Blake, 1980 ; Fittinghoff and Lindburgh, 1980 ; Mackinnon and MacKinnon,
1980 ; van Schaik et al ., 1983 ; van Schaik and van Noordwijk, 1986 ).
The conservative features of relatively large, multi-male groups may be
related to the predator prone edge, open, and secondary habitats where the
majority of naturally occurring long-tailed macaques are found. Males pro-
vide a sentinel role. The ability to break up into subgroups is highly adaptable,
given the mosaic character of many of these habitats, with a diverse array of
resources spread over a variety of types of “resource packages.” Matrilines,
with male friends, and all-male groups provide natural mechanisms for sub-
group formation. The large variation in group size is likely to be related to
local resources, environmental conditions related to relatively recent histor-
ical events, and the macaque populations' demographic history correlated with
these events. Now, for example, group sizes are likely to be very small in parts
of Mauritius, due to intense capture rates. The ability of these animals to main-
tain populations with groups of very different sizes speaks to their ability to
inhabit such a great variety of habitats.
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