Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
understood, and to date ten subspecies are recognized (Fooden,
1995
; Groves,
2001
; Gumert, Chapter 1). The taxonomy of long-tailed macaques is based on
Fooden's (
1995
) morphological studies conducted in a museum, and no genetic
data has ever been collected to fully validate his classification. Consequently,
it will be very important to obtain a good genetic characterization of the entire
population.
A genetic database will be important for several reasons. First, under-
standing the genetic diversity of long-tailed macaques will be important to
field biologists seeking to understand the evolutionary origins and diversity
of macaques in Southeast Asia. Second, it will also be important for wildlife
officials needing genetic information to better understand the history and
make-up of the populations they are attempting to manage. Third, a popula-
tion genetic database will be valuable to investigators of wildlife trade, as it
would provide a basis for assessing of the origin of animals being trafficked.
Fourth, for this same reason, population genetics should be of great inter-
est to laboratory researchers utilizing long-tailed macaques (Blancher
et al
.,
2008
) because an animal's genotype can influence the response to experi-
mental procedures (i.e., drugs, disease, implants, etc.) (Menninger
et al
.,
2002
).
There are other aspects of the long-tailed macaque population that are also
important to investigate. First, data on actual population levels of this species
are scarce, owing to the logistical difficulty in characterizing a population that
is patchy in distribution and stretched across a vast and island-laden geographic
range. Second, we have limited data characterizing the proportion of the entire
long-tailed macaque population that actually interfaces with human beings.
As a result, little is known about how human activity impacts synanthropic
long-tailed macaque populations. Given the potential increase in synanthropic
macaque populations in some parts of Southeast Asia (see Malaivitinond
et al
.,
Chapter 5), it will be important to know the degree of interface occurring and
what proportion of the population is now synanthropic.
Knowing more about macaque population size and its overlap with humans
is necessary, but achieving it will not be easy. Long-tailed macaques are dis-
tributed throughout sixteen different nations (see
Table 13.1
), and thus popu-
lation level assessments require an international effort. In many regions across
their range mass extermination, capture, and/or sterilization programs are
being implemented to reduce human-macaque overlap (Di Silva,
2008
; Twigg
and Nijman,
2008
; Bunueslip,
2009
; Martelli,
2009
; see Malaivijitnond
et al
.,
Chapter 5). Moreover, long-tailed macaques are one of the most exploited
species found in both legal and illegal trade (see Box 1.2; Shepherd,
2010
).
Although at present the total population of long-tailed macaques is thought to
be large, concerted efforts to exterminate them or control their reproduction
