Leafing, flowering, and fruiting phenology of plants fed on by wild Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ) on Kinkazan Island, northern Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID21582848
AuthorsYamato Tsuji (0000-0003-3948-3807, Ishinomaki Senshu University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume39
Issue1
Pages5-12
Publication date2023-06-20
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePrimate Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0912-4047 • E-ISSN: 1880-2117
PublisherPrimate Society of Japan (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2354/psj.39.001
OpenAlexW4379933294
LanguageEN
References cited20

I performed a phenological survey on the plant diets of wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Kinkazan Island, northern Japan. I conducted a monthly survey between April 2021 and March 2023, during which I checked leafing, flowering, and fruiting of 31 plant species along pre-set routes within the home range of a target macaque troop. Subsequently, I examined the relationship between phenology and the macaques’ feeding pattern. For leaves and flowers, the feeding seasons of most plant species corresponded with the first half of the leafing and flowering seasons, respectively. For fruits, on the other hand, feeding often continued after their fruiting season, which may likely be due to macaques’ feeding on fallen fruits on the ground. Additionally, I found that several nut/achene species did not fruit during the study period, likely due to interannual variation in fruiting. To better estimate food availability, which is essential for understanding the feeding strategies of macaques, it may be necessary to perform combined phenological and vegetation surveys across multiple years for obtaining plant density

Biology · Phenology · Seasonality · Zoology · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Ecology · Horticulture

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