EAPSI: Comparing Tibetan Macaque (Macaca Thibetana) Daytime and Nighttime Social Behaviors

Runzel Kyle, Ellensburg WA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will examine and compare the daytime and nighttime social dynamics of a group of free-ranging, provisioned Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, Anhui, China. Ongoing research on these wild, but habituated (used to human presence), macaques has been conducted since 1986. The macaques' social behaviors will be observed and recorded at their nightly sleeping sites using camera traps and at their daily feeding sites using standard behavioral observation procedures. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Jin-Hua Li and Dr. Dongpo Xia of Anhui University who are experts on the Tibetan macaques at Mt. Huangshan. This project will help fill a substantial gap in the primatological literature: the vast majority focuses on daytime behaviors and neglects nighttime behaviors, which include half of a primate's lifespan. Understanding how daily cycles influence macaque social behavior may improve our understanding of our own social tendencies. Understanding nighttime behaviors of diurnal primates provide crucial information on the full spectrum of sociality and adaptations to group living. For the first time, this project will compare the day and nighttime social behaviors of a group of free-ranging, provisioned, Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, Anhui, China. Behavioral data will be collected using scan sampling at the daytime provisioning site and camera traps at the sleeping sites. After collection, a comparative analysis of social behaviors at the feeding and sleeping sites will provide a comprehensive depiction of this species social dynamics. Documenting behaviors at and around sleeping sites is essential for understanding the full behavioral repertoire of Tibetan macaques. This project will be the first to document the nighttime activity pattern of macaques and will influence how future studies consider primate sociality. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.