Mewa Singh

• University of Mysore

Habitat degradation poses a critical threat to the Malabar slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus), yet little is known about its microhabitat requirements in intact forest. In Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, we combined nocturnal trail surveys (337 first-contact trees) with plotless sampling of 2,830 trees (86 species from 35 families) to chara...

Primates in fragmented habitats show behavioural flexibility and adaptive changes in response to ecological challenges in the search for food resources within their home range. Nilgiri langurs (NL, Semnopithecus johnii), endemic to the Western Ghats, face anthropogenic pressures, including habitat modifications. To understand its behavioural profil...

An overlap of ranges of Nilgiri langurs (Semnopithecus johnii Fischer, 1829) and tufted gray langurs (Semnopithecus priam Blyth, 1844) in the Western Ghats resulted in the formation of mixed-species groups (MSGs) with a notable presence of brown morphs and significant changes in group composition and population dynamics. Our study investigated the...

Understanding how mammals respond to climate change is critical for predicting future biogeographic shifts and implementing effective conservation strategies. In this study, we applied MaxEnt modeling to identify key determinants of the distribution of the Malabar slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus), a nocturnal primate endemic to the W...

Studies on vertebrate feeding among macaques are rare, except for the southern pig-tailed macaque. In this study, we present two instances of bonnet macaques consuming vertebrate meat in a semi-evergreen forest in Wayanad. This marks the first report of a free-ranging bonnet macaque feeding on a bird and the first report of any vertebrate consumpti...

Because of the universal decline in biodiversity, it is important to map and assess the populations of the endangered species, especially those endemic to small regions, in their remaining wild habitats. With the main focus on the distribution and habitat suitability of the endangered lion-tailed macaque, Macaca silenus, we carried out a survey on...

Time-activity budget and pattern of habitat use are basic tools to understand an animal’s interaction with its environment. We studied a primarily commensal group of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) with 22 individuals in the Great Nicobar Island of India at Campbell Bay. Data on the frequency and duration of different activities...

Preconsumptive food processing is broadly defined as the preparation of food for ingestion by removal of inedible portions through oral, manual, or technical means. Food processing consists of removing husks and skins, cracking shells, washing or cleaning, and eliminating unpalatable portions, which may include structural defenses such as trichomes...

A mixed-species group is formed due to an increase in close association among individuals of different species. Such groups also possibility of having diversity in size, phenotypic similarities and differences, and contrasting morphologies compared to the original species. We studied inter-individual variations in external morphology and social str...

Due to the threats posed by changes in land-use patterns to many species, it is necessary to have a proper description of the distribution of a range-limited species. We aimed to assess the spatial distribution and social organization of Nilgiri langurs, and to model the potential distribution of mixed-species groups of Nilgiri and Hanuman langurs...

The ability to manipulate objects enables macaques to utilize resources well. Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is one such food that has high energy and nutrient value but requires complex motor skills for extraction. In this study, we examined theproficiency of a single group of Macaca fascicularis umbrosus from Campbell Bay, India, in feeding on differen...

Habitat suitability difference between sexes results in sex-specific dispersal. Although this behaviour is one of the key factors in understanding population dynamics, there are limited studies to evaluate it in arboreal species. We studied the distribution of the Indian Giant Squirrel (IGS; Ratufa indica maxima) from a sex perspective. We also eva...

The information on selection of nesting habitat and nest directionality for arboreal species is crucial in developing conservation and management plan for the species. We studied the factors which affect the nesting habitat selection and the nest orientation by using the quadrat sampling method in Nelliyampathy Reserve Forest, Kerala. A total of 11...

The information on selection of nesting habitat and nest directionality for arboreal species is crucial in developing conservation and management plan for the species. We studied the factors which affect the nesting habitat selection and the nest orientation by using the quadrat sampling method in Nelliyampathy Reserve Forest, Kerala. A total of 11...

This study investigates the patterns of reproduction and the distribution of group sizes in the global historical captive population of the lion-tailed macaque. It is based on the species' international studbook. We analyzed individual reproductive output, infant mortality, group sizes and transfers of individuals as determinants of the development...

