Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
are approximately 3 million long-tailed macaques in existence today (Fooden,
2006
). If these numbers are accurate, there has been a 40 percent total popula-
tion decline in about a quarter of a century. Also pointing towards population
decline, Mackinnon and Mackinnon (
1987
) reported that 63 percent of primate
habitat in Indonesia was no longer suitable for inhabitation as early as the 80's,
and Khan
et al
. (
1982
) pointed out a 23 percent decline in the population of
M. fascicularis
between 1957 and 1975 in Malaysia.
M. fascicularis
numbers
are relatively high compared to other extant non-human primates, but they are
continually declining, suggesting monitoring of their population may be neces-
sary in the near future (Wheatley and Putra;
1994b
; Eudey,
2008
).
Southwick and Siddiqi (
1994
) pointed out that Mackinnon's estimates may
not have taken into account the patchy distribution of long-tailed macaques and
so the figures reported may overestimate actual population levels. Mackinnon
(
1986
) admits that population census techniques can be subjective, but that best
efforts were taken to accurately depict population densities despite attempting
to census a species that is unevenly distributed through a vast range. Therefore,
even with the best correction techniques it is still possible that populations were
overestimated. Regions that are most easily surveyed, rivers and forest edges,
are where long-tailed macaques predominantly range, making it possible that
extrapolations into unsurveyed regions, where they may not be, might overesti-
mate the population size. We must also consider that long-tailed macaques are
among the most easily observable of wildlife because they are conspicuous and
prefer habitats near human settlements and along forest edges. Consequently, it
is much easier to physically count entire regional populations than many other
species. Population counts based on extrapolations from populations inter-
mixed into human settlements and/or on forest borders may not be accurate, as
what is observed may represent the large percentage of their population with
little extrapolation needed.
We can predict that long-tailed macaques are decreasing in number in
their total population. However, it is possible that a larger proportion of the
population is now interfacing with human settlement, as there are a number
of reports highlighting increased occurrence of human-macaque conflict in
several regions of South Asia (Eudey,
2008
; Fuentes,
2006
; Fuentes
et al
.,
2008
; Malaivijitnond
et al
.,
2005
; Malaivijitnond and Hamada,
2008
; Sha
et al
.,
2009a
; Sha
et al
.,
2009b
; Wong and Chow,
2004
). Increased conflict is
suspected to be a consequence of human-induced habitat disturbance, which
is causing forest loss, expansion of edge habitat, and production of mosaic
environments. The rapid development occurring in Southeast Asia presents
a challenge to wildlife management programs because it has produced more
environments suitable to sustaining long-tailed macaques. As a result, the con-
sequences of human-macaque overlap may become more prominent in more
