Persistence of Trachypithecus geei (Mammalia: Primates: Cercopithecidae) in a rubber plantation in Assam, India
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Abstract
Non-human primates are highly threatened as a result of habitat destruction, agricultural expansion, industrial development, large-scale build-ups and wildlife trafficking. Nearly 60% of all primates are threatened and many are found in habitats with some form of human modifications (e.g., croplands and plantations). The adaptability of primates to survive in human-modified habitats is thus a key to determine their persistence in anthropogenic landscapes. In this study, we examined the population number and age-sex composition of the ‘Endangered’ Golden Langur Trachypithecus geei in a rubber plantation in the Kokrajhar District in Assam, India in 2016, and compared with past data of the langur population and demographics from the same location to better understand the population dynamics, demographic characters and persistence of the Golden Langurs in the rubber plantation. In 2016, we recorded six groups of Golden Langurs totaling 78 individuals with a mean group size of 13.00±4.00SD. Of the total population, 10.29% were adult males, 41.18% were adult females, 32.35% were juveniles and 16.18% were infants. The overall population growth from 1997 to 2016 was estimated to be 5.54% per year. Habitat matrices of rubber plantations with natural forest patches are important in the fragmented landscape for the persistence of Golden Langur populations. They may also act as a corridor for the langurs to move between the fragments and as food resources, highlighting the importance of such matrices for the langurs outside protected areas. Population monitoring and ecological studies in such matrices would therefore be needed for the successful implementation of targeted management strategies for the conservation of these threatened langurs.
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