/pdf/old-world-fruit-bats-an-action-plan-for-their-conservation-3tdenbalus.pdf

The Wild Mammals of Malaya (Peninsula Malaysia) and Singapore , by Lord Medway. Oxford UP.

Old world fruit bats : an action plan for their conservation

Feeding strategies of ungulates are usually classified along a browser grazer continuum which ranges from browsing through to grazing ungulates, but does not accurately include frugivores. However, to understand the evolution of ungulate feeding it is necessary to have a classification that realistically incorporates the full range of ungulate feeding strategies. Such a classification can be described as a linear continuum that ranges from fruit feeders through to browsers and then grazers. Purely frugivorous ungulates are restricted to tropical forests and have consistently small body sizes. Pure grazers on the other hand are absent from tropical forests and are found most commonly in grassland and savannas. Browsing is the most common ungulate feeding strategy and is found in ungulates with a wide range of body sizes and is common in all habitat types. Fruit differs greatly from browses and grasses and adds additional support to the proposed frugivore-browser-grazer classification.

Ungulate frugivores and the browser-grazer continuum

Food habits of Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia, were studied from 19982000 by analyzing scats, examining feeding sites, and directly observing bears. Invertebrates such as termites (Isoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and beetle larvae (Coleoptera) were the predominant food items, occurring in 57% of the scat samples. Figs (Ficus sp.) were the most common fruit consumed (in 61% of the samples) during the non-fruiting season. Vertebrates were also consumed but less commonly. Most feeding sites (60%) were in decaying wood, where sun bears foraged for termites, beetles, and beetle larvae. Tree cavities with bee nests and decaying standing stumps were also recorded as feeding sites. We conclude that sun bears are opportunistic omnivores consuming a wide variety of food items. Ursus 13:127-136 (2002)

background or methods

Food habits of Malayan sun bears in lowland tropical forest of Borneo

The conversion and loss of primary rainforest in Southeast Asia is presumed to affect many animal assemblages in terms of their diversity and species composition. We studied the responses of non-volant small mammals to forest loss and degradation caused by logging and the establishment of large-scale oil palm plantations located in the north-eastern part of Borneo in Southeast Asia. We found that habitat types (forest versus plantation) were important determinant of species occurrences and assemblage compositions. However, within forest habitats irrespective of whether logged or unlogged, similarities in assemblage compositions of sites close to each other underline the importance of geographic distance in shaping small mammal assemblages. In terms of conservation management, it is imperative to incorporate the size and overall surrounding environment of a forest into forest management concepts, and although not equivalent to areas of primary forest, old regenerating secondary forest needs to be considered as an important component for the preservation of small mammal species diversity. In contrast, oil palm plantations are clearly of little or no importance for the conservation of the non-volant small mammal fauna and this habitat may also act as an effective barrier to the dispersal of the small mammals.

background

https://bioone.org/journals/mammal-study/volume-34/issue-2/041.034.0204/A-Case-Study-on-the-Effects-of-Disturbance-and-Conversion/10.3106/041.034.0204.pdf

A Case Study on the Effects of Disturbance and Conversion of Tropical Lowland Rain Forest on the Non-Volant Small Mammals in North Borneo: Management Implications

In this thesis I describe the social organization, infant care system, and diet of the slow loris Nycticebus coucang, a nocturnal arboreal prosimian primate, in the Malaysian rainforest. Data collected are locational data obtained during 1,000 h of radio-tracking slow lorises, behavioral data from visually observing radio-collared individuals, morphometric data, and records on food remains from fecal analysis. Though close-range encounters were very rare, I observed slow lorises to form stable social units ('social groups') characterized by home range overlap and friendly interactions among members and nonoverlap between groups. Four groups were observed, each consisting of a single adult female, a single adult male and a varying number of younger individuals. Group composition, together with relatively small testis volume and natal dispersal occuring in both sexes, hints towards a monogamous mating system. In one case an extended family group formed by delayed dispersal of a primary pair's offspring. Friendly interactions among group members included allogrooming, following, alternate click-calls, and sleeping in contact. Yet, members did not engage in any co-operative behaviour of the types usually thought to be responsible for group formation in gregarious mammals. One important factor contributing to the sharing of space between slow lorises is probably that chances of successful dispersal are low. However, subtle benefits arising from the presence of conspecifics (allogrooming, transfer of information on food resources) may also be crucial for the formation or maintenance of slow loris spatial groups. The infant care system was also notable for the very low frequency of direct encounters between animals. Active maternal care seemed to be limited to carrying the young to the sleeping place and regular suckling, and grooming of the infant. Non-maternal infant care appeared to be restricted to occasional infant grooming and infant carrying. It has been suggested that young lorises depend on their mothers for information on diet and that they obtain this information by watching their mothers feeding or interacting directly with their mothers over food. I tested this hypothesis on a group including one infant and four older individuals. The infant of the focus group only took food items to the mouth which were also part of its social group's diet and showed concordance in the frequency of use of feeding sites with other members of its group. These results speak against diet learning by trial and error. They indicate that diet learning by infants probably does depend on information obtained from older conspecifics. However, the infant of the focus group was not involved in direct interactions with conspecifics over food and fed mostly alone. It was not within a distance where it could see older conspecifics feeding more often than expected from the configuration and utilization of the individuals` home ranges. When feeding in vicinity of other slow lorises the infant never looked at them. This suggests that, contrary…

Behavior and Ecology of Wild Slow Lorises (Nycticebus coucang): Social Organization, Infant Care System, and Diet

/pdf/the-wild-mammals-of-malaya-peninsula-malaysia-and-singapore-1tsjgwlumd.pdf

The Wild Mammals of Malaya (Peninsula Malaysia) and Singapore , by Lord Medway. Oxford UP.

Citations

Old world fruit bats : an action plan for their conservation

Ungulate frugivores and the browser-grazer continuum

Food habits of Malayan sun bears in lowland tropical forest of Borneo

A Case Study on the Effects of Disturbance and Conversion of Tropical Lowland Rain Forest on the Non-Volant Small Mammals in North Borneo: Management Implications

Behavior and Ecology of Wild Slow Lorises (Nycticebus coucang): Social Organization, Infant Care System, and Diet

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Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore by W. A. Fleming

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