title: Not only annual food abundance but also fallback food quality determines the Japanese macaque density: evidence from seasonal variations in home range size.
abstract: Previous studies on Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) densities suggest that both total annual food abundance and the quality of fallback foods in the winter bottleneck period affects density. We reviewed data on the seasonal changes in home range size to explain how both factors affect density. In general, home range was large in summer or autumn and small in spring or winter, indicating that density is determined by the home range size in the seasons before winter. The main foods in these seasons are fruits and seeds. If these foods are not abundant, macaques need to range over a larger area, thus decreasing density. Macaques survive the winter by depending on the fat deposited before winter through eating these high-quality foods. If the food condition in winter is severe and the amount of required fat deposition is large, macaques need a larger home range before winter, and thus density becomes lower.
authors.affiliation: Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama, 484-8506, Japan. hanya@pri.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Goro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hanya
authors.forename: Mieko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiyono
authors.forename: Aya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chijiiwa
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D020387:Food Chain; D007564:Japan; D008251:Macaca / Q000502:physiology*; D011156:Population Density; D012621:Seasons