During October 2011 to November 2012, I studied the behavioral ecology of one habituated group (G2) of the western black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) at Dazhaizi,Mt. Wuliang, central Yunnan, China. Habitat survey, phenology monitoring and behavior observation were conducted to evaluate the seasonal food availability within the home range of studied group. We intend to know how the group (G2) adapts to seasonal variation of the habitat characteristics.640 trees of 30 species were identified as monitoring plants based on the important food resource of the gibbons, and 1083 tree canopies were measured in the home range of G2 and seasonal food availability was calculated. We found that the food availability was different significantly between months, especially the flowers, However, fruit yield is relatively more stable than leaves and flowers, indicating the importance of fruit for diet and survival of gibbons. Based on 1227 feeding records collected during the study period, we found the study group fed on 43 plant species, belong to 26 families and 29 genera. Fruits were highly selected by gibbons (76.04%) and leaves were also important (15.32%) in their diet. Flowers were less contributive to gibbons’ diet but varied significantly between months. The multiple regression analysis demonstrated that consumption of flower was significantly correlated with their availability (r = 0.824,p = 0.044), which suggested that the gibbons spent more time feeding flowers when they were abundant. Our study indicate significant monthly variation in activity time budget of G2 (χ2 = 1340,p < 0.001). All the activities but resting and moving were significantly correlated to food availability. Feeding behavior is significantly related to flower availability (r = 0.929,p = 0.007), the higher the availability of flower, the longer the feeding time of gibbons. Playing and singing appeared to be related with availability of epiphytes (playing: r = -0.896,p = 0.016;singing: r= -0.903,p = 0.014). Besides, time budget also showed significant differences between genders, ages, and individuals. The adults spent more time resting (F = 13.217,p < 0.001) and less time playing (F = 4.632,p = 0.001) than young individuals, and the adult females in lactation also spent more time feeding. Adults and subadults spent more singing than adolescents (F = 8.656,p < 0.001), but the adolescents spent more time moving (F = 5.356,p = 0.001).
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