Keywords :
human disturbance,
nocturnal primate,
Nycticebus bengalensis
บทคัดย่อ :
Primate survival in disturbed forests can be governed by a complex of forest variables.
For nocturnal arboreal primates, determining these ecological features is notoriously
difficult but is critically important for their conservation. Here we assessed the effects
of forest type, food availability, human disturbance, and forest structure on the
nocturnal Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in Sakaerat Biosphere, north-east
Thailand, a small disturbed fragment containing dry evergreen, dry dipterocarp, and
plantation forests. Distance sampling revealed plantation forest had the highest
density estimate (27 loris/km2
) followed by dry evergreen forest (17 loris/km2
), while
dry dipterocarp forest only had four detections. Based on forest type selection
analyses, loris had a positive association with sap and fruit-flower productivity which
was highest in plantation forest compared to the natural dry evergreen or dry
dipterocarp forests. Furthermore, forest structure selection analysis indicated loris
preferred denser canopies. Loris presence was positively associated with canopy
height, canopy connections, tree trunk vegetation cover, and canopy density. The
higher loris density found in the plantations, as also reported by other studies, was
associated with dense vegetation structure and higher food productivity, particularly
sap. However, the important structural features found in the plantation forest are
strongly dependent on forest maturity, and the reduced longevity of such exotic tree
species may limit the conservation importance of plantation forest, merely acting as a
short-term alternative to natural habitat.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Oliver, K., Ngoprasert, D., & Savini, T. (2019). Slow loris density in a fragmented, disturbed dry forest, north-east Thailand. American journal of primatology, 81(3), e22957.
