温带地区分布的灵长类动物在食物匮乏的时候容易受到食物不足的胁迫。川金丝猴就是分布于温带区域的灵长类动物之一,因此在不同的季节,食物对其有不同程度的影响。神农架自然保护区是川金丝猴分布的最东缘,该地区的研究对川金丝猴的保护有着非常重要的影响。本文通过对神农架川金丝猴食源植物和栖息环境的植被调查,来探讨食物的分布和丰富程度对川金丝猴的影响。在神农架川金丝猴分布的核心地区,选择具有代表性的植被类型,按照海拔梯度设置88个样方,基于优势树种和数据分析,我们把川金丝猴的栖息地划分为12个类型。阔叶林的食源植物种类要高于针阔混交林;而低海拔的类型中提供食源植物的种类要高于高海拔类型。尽管川金丝猴的食谱范围很广,但是它喜食的食物种类分布极不均匀,而且在其不同类型的栖息地内,食源植物的种类和数量随着季节的变化而变化。因此,季节的变化和食源植物的分布不均衡都会影响川金丝猴的取食行为和时间分配。我们建议借助人为改造森林结构,增加食源植物的数量,进而达到保护和扩大川金丝猴种群的目的。
Primates living in temperate regions often suffer from dietary stress during periods of food scarcity. The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey( Rhinopithecus roxellana) lives in such a region. In the present study,we investigated vegetation and dietary plant species in habitats of R. roxellana at Qianjiaping in the Shennongjia Nature Reserve( SNR) in western Hubei Province,China,which is the eastern boundary of the range of the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. We present data on food composition and abundance in relation to the monkey's habitat choices. We chose critical and representative vegetation in Qianjiaping,outlined 88 plots with an elevation gradient,and collected floristic data from 2010 to 2012. Based on dominant tree species,we divided the habitats into 12 types. Broadleaf forests contained more diet species for R. roxellana than conifer-broadleaf forests,and did habitats at lower elevation provided more dietary species than did those at higher elevation.Although R. roxellana are capable of eating many plant species,its preferred food plants were distributed unevenly among its habitats,and the quantity and composition of diet plants varied seasonally. We therefore suggest improving forest structure for the monkey by cultivating its preferred food plants,such as Euonymus spp.,Malus spp.,and Crataegus spp.,or by controlled logging.