History and Present Scope of Field Studies on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca fuscata yakui</Emphasis> at Yakushima Island,Japan |
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Authors: | Juichi Yamagiwa |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratory of Human Evolution Studies, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo Kyoto 606–8502, Japan |
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Abstract: | Field studies on Japanese macaques on Yakushima Island started in the mid-1970s, >25 yr after the emergence of Japanese primatology,
in response to criticism of methods using provisioning and the desire to find the socioecological factors influencing the
social life of macaques in natural habitats. We habituated macaques without provisioning mainly in the coastal warm-temperate
forest and found that they lived in small troops with a high socionomic sex ratio. Observations of several troop fissions
and troop takeovers by nontroop males suggest that Yakushima macaques have a different social organization from that of Japanese
macaques in other habitats. For example, youngest ascendancy as the dominance relationhip among sisters, which usually occurs
in provisioned troops, was absent in Yakushima macaques. We compared their ecological and social features with those of Japanese
macaques at Kinkazan (cool-temperate forests) and found that abundance of high-quality foods may cause stronger intra- and
intertroop competition at Yakushima. Female Yakushima macaques may more positively solicit nontroop males to associate with
them during the mating season. Such a tendency may promote frequent male movement between troops and frequent troop fissions.
Though ecological factors form social features of Japanese macaques, some features such as male association and movements
between troops are not accounted for via socioecology. Recent field studies have focused on macaques living at higher altitudes
in Yakushima and on individual survival strategies by taking diverse viewpoints and using new technologies. DNA analysis of
fecal samples shows low genetic diversity and suggests the macaques’ recent expansion from lowland to highland forests in
Yakushima. The population censuses conducted annually indicate that the higher-altitude macaques have a larger home range
but a similar group size versus their counterparts at low elevations. The unsolved issues in socioecology will pose a challenge
to the younger generation of primatologists. Conservation of macaques and their habitat is one of our major activities at
Yakushima. The level of protection has gradually increased in the National Park at Yakushima and, via our various conservation
efforts, its most important area was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993. However, large-scale logging in the
1960s and 1970s caused the loss of macaque habitats and led to increased crop damage by them in the 1980s. We have proposed
effective methods to protect cultivated fields from macaques as well as several plans for sustainable use of forests, such
as ecotourism and a fieldwork course for university students. Local residents and researchers have created several nongovernment
organizations (NGOs) to promote conservation and nature study at Yakushima. The role of local NGOs is particularly important
to mitigate conflicts between people and wildlife. Though hundreds of macaques are still captured as pests annually in Yakushima,
we continue the conservation measures and spread awareness of conservation in cooperation with the local NGOs. |
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Keywords: | conservation group size home range Macaca fuscata yakui socioecology vertical distribution Yakushima |
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