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Western Purple-faced Langurs (Semnopithecus vetulus nestor) Feed on Ripe and Ripening Fruits in Human-modified Environments in Sri Lanka

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A Commentary to this article was published on 29 July 2015

An Erratum to this article was published on 12 July 2012

Abstract

Although most colobines feed mainly on leaves and a few feed heavily on seeds, colobine digestive adaptations for folivory are thought to preclude the high use of ripe fleshy fruits. In this long-term study of Semnopithecus vetulus nestor, the endemic western purple-faced langur of Sri Lanka, I investigated the feeding ecology and dietary flexibility for fruit feeding in 2 free-ranging groups (PT1 and R1) living in human-modified environments with abundant cultivated fruit, at Panadura and Piliyandala, for 19 mo and 13 mo respectively, using scan-sampling, vegetation enumeration, and phenological studies. In contrast to folivorous forest-living colobines, including other subspecies of Semnopithecus vetulus, my focal groups used more fruit (>50%) than foliage (PT1: 36%; R1: 34%). Both groups used many plant species (PT1 115; R1 59), but selected their food species, fruits over leaves, and young leaves over mature leaves. Fruit use was independent of young leaf availability. Notably, 78.4% and 83.4% of fruits consumed by PT1 and R1 were fleshy and human-edible, most of which were ripening or ripe (PT1: 72.4%; R1: 94.8%). The main fruit for both groups was Artocarpus heterophyllus (Moraceae; jakfruit), a cultivar with fleshy fruit. These findings differ from previous understanding of colobine diets. I suggest that environmental factors, such as the abundance and nature of available fruits, and the absence of arboreal-primate fruit competitors, could influence the use of ripe fleshy fruits by colobines strongly, highlighting the need to review the dietary and digestive flexibility of this group in changed and changing natural environments to formulate effective conservation action.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for the feeding study was provided by the Natural Resources Energy and Science Authority of Sri Lanka (presently the National Science Foundation) through Grant MAB/85/1. I am deeply grateful to the late Mr. L. de Alwis and Prof S. W. Kotagama for the help given for me to secure funds and their support. I offer special thanks to my chief Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. W. P. J. Dittus, for advice and critical comments, and to Mr. Leslie Wijesinghe, the late Prof. W. R. Breckenridge, and the late Dr. R. P. Jayawardena for their encouragement when it was most needed. I also thank the Public Trustee and the manager and staff of the Regidale Estate for permission to conduct this work at Piliyandala, and all householders who allowed me to conduct this research. I thank my dedicated field assistants: Ms. M. L. Soma Perera, Jane Nona, Aslin, and Badra. Special thanks are due to Ms. Neela de Zoysa-Simon for identification of plant specimens; Ms. Gayathree Jayasinghe for statistical advice and data entry; Ms. Piyandani Dissanayake, Ms. Anne Moldrich, and the late Ms. Vasumathi Somasundaram for help with data entry; and Ms. Elaine Wijesinha for patient help with checking data tables. I am grateful for comments in relation to future publications by my Ph.D. examiner, Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, and for comments on this paper from Dr. Peter Fashing and an anonymous reviewer. I thank Dr. Joanna Setchell for very constructive editorial suggestions. I also thank Primate Conservation Incorporated, The Ministry of Environment (Sri Lanka), and MathHydropower (Pvt) Limited for supporting the range survey of Semnopithecus vetulus nestor, and the Forest Department of Sri Lanka for help with forest surveys, which provided valuable insight on feeding habits throughout the range of the western purple-faced langur.

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  1. Probe for Nature (Pvt) Limited, 45, Goonetilleke Mawatha, Etambagoda, Panadura, Sri Lanka

    Jinie D. S. Dela

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Jinie D. S. Dela is a visiting academic of the Open University of Sri Lanka.

A comment to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10764-015-9838-0.

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Dela, J.D.S. Western Purple-faced Langurs (Semnopithecus vetulus nestor) Feed on Ripe and Ripening Fruits in Human-modified Environments in Sri Lanka. Int J Primatol 33, 40–72 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-011-9538-3

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