Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ethnoprimatology of Macaca tonkeana: The Interface of Primate and Human Ecology in Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

In many areas of the world (e.g., Africa, Asia and Southeast Asia), human and nonhuman primates increasingly occur in close proximity, often exploiting common environmental resources. This results in situations with strong potential for conflict. Human-nonhuman primate conflict, such as crop raiding, often occurs in protected areas (e.g., National Parks), where villagers must comply with restricted use/access policies, thus perpetuating negative attitudes towards the protected area (and its wildlife) and potentially encouraging "illegal" land conversion and poaching. It is therefore critical that research, which occurs within the context of these protected areas, address both sides of the conflict. Ethnoprimatology is a new area of interest within anthropology that addresses ecological and cultural interconnections between human and nonhuman primates and their implications for conservation. An ethnoprimatological approach is therefore well-suited to an examination of both sides of human-nonhuman primate conflict. In this research the primary unit of investigation will be the "human-nonhuman primate community" which includes human residents of the village of Tomado and the Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) that border this village in Lore Lindu National Park (LLNP), Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. This project will contribute to ethnoprimatology by examining how Tonkean macaques respond to human-induced habitat alteration (e.g., forest use/disturbance and the development of agriculture) and how the behavior and ecology of these macaques, as well as conservation policy associated with LLNP, affect the livelihoods of villagers. The significance of this project is threefold. First, this project will be the first long-term research effort to explore the ecology and social behavior of M. tonkeana; a little-known macaque species found only in Central Sulawesi. Second, by examining patterns of feeding/foraging and habitat use, the researcher will determine the factors that allow these macaques to persist in what is becoming the dominant land type in the tropics: secondary forest or agriculture/forest 'scrub,' and thus contribute to our understanding of the ecological and behavioral flexibility of these primates. Lastly, this project will contribute to the improvement of conservation management plans for LLNP in two ways. First, by examining patterns of habitat use in M. tonkeana, the PI can help to improve the management of the area between agricultural lands and the forest edge, to minimize human-macaque conflict. Second, the examination of aspects of local human ecology, such as attitudes towards conservation and patterns of resource use will inform the development of culturally sensitive conservation efforts.