Environmental drivers of ranging behavior in the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch)
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 429
File Views: 70
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Simokar A, Sumarga E, Oktaviani R, Prasetio Y. 2025. Environmental drivers of ranging behavior in the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch). Biodiversitas 26: 3903-3915. Environmental factors and food availability shape the foraging strategies and ranging behavior of primates. The Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), endemic to Java Island, Indonesia, inhabits the remaining forest patches such as Gunung Halimun Salak National Park (GHSNP). This study investigated the effects of environmental variables and food availability on Javan gibbon ranging in GHSNP, using behavioral and ecological data collected from January to December 2022. We observed three habituated gibbon groups through scan sampling and collected monthly plant phenology and daily temperature and rainfall data. The data were analyzed to: (i) calculate the activity budget; (ii) map and quantify ranging patterns, using QGIS; (iii) determine the Food Abundance Index (FAI); (vi) calculate mean monthly temperature and rainfall; (v) analyze the effects of environmental conditions and food availability on ranging behaviour/pattern using linear mixed models in RStudio. Results showed that Javan gibbon activities were dominated by resting, followed by feeding, locomotion, and social interaction. The mean home range size and daily path length were 38.68±7.17 ha and 3.25±0.30 km, respectively. Important food sources included Ficus spp., Cordia bantamensis, Sandoricum koetjape, and Knema cinerea with the highest FAI values for fruits, young leaves, and flowers occurred in September, July, and March, respectively. The average minimum temperature, maximum temperature, and monthly rainfall were 17.77±0.34?, 26.59±0.76?, and 418.23±179.68 mm, respectively. Ranging patterns were significantly affected by rainfall, temperature, and food availability (p-value<0.05), with observed differences among groups due to food resources distribution, foraging strategies, and environmental responses.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Almeida-Warren K, Camara HD, Matsuzawa T, Carvalho S. 2022. Landscaping the behavioural ecology of primate stone tool use. Intl J Primatol 43 (2): 885-912. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00305-y.
Asensio N, Brockelman WY, Malaivijitnond S, Reichard UH. 2014. White-handed Gibbon (Hylobates lar) core area use over a short-time scale. Biotropica 46 (4): 461-469. DOI: 10.1111/btp.1212.
Asfaw MD, Kassa SM, Lungu EM, Bewket W. 2019. Effects of temperature and rainfall in plant-herbivore interactions at different altitude. Ecol Model 406: 50-59. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.05.011.
Bach TH, Chen J, Hoang MD, Beng KC. 2017. Feeding behavior and activity budget of the southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) in a lowland tropical forest. Am J Primatol 2017 (9999): e22667. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22667.
Bach TH, Jin C, Tiwari A, Hoang MD. 2020. Ranging behavior of the southern yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) in response to food resources and environmental variables. Vietnam J Primatol 3 (2): 1-22.
Bartlett TQ, Light LEO, Brockelman WY. 2015. Long-term home range use in white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. Am J Primatol 2016: 193-203. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22492.
Basabose AK. 2002. Diet composition of chimpanzees inhabiting the Montane Forest of Kahuzi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Am J Primatol 58 (1): 10049. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.10049.
Brockelman WY, Nathalang A, Greenberg DB, Suwanvecho U. 2014. Evolution of small-group territoriality in gibbons. In: Yamagiwa J, Karczmarski L (eds). Primates and Cetaceans: Field Research and Conservation of Complex Mammalian Societies. Springer, Japan. DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-54523-1_11.
Bryant JV, Olson VA, Chatterjee HJ, Turvey ST. 2015. Identifying environmental versus phylogenetic correlates of behavioural ecology in gibbons: Implications for conservation management of the world’s rarest ape. BMC Evol Biol 15: 171. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0430-1.
Chen Y, Ma C, Yang L, Guan ZH, Jiang XL, Fan PF. 2020. Asymmetric competition between sympatric endangered primates affects their population recovery. Biol Conserv 248: 108558. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108558.
