title: Forest seasonality shapes diet of limestone-living rhesus macaques at Nonggang, China.
abstract: Limestone forests are an unusual habitat for primates, but little information is available for the genus Macaca in such habitats, making a comparative understanding of extant limestone primates' behavioral adaptation incomplete. We collected data on the diet of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in a limestone habitat at Nonggang Nature Reserve, southwestern Guangxi, China, and examined the effects of forest seasonality on their diet. Our results indicated that a total of 114 species of plants are consumed by macaques. Young leaves are a preferred food, accounting for 48.9 and 56.9% of the overall diets. One group significantly increased young leaf consumption in response to availability. Fruits contributed to only 27.3 and 28.7% of overall diet. The macaque diet varied according to season. They fed on more fruits in the rainy season. Consumption of mature leaves increased when the availability of young leaves and fruits declined in the dry season, indicating that mature leaves are a fallback food for macaques in a limestone habitat. Similar to sympatric Assamese macaques, Bonia saxatilis, a shrubby, karst-endemic bamboo was consumed by rhesus macaques throughout the year, and was the top food species through most of the year, suggesting that bamboo consumption represents a key factor in the macaque's dietary adaptation to limestone habitat.
authors.affiliation: College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.|Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guangxi, China.|Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Chuangbin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guangxi, China.|Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Libin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guangxi, China.|Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Zhonghao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krzton
authors.affiliation: College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China. luchanghu@njfu.com.cn.
authors.forename: Changhu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guangxi, China. zhouqh@ioz.ac.cn.|Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi, China. zhouqh@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Qihai
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002119:Calcium Carbonate; D002681:China; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D065928:Forests; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D002119:Calcium Carbonate
keywords: Diet; Limestone habitat; Macaca mulatta; Rhesus macaque; Seasonality