Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
moving (23 percent), resting (22 percent), grooming (13 percent), other (pri-
marily social behavior 5 percent), and travel (5 percent) Overall, the Mauritian
macaque activity patterns were very consistent throughout the day. There was a
slightly bimodal feeding pattern with increases in feeding from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.. However, feeding never represented less than 20 percent
of the hourly macaque activity budget. Macaques spent significantly more time
feeding during the wet season (December-April) than during the dry season
(Wilcoxon W=33, p=0.42). Otherwise, they were consistent in their activity
patterns throughout the year.
The Mauritian study groups returned to the same sleeping sites every night
for the entire study. The sleeping site of the south group was at the western-
most point of the monkey's range, on the side of a hill overlooking a seasonal
marsh (see Jamieson,
1998
). It was covered with large rocks and medium sized
trees in which the macaques groomed, rested and slept. They slept on the hill
where the ground cover was most dense. Access to this area was difficult for
people because of the loose volcanic rock, which undermined footing, and the
thick tangle of thorny vines and small, often spiny tree saplings. The animals
would spend time grooming and in social activities prior to leaving the sleep-
ing site in the morning and, especially, after arriving at the sleeping site each
evening.
Generally,
Macaca fascicularis
activity cycles are quite variable from site to
site and are affected by food resources, habitat, human activity, and possibly
group size (Ashmore,
1992
). MacKinnon and MacKinnon (
1980
) observed an
activity cycle similar in Malayan long-tailed macaques, with their monkeys
exhibiting high levels of feeding and moving throughout the day. At both the
Mauritian and Malayan study sites, food resources were patchily distributed
over a wide area. At other sites in Malaysia (Aldrich-Blake,
1980
) and Angaur
(a.k.a. Ngeaur) Island (Poirier and Smith,
1974
), long-tailed macaques were
observed to feed more during early and late afternoon and to have more intense
resting periods during midday when heat is most intense.
The amount of time spent in various activities differs in some of the study
sites (
Table 8.5
).
M. fascicularis
spends more time feeding than in other activ-
ities in most sites. However, at his site in Indonesia, Wheatley (
1980
) observed
his animals to spend most of their time traveling and moving. The long-tailed
macaques living along Naaf River in Bangladesh spend little time moving
(Khan and Wahab,
1983
). At this location, the monkeys spent much of their
time sitting in mangrove trees waiting for low tide as they hunt for food along
the shoreline. Bernstein (1968) studied groups that lived near a Catholic school
and its refuse bins. Here, the monkeys' activity patterns corresponded to the
school schedule, and their schedule changed in relation to human activities.
At Mon Vallon, the animals would also often modify their normal schedule in
response to human behaviour. For example, they would rest and hide in dense
