We studied the diet and food choice of 1 group of François’ langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) from August 2003 to July 2004 in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, Guangxi province, China. The langurs consumed 90 plant species, including 14 unidentified species. Leaves constituted 52.8% of the diet (38.9% young leaves and 13.9% mature leaves). Fruits and seeds accounted for 17.2% and 14.2%, respectively. Flowers and other items—including petioles, stems, roots, and bark—contributed to 7.5% and 7.4% of the diet, respectively. The langur diet varied according to season. They fed on more young leaves from April to September. Consumption of seeds, petioles, and stems increased between October and March, when young leaves were scarce. The diet shift corresponded to higher dietary diversity during the young leaf-lean period. Though the langurs fed on many plant species, 10 species accounted for 62.2% of the diet, only 2 of which were among the 10 most common tree species in vegetation quadrants, and the percentage of feeding records on a plant species and the percentage of individuals of the species in vegetation quadrants does not correlate significantly. François’ langurs fed selectively, and they did not base their diet simply on the abundance of plant species in the habitat.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project was financially supported by Key Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (30230080), National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (30125006) to Dr. Wei F-W, and BP Conservation Programme (Bronze Award, 2003, UK). We thank Huang H-S, Liu S-Y, Wang X and Bai J-Y for assistance in the field, Prof. Shu Z-M (Guangxi Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for identifying plant specimens, and Dr. Ren B-P for helpful suggestions for field work. The Guangxi Forestry Bureau and Nonggang Nature Reserve Administration Bureau provided much assistance for this project. We thank Mr. C. Groves for his assistance with language editing. We also acknowledge the critical comments of 2 anonymous reviewers and the careful editorial work of Dr. R. H. Tuttle.
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Zhou, Q., Wei, F., Li, M. et al. Diet and Food Choice of Trachypithecus francoisi in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, China. Int J Primatol 27, 1441–1460 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-006-9082-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-006-9082-8