Provisioning and Its Effects on the Social Interactions of Tibetan Macaques (<i>Macaca Thibetana</i>) at Mt. Huangshan, China

<p>The dispersal patterns of food resources has a significant effect on the composition of primate groups and social interactions within those groups. Humans often alter the dispersal of food. Non-humans often use affiliative behaviors to elicit tolerance or support from other group members. I investigated whether provisioned food resources alter the social interactions and group dynamics of <em>Macaca thibetana</em>. All-occurrence sampling and scan sampling were used for data recorded by camera traps. Trail-cameras were placed at six locations that contain natural and human food resources and recorded 60-second videos. Social behavior and proximity of the monkeys were recorded. I found that <em>M. thibetana</em> maintain closer proximity while in non-provisioning areas at Mt. Huangshan. The data also shows that they exhibit higher levels of agonistic and submissive behavior while in the provisioning areas than while in the non-provisioning areas, and they engage in more affiliative behaviors while in non-provisioning areas than while in provisioning areas.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Primate Behavior

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Schnepel, Brianna I.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lori K. Sheeran
• R. Steven Wagner
• Lixing Sun

• primate behavior
• foraging strategies
• animal behavior
• Tibetan macaques
• Macaca thibetana
• ecology
• Animal Studies
• Anthropology
• Behavior and Ethology
• Biological and Physical Anthropology
• Environmental Studies
• Forest Management
• Natural Resources and Conservation
• Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Other Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Population Biology
• Sustainability
• Zoology

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/399

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1411