THE FACTORS DETERMINING THE DIFFERENTIAL HABITAT USE BY SYMPATRIC PRIMATES: THE CASE OF SOUTHERN ASSAM, INDIA

The southern Assam of India falls in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and harbors eight species of non-human primates. Of late, extensive deforestation for tea plantations, Jhum cultivation, and developmental activities have devastated much of their natural habitats. As a result, many primates now inhabit tea gardens, secondary forests, and human habitations. While habitat characterization has been done for these primates, small scale variation in habitat use, extent of habitat overlap, degree of tolerance to human disturbances, and the use of transition zones between different habitat types remains poorly known. In the present study, we report on differences in habitat use by four sympatric non-human primates, viz., Capped Langur, Phayre's Langur, Hoolock Gibbon, and Rhesus Macaque from Shahapur of southern Assam. The four primates inhabit and utilize resources from different habitat types, despite being sympatric. The potential factors influencing these differences have been found to be tree density, canopy cover and human disturbances, in addition to troop size, mode of locomotion and mutual tolerance. The study may be useful in understanding the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on the behavior and ecology of primates, as well as specific habitat requirements of the four primates, and thereby, in formulating a long-term conservation action plan.