Winter diet of Japanese macaques from Chubu Sangaku National Park, Japan incorporates freshwater biota

AbstractThe Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) is native to the main islands of Japan, except Hokkaido, and is the most northerly living non-human primate. In the Chubu Sangaku National Park of the Japanese Alps, macaques live in one of the coldest areas of the world, with snow cover limiting the availability of preferred food sources. Winter is typically a bottleneck for food availability potentially resulting in marked energy deficits, and mortality may result from famine. However, streams with groundwater upwelling flow during the winter with a constant water temperature of about 5 °C are easily accessible for Japanese macaques to search for riverine biota. We used metabarcoding (Cytochrome c oxidase I) of fecal samples from Japanese macaques to determine their wintertime diet. Here we provide the first robust evidence that Japanese macaques feed on freshwater biota, including brown trout, riverine insects and molluscs, in Chubu Sangaku National Park. These additional food sources likely aid their winter survival.

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Variation in intergroup encounters among two provisioned free-ranging populations of Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/58.4.517 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 58 (4) ◽

pp. 517-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peng Zhang ◽

Kunio Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Social Factors ◽

Intergroup Relations ◽

Macaca Fuscata ◽

Japanese Macaque ◽

Japanese Macaques ◽

Intergroup Relationships ◽

Specific Variation ◽

Intergroup Encounters ◽

Free Ranging

Abstract Typically, Japanese macaques are thought to avoid encountering other groups wherever possible. Intergroup relations between macaques on Shodoshima Island, however, appear exceptional. We show that neighboring groups of Shodoshima monkeys spent 32.8% of their active time in proximity to (<100 m) and even foraged simultaneously at the same provisioning site with another group. The average duration and rate of intergroup encounters at Shodoshima (59.8 min, 0.33 times/hour, n=269) were approximately ten times longer and 16.5 times more frequent than those at Jigokudani (6.1 min, 0.02 times/hour, n=14). Since both populations have similar provisioning and ecological conditions, such variation cannot be explained by the socioecology model alone. Compared with other populations of Japanese macaques, intergroup relations of Shodoshima monkeys are also characterized by more frequent neutral encounters, less frequent agonistic encounters, more frequent unsuccessful displacement, a lower intensity of aggression, and more frequent counter-aggression between groups. These characteristics suggest that intergroup relationships on Shodoshima Island are more tolerant than those in other Japanese macaque populations. This study reveals considerable differences in intergroup encounters within local populations of Japanese macaques living in similar environments, and emphasizes the role of social factors in such intra-specific variation.

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Maternal protectiveness is negatively associated with infant handling in wild Japanese macaques

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003534 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 156 (2) ◽

pp. 155-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maisa Sekizawa ◽

Nobuyuki Kutsukake

Keyword(s):

Principal Components ◽

Macaca Fuscata ◽

Japanese Macaque ◽

Group Living ◽

Japanese Macaques ◽

Primate Species ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Maternal Style ◽

Infant Handling ◽

Triadic Relationship

Abstract Infant handling by a non-mother is common in many primate species. Despite the requirement of a triadic relationship among handler, mother, and infant, previous studies of infant handling have focused on characteristics of handler or interactions between mother and handler. In this study, we examined the influence of the mother–infant relationship (i.e., maternal style) on the frequency with which wild Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) infants were handled. We analysed behavioural data collected during 3 consecutive years and found that maternal style was characterised by three principal components: infant activity, rejection, and non-protectiveness. Infants who were less active and whose mothers were less protective received more frequent handling. These effects were particularly evident when handlers were thought to have less access to the infant. These complex interactions within the triadic relationship suggest that maternal style constrains the occurrence of infant handling in group-living primates.

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Social relationships of male Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in different habitats: a comparison between Yakushima island and Shimokita peninsula populations

Anthropological Science ◽

10.1537/ase.051227 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 115 (1) ◽

pp. 63-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

SHIRO HORIUCHI

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Macaca Fuscata ◽

Japanese Macaques ◽

Yakushima Island ◽

Shimokita Peninsula

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Grandmothers care for orphans in a provisioned troop of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Primates ◽

10.1007/s10329-008-0118-x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 85-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mari Nozaki

Keyword(s):

Macaca Fuscata ◽

Japanese Macaques

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Seed Dispersal by Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) in Western Tokyo, Central Japan: A Preliminary Report

Mammal Study ◽

10.3106/041.036.0308 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 165-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yamato Tsuji

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Preliminary Report ◽

Macaca Fuscata ◽

Japanese Macaques ◽

Central Japan

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TOLERATED CO-FEEDING IN RELATION TO DEGREE OF KINSHIP IN JAPANESE MACAQUES

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853901750382124 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 138 (4) ◽

pp. 487-509 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Bernard Chapais ◽

Patrick Belisle

Keyword(s):

Macaca Fuscata ◽

Japanese Macaques ◽

Preferential Treatment ◽

Feeding Rates ◽

Dominance Relationship ◽

Mothers And Daughters ◽

Dominant Female ◽

Different Types ◽

Access To Food

AbstractWe analyzed co-feeding in relation to degree of kinship in Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata), testing experimentally five categories of matrilineal kin dyads: mother-daughter, grandmother-granddaughter, sisters, aunt-niece and nonkin. In each test, two adult females with a clear dominance relationship had access to a box containing a limited quantity of highly prized food. The dominant female could easily prevent the subordinate from eating so that food was easily monopolizable, hence the use of the expression tolerated co-feeding. Rates of tolerated co-feeding increased steeply with degree of kinship. The aggression levels of dominant females towards subordinate females decreased with increasing degree of kinship and this effect was most apparent between mothers and daughters. The confidence level of subordinate females increased with degree of kinship and this effect became apparent above the aunt-niece kin class. Prior access to food by the subordinate female was a significant means of access to food, mostly beyond the grandmother-granddaughter kin category. The results point to a relatedness threshold for the preferential treatment of kin at r = 0.25 (grandmother-granddaughter and sister dyads), beyond which (r = 0.125: aunt-niece dyads), levels of tolerated co-feeding were comparable to those of nonkin females. The identity of this threshold with that found in previous studies on the same group for two different types of interactions suggests the existence of a generalized relatedness threshold for kin favoritism in Japanese macaques. Assuming that the costs of food defense by the dominant females were negligible and that tolerated co-feeding was altruistic, our results support the role of kin selection in the evolution of altruism in primates beyond the mother-offspring bond.

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