Cheyne SM, Capilla BR, Supiansyah, Adul, Cahyaningrum E, Smith DE. 2019. Home range variation and site fidelity of Bornean southern gibbons [Hylobates albibarbis] from 2010-2018. Plos One 14 (7): e0217784. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217784.
Cheyne SM, Gilhooly LJ, Hamard MC, Höing A, Houlihan PR, Kursani, Loken B, Phillips A, Rayadin Y, Capilla BR. 2016. Population mapping of gibbons in Kalimantan, Indonesia: Correlates of gibbon density and vegetation across the species’ range. Endanger Species Res 30: 133-143. DOI: 10.3354/esr00734.
Choi A, Yi Y, Mardiastuti A, Choe JC. 2023. Intra-group competition and social dynamics regarding dispersal and maturation in wild Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch). Sci Rep 13: 8285. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34913-2.
Clink DJ, Dillis C, Feilen KL, Beaudrot L, Marshall AJ. 2017. Dietary diversity, feeding selectivity, and responses to fruit scarcity of two sympatric Bornean primates (Hylobates albibarbis and Presbytis rubicunda rubida). Plos One 12 (3): e0173369. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173369.
Dagnachew S, Teketay D, Demissew S, Awas T, Lemessa D. 2023. The Effects of monthly rainfall and temperature on flowering and fruiting intensities vary within and among selected woody species in Northwestern Ethiopia. Forests 14 (3): 541. DOI: 10.3390/f14030541.
Dewi MC, Mardiastuti A, Iskandar E. 2016. Wilayah jelajah dan teritori Owa Jawa (Hylobates moloch) di Taman Nasional Gunung Halimun-Salak. Media Konservasi 21 (1): 73-82. DOI: 10.29244/medkon.21.1.73-82. [Indonesian]
Du Y, Li D, Yang X, Peng D, Tang X, Liu H, Li Donghai, Hong X, Song X. 2020. Reproductive phenology and its drivers in a tropical rainforest national park in China: Implications for Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) conservation. Glob Ecol Conserv 24: e01317. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01317.
Fei H, de Guinea M, Yang L, Garber PA, Zhang L, Chapman CA, Fan PF. 2023. Wild gibbons plan their travel pattern according to food types of breakfast. Proc Royal Soc B: Biol Sci 290: 20230430. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0430.
Green SJ, Boruff BJ, Niyigaba P, Ndikubwimana I, Grueter CC. 2020. Chimpanzee ranging responses to fruit availability in a high?elevation environment. Am J Primatol 82 (5): 23119. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23119.
Iskandar E, Sinarga W, Riendriasari S, Rahmuddin, Tedjosiswojo K, Kyes RC. 2018. Survey of the Javan Gibbons (Hylobates moloch) in West and Central Java, Indonesia: Trends in population density. Biol Syst 7 (1): 1000184. DOI: 10.4172/2329-6577.1000184.
Jang H, Oktaviani R, Kim S, Mardiastuti A, Choe JC. 2021. Do Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) use fruiting synchrony as a foraging strategy? Am J Primatol 83 (10): e23319. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23319.
Joly M, Tamengge M, Pfeiffer J-B, Price M, Agil M, Engelhardt A. 2023. Climate, temporal abundance of key food sources and home ranges of crested macaques (Macaca nigra) in Sulawesi, Indonesia: A longitudinal phenological study. Intl J Primatol 44: 670-695. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-023-00377-4.
Kappeler M. 1984. Diet and feeding behavior of the moloch gibbon. In: Preuschoft H, Chivers DJ, Brockelman WY, Creel N (eds). The Lesser Apes: Evolutionary and Behavioural Biology. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
Keller C. 2019. Acoustic Location Systems (ALS) as a Tool for Group Density, Territory and Behavioural Analysis of Wild, White-Handed Gibbons (Hylobates lar) in a Sumatran Lowland Rainforest. [Thesis]. University of Zurich, Zurich.
