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Responses of Primates and Other Frugivorous Vertebrates to Plant Resource Variability over Space and Time at Gunung Palung National Park

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Abstract

Identifying patterns of primate diversity and abundance over space and time provides a window into the ecological processes that influence species distributions and community composition. Long-term studies of primate communities across multiple habitat types at small spatial scales are rare, yet can improve our understanding of habitat and resource use. Within primate community ecology, there has been recent interest in studying primate species in the context of the broader faunal communities of which they are a part because interactions with ecologically similar but distantly related species may influence habitat use. We present the results of a 64-mo study of 10 vertebrate frugivore species with highly overlapping diets inhabiting seven distinct forest types at the Cabang Panti Research Station, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We used survey transects and phenology plots to measure variation in vertebrate population densities (four primate, three hornbill, two squirrel, and one pig species) and fruit resources over space and time. We found little evidence of habitat partitioning or specialization. Densities of all 10 frugivore species, however, varied spatially, due largely to elevation and forest structure. Ordination analyses demonstrated that forest types differed in their structure, floristic composition, plant phenology, and frugivore communities. We also documented substantial temporal variation in orangutan densities, reflecting movements over large spatial scales. The densities of other mammalian and avian frugivores, particularly other primates, varied comparatively little over time. Our results demonstrate the importance of forest structure for determining frugivore community structure and highlight the importance of lowland forest types for the conservation of tropical frugivores.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Kaye Reed and Jason Kamilar for organizing the 2013 AAPA symposium on primate communities (along with L. Beaudrot) and Joanna Setchell for inviting participants in the symposium to contribute to this International Journal of Primatology special issue. We gratefully acknowledge Mark Grote, Andy Royle, and Kailin Kroetz for statistical consultation and thank Joanna Setchell, Katie Feilen, and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments. Permission to conduct research at Gunung Palung National Park was kindly granted by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the State Ministry of Research and Technology (RISTEK), the Directorate General for Nature Conservation (PHKA) and the Gunung Palung National Park Bureau (BTNGP). A. J. Marshall gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Louis Leakey Foundation, the Orangutan Conservancy, the Hellman Foundation, the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation, the Seneca Park Zoo, and the University of California, Davis. H. U. Wittmer and A. J. Marshall gratefully acknowledge support of a University Research Fund Grant and a Faculty Strategic Research Grant from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. A. J. Marshall thanks Universitas Tanjungpura (UNTAN), and gratefully acknowledges the assistance and support of the many students, researchers, and field assistants who worked at the Cabang Panti Research Station over the past two decades, particularly M. Albani, A. K. Ali, L. G. Bell, A. D. Busran, E. Tang, Hanjoyo, J. R. Harting, S. M. Jaffe, S. R. Lemoine, Mian, Rhande, J. R. Sweeney, and Surya. Statement of contributions: L. Beaudrot and A. J. Marshall conceived of project ideas, designed the study, and analyzed the data; A. J. Marshall was responsible for, and H. U. Wittmer contributed to, data collection; L. Beaudrot wrote the R code for the majority of the data analysis; A. J. Marshall produced the figures and tables; A. J. Marshall and L. Beaudrot wrote the manuscript; and H. U. Wittmer edited the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Graduate Group in Ecology, and Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, 95616, USA

    Andrew J. Marshall

  2. Department of Anthropology and Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, 95616, USA

    Lydia Beaudrot

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

    Heiko U. Wittmer

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Marshall, A.J., Beaudrot, L. & Wittmer, H.U. Responses of Primates and Other Frugivorous Vertebrates to Plant Resource Variability over Space and Time at Gunung Palung National Park. Int J Primatol 35, 1178–1201 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-014-9774-4

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