An updated list confirms the presence of 134 species of wild mammals in the Western Ghats, India. The superimposed distribution range of all, and threatened species of mammals depicts the potential mammalian key diversity areas for the Western Ghats, which can be prioritized for long-term conservation. These mammalian key diversity areas are confin...

Trade of wildlife for use in traditional medicines, rituals, magical spells and cultural practices occurs globally and has been studied mostly in Africa and Asia. The grey slender loris Loris lydekkerianus is used for both medicinal and ritual purposes, but little information is available on how the user is meant to extract their medicinal properti...

Objectives: How a species uses its anatomical manipulators is determined by its anatomy, physiology, and ecology. While ecology explains interspecific variation in gripping, grasping, and manipulating objects, its role in intraspecific variation in mouth- and hand-use by animals is less explored. Primates are distinguished by their prehensile capa...

Based on the recent international studbook, we here investigate the history and development of the global captive population of the Endangered lion-tailed macaque. Of particular interest is whether the development and management of the population has contributed to its persistence as a reserve population for the conservation of the species. Of the...

Changes in the habitat can drive the species to adapt to the changing environment that may lead to a risk of infection and the emergence of diseases. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites (henceforth endo-parasites) in a species is an indicator of changing habitat conditions, and the study of the same is important when the species is restric...

Rapid urbanization exerts novel adaptive pressures on animals at the interface of natural and altered environments. Urban animals often rely on synthetic foods that require skilled extraction and flexible processing. We studied how synthetic treatment of an embedded food, peanut, determined its extraction and processing across groups of bonnet maca...

The study reports accentuated hand use during foraging in synanthropic primates driven by characteristics of provisioned resources in urban conditions. The findings corroborate anthropogenic effects on synanthropic animals in imperceivable but acute ways.

The Slender Loris in India includes two subspecies, the Mysore Slender Loris and the Malabar Slender Loris, with unidentified populations at overlapping ranges of the subspecies. Prior to 1996, the knowledge on Indian lorises was mostly limited to laboratory studies, or some anecdotes from the wild. Since late 1990, several intensive field studies...

For conservation breeding, the endangered Lion-tailed Macaques have been maintained in North America under SSP since 1983 and in Europe under EEP since 1989. Based on a growing interest to support the species long-term survival, the SSP population increased considerably during the first few years of the programme but due to space problems and resul...

IUCN status of Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque

In primates, males compete for a mate, which is a non-sharable resource. This makes the conditions less conducive for males to have stable relationships. One such special kind of relationship is a bond where the interactions are reciprocated, equitable and differentiated. Bonds in macaque societies are based on the degree of within-group contest co...

India harbors a wide diversity of primates with 24 species that include lorises, macaques, langurs and gibbons. Systematic research on the primates in India started about 60 years ago. In order to develop a historical perspective, we recognize three broad phases of primate research: largely natural history and base line research, primarily behavior...

Local ecological conditions on islands and their situational derivatives often lead primates with high sensorimotor intelligence to exploit embedded foods through extractive foraging. Coconuts are one such embedded resource, but covered by two protective layers-a thick fibrous husk (mesocarp) and a woody shell (endocarp)-that harden with maturity m...

Local ecological conditions on islands and their situational derivatives often lead primates with high sensorimotor intelligence to exploit embedded foods through extractive foraging. Coconuts are one such embedded resource, but covered by two protective layers-a thick fibrous husk (mesocarp) and a woody shell (endocarp)-that harden with maturity m...

Adaptive pressures of human-induced rapid environmental changes and insular ecological conditions have led to behavioral innovations among behaviorally flexible nonhuman primates. Documenting long-term responses of threatened populations is vital for our understanding of species and location-specific adaptive capacities under fluctuating equilibriu...

Nilgiri langur

IUCN Fact sheet

Lion-tailed macaque

Increased occupation of primate habitats by humans has forced primates into close contact with their settlements and crops. We conducted a survey with the island settlers on Great Nicobar Island to investigate the conflict between farmers and Nicobar long-tailed macaques. The conflict may have increased following the 2004 tsunami due to the co-depe...