Kim S, Lappan S, Choe JC. 2011. Diet and ranging behavior of the endangered Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) in a submontane tropical rainforest. Am J Primatol 73 (3): 270-280. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20893.
Kim S, Lappan S, Choe JC. 2012. Responses of Javan Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) groups in submontane forest to monthly variation in food availability: Evidence for variation on a fine spatial scale. Am J Primatol 74: 1154-1167. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22074.
Lappan S, Oktaviani R, Choi A, Ham S, Jang H, Kim S, Fan PF, 2023. Demography of a stable gibbon population in high-elevation forest on Java. In: Cheyne SM, Thompson C, Fan PF, Chatterjee HJ. (Eds). Gibbon Conservation in the Anthropocene. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. DOI: 10.1017/9781108785402.007.
Light LEO, Savini T, Sparks CS, Bartlett TQ. 2021. White-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) alter ranging patterns in response to habitat type. Primates 62 (1): 77-90. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-020-00858-7.
Malone NM. 2007. The Socioecology of the Critically Endangered Javan Gibbon (Hylobates moloch): Assessing the Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Primate Social Systems. [Dissertation]. University of Oregon, Oregon.
Mandl I, Holderied M, Schwitzer C. 2018. The effects of climate seasonality on behavior and sleeping site choice in Sahamalaza Sportive Lemurs, Lepilemur sahamalaza. Intl J Primatol 39 (6): 1039-1067. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-018-0059-1.
Martiyani TRM, Rahman DA, Setiawan Y, Giri S. 2022. Population monitoring of Javan Leopard and Javan Gibbon in potential areas in Mount Halimun Salak National Park. Media Konservasi 27 (3): 128-139. DOI: 10.29244/medkon.27.3.128-139.
McLester E, Brown M, Stewart FA, Piel AK. 2019. Food abundance and weather influence habitat-specific ranging patterns in forest- and savanna mosaic-dwelling red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). Am J Phys Anthropol 170 (2): 217-231. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23920.
Ni Q, Liang Z, Xie M, Xu H, Yao Y, Zhang M, Li Y, Li Y, Jiang X. 2018. Microhabitat use of the western black?crested gibbon inhabiting an isolated forest fragment in southern Yunnan, China: Implications for conservation of an endangered species. Primates 59 (1): 45-54. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-017-0634-7.
Ni Q, Xie M, Grueter CC, Jiang X, Xu H, Yao Y, Zhang M, Li Y, Yang J. 2015. Effects of food availability and climate on activity patterns of western, black-crested gibbons in an isolated forest fragment in southern Yunnan, China. Primates 56: 351-363. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-015-0481-3.
Nijman V. 2004. Conservation of the Javan gibbon Hylobates moloch: Population estimates, local extinctions, and conservation priorities. Raffles Bull Zool 52 (1): 271-280.
Nijman V. 2015. The silvery gibbons in Mount Halimun Salak National Park, Java, Indonesia. In: State of the Apes (eds). Industrial Agriculture and Ape Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Nijman V, Smith JH, Kanda RK. 2019. Phylogeography, population genetics, and conservation of javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch). Intl J Primatol 40 (2): 156-161. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-019-00080-3.
Ning W-H, Guan Z-H, Huang B, Fan P-F, Jiang X-L. 2019. Influence of food availability and climate on behavior patterns of western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China. Am J Primatol 81 (12): 23068. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23068.
Nurvianto S, Adriyanti DT, Hamdan F, Triyanto J, Darmanto A. 2022. Population density survey of white-bearded gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) in high conservation value forest area of palm oil plantation company, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23 (5): 2245-2254. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d230501.
Oktaviani R, Borzée A, Cahyana AN, Lappan S, Mardiastuti A, Giri M. 2023. Predicting suitable habitat for the endangered Javan Gibbon in a submontane forest in Indonesia. J Threat Taxa 15 (7): 23463-23471. DOI: 10.11609/jott.8291.15.7.23463-23471.
