Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Discussion
Current distribution of the long-tailed macaque in Myanmar
The distribution of the Myanmar subspecies of long-tailed macaques (
Macaca
fascicularis aurea
) extends from the southernmost (Kawthaung, 9˚58'N,
Tanintharyi) to the northwestern most parts of Myanmar (Kyay Taw, 20˚32'N,
Rakhine) near Bangladesh along the coastal regions (
Figure 2
.
2
). The man-
grove forests and riverine lowland forests that they inhabit are continuous along
the coasts of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Although we conducted
field surveys only in the mainland of Tanintharyi, the Myeik Archipelago,
which includes more than 800 islands, also harbors for long-tailed macaques
(Tun Yin,
1967
; Fooden,
1995
), and this will need to be studied further in order
to fully assess the population of long-tailed macaques in Myanmar. The popu-
lation of
M. f. aurea
also extends into southeastern Bangladesh (Khan and
Ahsan,
1986
) and southwestern Thailand (Malaivijitnond
et al
.,
2005
).
The Myanmar long-tailed macaques' distribution appears restricted to the
coastal regions and was mainly found in the Rakhine, Ayeyarwady Delta, and
Tanintharyi biogeographic regions, with a small population in the Bago Yoma
region near the coast. Long-tailed macaques were not found in other biogeo-
graphic regions, such as Dry zone, Shan Plateau and Chin Hill. This is likely
because long-tailed macaques have not adapted to these regions of higher lati-
tude with drier, seasonal climates and dry forests with mixed deciduous forest
vegetation, or that they are outcompeted by other macaque species that live in
those regions.
The total mainland population of long-tailed macaque in Myanmar is broadly
estimated to be between 11,130 and 107,900. However, these estimates depend
on just a preliminary survey and several assumptions and therefore are only a
rough estimate of the mainland population. Future work will need to confirm
and refine the population census. About 64.0-66.0 percent of the population
occurs in the southern Tanintharyi region, 32.0-33.0 percent in the Rakhine
region, 0.28-0.81 percent in the Ayeyarwady Delta and Bago Yoma regions,
and 0.65-3.20 percent in the northern Tanintharyi region. Thus, Rakhine and
southern Tanintharyi are the major ranges of long-tailed macaques in Myanmar.
In addition to these two ranges, a small number of troops were found scattered
in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Bago Yoma, and northern Tanintharyi regions.
Habitat degradation and fragmentation
It is possible that the distribution of long-tailed macaques in Myanmar
has been reduced by human activities. At present, the two major ranges of