Precise knowledge of a species’ habitat requirements is essential for its conservation. Very little information exists on the habitat requirements of the Malabar slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus), a nocturnal primate, making it difficult to formulate conservation action plans. The goal of this study was to evaluate the ecological dete...

Primates maintain social bonds with specific individuals in the group by directing grooming toward them. Social grooming is often targeted toward individuals with whom the most benefits can be exchanged, which are usually the high-ranking individuals. We used the Seyfarth model to investigate whether dominance rank alters the distribution of groomi...

Precise knowledge of a species’ habitat requirements is essential for its conservation. Very little information exists on the habitat requirements of the Malabar slender loris, a nocturnal primate, in the wild, making it difficult to come up with conservation action plans. The goal of the present study is to establish the ecological determinants of...

Precise knowledge of a species’ habitat requirements is essential for its conservation. Very little information exists on the habitat requirements of the Malabar slender loris, a nocturnal primate, in the wild, making it difficult to come up with conservation action plans. The goal of the present study is to establish the ecological determinants of...

Species conservation depends on the needs of the species concerned. For example, obligatory forest-dwelling and typically urban primate species require different conservation approaches. Here, I compare the ecology, life history, and behavior of two species of macaques in southern India; review what we know about the conservation challenges for eac...

A rank changeover is a sexual strategy by primate males to gain access to reproductive females. We observed one such event in the Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) at the Great Nicobar Island, India. In the three and half months of the post-rank changeover period, the home range reduced significantly while there was no chan...

A shift or expansion of the realized niche at different life stages is often ignored while implementing conservation actions. We tested whether habitat extent and associations at different life stages of two sympatric primate species belonging to the same taxonomic family vary with respect to their dietary requirements. We expected the groups and s...

Existing models of attachment do not explain how death of offspring affects maternal behavior. Previous descriptions of maternal responsiveness to dead offspring in nonhuman anthropoids have not expounded the wide variation of deceased-infant carrying (DIC) behavior. Through the current study, we attempt to (a) identify determinants of DIC through...

Detailed mapping and regular monitoring of tropical rainforests is important for conservation and management of highly fragmented tropical rainforest habitats and biodiversity. Several studies have observed that it is highly challenging to map different vegetation types in tropical rainforests due to large environmental heterogeneity, high topograp...

INTRODUCTION The Malabar Slender Loris, Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus, are primitive prosimians endemic to the Western Ghats. Most of the information available has discussed its morphology parameters, reproduction in captivity and distribution. Research on ecology and behavior has been minimal. They have been classified as Near Threatened (IU...

Developmental activities have been one of the major drivers of conversion of natural forest areas into mosaics of forest fragments, agriculture, and plantations, threatening the existence of wildlife species in such altered landscapes. Most conservation research and actions are protected area centric and seldom addresses the importance of landscape...

Group living primates often participate in between-group encounters to defend monopolizable resources. Participation in an encounter is influenced by the density and abundance of resources and the relative fighting ability of groups. We studied between-group encounters in three groups of Nicobar long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) i...

Macaques possess a repertoire of extractive foraging techniques that range from complex manipulation to tool-aided behaviors, to access food items that increase their foraging efficiency substantially. However, the complexity and composition of such techniques vary considerably between species and even between populations. In the present study, we...

The Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus) is confined to the southern and central Nicobar archipelago. We have collected demographic and birth data for five groups of M. f. umbrosus to understand their group structure, demography and breeding seasonality. Group size, individuals in age- sex classes and age-sex ratio did not var...

Studies that compare differences in the behavioural variability across species and genera are rare among south Asian primates. Such studies are important for understanding within-group feeding competition in primates as interindividual difference in frequency of behaviour is a good indicator of feeding competition. We compared the variability in in...

The populations of many species that are widespread and commensal with humans have been drastically declining during the past few decades, but little attention has been paid to their conservation. Here, we report the status of the bonnet macaque, a species that is considered ‘least-concern’ for conservation. We show that the widely ranging rhesus m...