Oktaviani R, Kim S, Cahyana AN, Choe JC. 2018. Nutrient composition of the diets of Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch). IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 197: 012048. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/197/1/012048.
Raji IA, Downs CT. 2022. Fruiting phenology and diversity of native Ficus species in an urban-forest mosaic landscape in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Afr J Ecol 60 (4): 1357-1362. DOI: 10.1111/aje.13017.
Sardjo S, Dharmawan AH, Darusman D, Wahyuni ES. 2022. The Agricultural expansion in conservation areas: The case of Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java. For Soc 6 (2): 742-762. DOI: 10.24259/fs.v6i2.18380.
Sravani V. 2020. Effect of climate change on major tropical and sub-tropical fruit crops. J Pharmacog Phytochem 9 (6): 1710-1712.
Suwanvecho U, Brockelman WY, Nathalang A, Santon J, Matmoon U, Somnuk R, Mahannop N. 2017. High interannual variation in the diet of a tropical forest frugivore (Hylobates lar). Biotropica 0 (0): 12525. DOI: 10.1111/btp.12525.
Wearn OR, Hoang TD, Ma CY, Quyet KL, Nguyen P, Hoang TV, Luong CV, Hoang QV, Fan PF, Nguyen TD. 2024. Vocal fingerprinting reveals a substantially smaller global population of the Critically Endangered cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) than previously thought. Sci Rep 14: 416. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50838-2.
Wittiger L, Boesch C. 2013. Female gregariousness in Western Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) is influenced by resource aggregation and the number of females in estrus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 67 (7): 1097-1111. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1534-5.
Xue Q, Zeng X, Du Y, Long W. 2023. Reproductive phenology and climatic drivers of plant species used as food by the Hainan gibbon, Nomascus hainanus (Primates: Hylobatidae). Forests 14 (9): 1732. DOI: 10.3390/f14091732.
Yaghsyah IA, Husodo T, Megantara EN, Wulandari I, Atsaury ZIA, Febrianto P. 2022. Daerah jelajah dan vegetasi habitat owa Jawa (Hylobates moloch) di Curug Walet Cisokan, Jawa Barat, Indonesia. In: Setyawan AD, Sugiyarto, Pitoyo A (eds). Prosiding Seminar Nasional Masyarakat Biodiversitas Indonesia. Surakarta, 18 September 2021. [Indonesian]
Yi Y, Fichtel C, Kim E, Choe JC. 2020. Impacts of intergroup interactions on intragroup behavioral changes in Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch). Intl J Primatol 41: 363-381. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-019-00116-8.
Yi Y, Soojung H, Oktaviani R, Dewi MC, Nur M, Mardiastuti A, Choe JC. 2022. Cases of fatal electrocution of the endangered Javan gibbons (Mammalia: Primates: Hylobatidae) by power lines. J Threat Taxa 14 (5): 20964-20969. DOI: 10.11609/jott.7758.14.5.20964-20969.
Zhang D, Qi X, Liu S, Lu K, Chen Y, Long W. 2024. Seasonal home range utilization of Hainan gibbons (Nomascus hainanus) in a secondary tropical forest of Hainan Island, South China. Glob Ecol Conserv 54: e03063. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03063.
Zhang Y, Yu J, Lin S, He J, Xu Y, Tu J, Jiang H. 2023. Spatiotemporal variation of anthropogenic drivers predicts the distribution dynamics of Hainan gibbon. Glob Ecol Conserv 43: e02472. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02472.
Zulfa A, Wibisono MA, Mulki MF, Ron J, Giri MS, Oktaviani R. 2021. Phytochemical screening on some leaves and fruits consumed by Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) from Cikaniki Area, Mount Halimun Salak National Park, West Java. J Trop Biodivers 1 (3): 127-138. DOI: 10.59689/bio.v1i3.63.