FEEDING ECOLOGY OF THE LONG-TAILED MACAQUE (MACACA-FASCICULARIS) IN KALIMANTAN-TENGAH, INDONESIA

I studied long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) feeding behavior a nd ecology as part of a larger behavioral ecological study at the Nata i Lengkuas Station, Tanjung Puting National Park, Kalimantan Tengah, I ndonesia. I collected data on feeding behavior via scan sampling of al l visible individuals in the focal group (approximately 800 observatio n hours). I established vegetational plots and monitored them monthly to determine food availability and abundance. I found long-tailed maca ques to be primarily frugivorous; leaves, flowers, insects and bark pr ovided the remainder of the diet. They used at least 33 plant species as food sources, but >60% of the diet was provided by only 5 species. Based on previous vegetational analyses, these tree species were among the highest in relative density. However, selection ratios for 19 foo d species indicate that 13 of them were selected more often than expec ted. Long-tailed macaques appear to be selective feeders but can explo it a variety of food sources during periods of food scarcity.