Detection of bonnet macaque and independent variables at Parambikulam. (XLSX)

Predicted species response to each covariate for bonnet macaque. (DOCX)

Detection probability for bonnet macaque. (DOCX)

Model for occupancy for bonnet macaque at Parambikulam. (DOCX)

Bonnet macaque sightings, their demography and land use characteristics on each road sectors of Mysore. (XLSX)

Group size of M. radiata and M. mullata. (DOCX)

Primates and non-primates inhabiting tropical forests may interact with each other since they coexist in the same communities. Primates usually interact with their prey, predators, competitors and neutral species. Using 'all occurrence' sampling, we have studied inter-specific interactions of lion-tailed macaques with non-primate species found in t...

Life history traits evolve such that the reproductive output of an organism is maximized. Demographic characteristics, a consequence of life history traits, indicate the reproductive output per individual in group-living species. Both phylogenetic and ecological factors influence demographic traits. In the forests of the Western Ghats, India, we stu...

A consequence of the ‘gold rush’-like hunch for humanlike handedness in non-human primates has been that researchers have been continually analysing observations at the level of the population, ignoring the analysis at the level of an individual and, consequently, have potentially missed revelations on the forms and functions of manual asymmetries....

Our study investigates how the “fission-fusion-adapted” bonobos and Bornean orangutans manage social relationships when kept in stable groups. The bonobos and orangutans did not differ in the overall frequency of dyadic interactions. The orangutans evidently realized a potential to interact with partners which on a surface did not differ from what...

Natural disasters pose a threat to isolated populations of species with restricted distributions, especially those inhabiting islands. The Nicobar long tailed macaque.Macaca fascicularis umbrosus, is one such species found in the three southernmost islands (viz. Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal) of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, Indi...

Details of the trail survey conducted. (XLSX)

Laterally asymmetrical movements are ubiquitous among organisms. A bilaterally symmetrical organism cannot maneuver through a two- or three-dimensional space unless and until one side of its body leads, because the forces that cause the movements of the body are generated within the body. One question follows: are there any costs or benefits of lat...

The colubrid genus, Dryocalamus BOULENGER 1893, currently comprises six species of Bridal/Bridled Snakes that are distributed across various regions of southeastern Asia (DE SILVA 1990; SHARMA 2004; WHITTAKER & CAPTAIN 2004). The status of five species has been assessed by IUCN (IUCN 2013). Two, namely, D. gracilis (GUNTHER 1864) and D. nympha (DAU...

Genetic isolation of populations is a potent force that helps shape the course of evolution. However, small populations in isolation, especially in fragmented landscapes, are known to lose genetic variability, suffer from inbreeding depression and become genetically differentiated among themselves. In this study, we assessed the genetic diversity o...

Genetic isolation of populations is a potent force that helps shape the course of evolution. However, small populations in isolation, especially in fragmented landscapes, are known to lose genetic variability, suffer from inbreeding depression and become genetically differentiated among themselves. In this study, we assessed the genetic diversity o...

When animals or groups of animals in their wild habitats come close to each other within a defined distance, it is termed as an association. Observing two groups of the lion-tailed macaque at Nelliyampathy and Andiparai forests of the Western Ghats of India, we asked whether the lion-tailed macaque associations with the sympatric Nilgiri langur and...

Folivory, being a dietary constraint, can affect the social time of colobines. In the present study, we compared food items and activity budgets of two closely related species of colobines inhabiting South India, i.e. the Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus hypoleucos) and Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii), to determine whether folivory had an impact...

Many captive populations of birds and mammals are not likely to reach sustainability due mostly to breeding problems. Identifying the conditions under which breeding problems and poor population growth are likely to occur and establishing more appropriate conditions, therefore, will be a necessary prerequisite for future successful conservation bre...

Lion-tailed macaques are generally considered to have more despotic than egalitarian dominance relationships; however, research lacks any conclusive evidence. In the present study, we examined dominance relationships among the females (of which the genealogical relationships were known) of a captive female-only group of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca...

Lateral asymmetries in body, brain, and cognition are ubiquitous among organisms. Asymmetries in motor-action patterns are a central theme of investigation, among others, as they are likely to have shaped primate evolution, and more specifically, their motor dexterity. Using an adaptationist approach one would argue that these asymmetries were evol...

A casual appraisal of our higher education system as prevailing in the country's thousands of colleges and hundreds of conventional universities, clearly reveals that research, at the level of students, is considered to be carried out by 'research scholars', that is, Ph D students. Occasionally , some Master's degree programmes do include a 'disser...

A practical approach to understanding lateral asymmetries in body, brain, and cognition would be to examine the performance advantages/disadvantages associated with the corresponding functions and behavior. In the present study, we examined whether the division of labor in hand usage, marked by the preferential usage of the two hands across manual...

A consequence of the ‘gold rush’ like hunch for human-like handedness in non-human primates has been that researchers have been continually analyzing observations at the level of the population, ignoring the analysis at the level of an individual and, consequently, have potentially missed revelations on the forms and functions of manual asymmetries...

A practical approach to understanding lateral asymmetries in body, brain, and cognition would be to examine the performance advantages/disadvantages associated with the corresponding functions and behavior. In the present study, we examined whether the division of labor in hand usage, marked by the preferential usage of the two hands across manual...

In the absence of information on species in decline with contracting ranges, management should emphasize remaining populations and protection of their habitats. Threatened by anthropogenic pressure including habitat degradation and loss, sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) in India have become limited in range, habitat, and population size. We identifie...

There are two major theories that attempt to explain hand preference in non-human primates-the 'task complexity' theory and the 'postural origins' theory. In the present study, we proposed a third hypothesis to explain the evolutionary origin of hand preference in non-human primates, stating that it could have evolved owing to structural and functi...

The status of the endemic and endangered lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) has not been properly assessed in several regions of the Western Ghats of southern India. We conducted a study in Parambikulam Forest Reserve in the state of Kerala to determine the distribution, demography, and status of lion-tailed macaques. We laid 5km(2) grid cells on...

The distribution and availability of food was examined to see how it influenced ranging patterns and sleeping site selection in a group of lion-tailed macaques. The home range and core area were 130.48 ha (95 % kernel) and 26.68 ha (50 % kernel) respectively. The lion-tailed macaques had a longer day range, had a greater number of sleeping sites an...

Between-group encounters are an obvious outcome of intergroup competition. Between-group encounters in primates range from avoidance to fatally aggressive. The prevailing hypotheses explain such encounters as mate defense strategy by males and resource defense strategy by females. However, the rate and nature of between-group encounters may also be...

Male takeover and infanticide are a widespread phenomenon among non-human primates, observed mostly in species with a relatively longer lactation in relation to gestation. In this study, we report for the first time an episode of male takeover and infanticide, and the rarely reported occurrence of an all-male band and female dispersal, in Nilgiri l...

GUEST EDITORIAL Our backyard wildlife: Challenges in coexisting with uneasy neighbours Our society faces some serious challenges and we are primed to think that there are always some administrative solutions to them. A careful analysis shows that socially relevant science can tackle such challenges. We discuss one such issue involving science, soci...

Primates exhibit laterality in hand usage either in terms of (a) hand with which an individual solves a task or while solving a task that requires both hands, executes the most complex action, that is, "hand preference," or (b) hand with which an individual executes actions most efficiently, that is, "hand performance." Observations from previous s...

There can be several factors that are likely to have played a role in the evolution of hand preference in humans and non-human primates, which the existing theories do not consider. There exists a possibility that hand preference in non-human primates evolved from the pre-existing lateralities in more elementary brain functions and behavior, or alt...

We encountered Bibron’s Coral Snake Calliophis bibroni (Jan 1858; Beddome 1864; Boulenger 1896) at Nelliyampathy (10° 25'–10° 30' N, 76° 35'–76° 45' E) at an elevation of 1,050 m adjoining the buffer area of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Kerala. The snakes were identified by their dark dorsal coloration, orange-red bands, and characteristic h...

Non-human primate populations, other than responding appropriately to naturally occurring challenges, also need to cope with anthropogenic factors such as environmental pollution, resource depletion, and habitat destruction. Populations and individuals are likely to show considerable variations in food extraction abilities, with some populations an...

Phenological studies help to analyze resource abundance and feeding ecology of some herbivorous primate species. The rainforest between the rivers Aghnashini and Sharavathy in Karnataka, India, is one of the richest primate habitats in the country. Plant resource availability was studied in this forest using belt transect and plot methods. More tha...