User:Jonathan.diamantstein/Rhesus macaque

Rhesus macaques are generalist omnivores, and have a highly varied and flexible diet. With an increase in anthropogenic land changes, rhesus macaques have evolved alongside intense and rapid environmental disturbance associated with human agriculture and urbanization resulting in proportions of their diet to be altered.

The urban success of the species provides an excellent opportunity for studies of the traits that allow for successful coevolution of a species with human societies, as well as the impact of urban environments and contemporary diets on physiology, health and ecological functions.

Distribution and habitat
They adapt well to human presence, and form larger troops in human-dominated landscapes than in forests. Rhesus monkeys occupy forest patches embedded in a mosaic of forest-agriculture landscapes, where shrubs can provide a buffer zone for their crop-raiding like the role of grassland, where it gives them access to agroecosystem habitats and makes them at ease in navigating through them.

Kumar et al (2013) provides a summary of population distribution and habitat in India. It states that there were sightings of rhesus macaques in all surveyed habitats except semi-evergreen forests. The article further discusses the role of habitat plays on population distribution, stating that of the "103 located troops of this species 42.7% were observed in rural localities, 39.8% in forested areas and 17.5% in urban areas". Looking closely at the differences between anthropogenic and natural habitats Macaque troops in naturally forested locations occurred along the distribution boundary of the species. The population distribution was "51.3% in Western / Central India, and 48.7% in the South-Eastern peninsula". Whereas in anthropogenic habitats "83.7% of the troops were seen in South-Eastern India, and approximately 6.2% of the troop in Western and Central areas".

Human Rhesus Macaque Conflict
The Macaque–human relationships is complex and culturally specific, ranging from relatively peaceful coexistence to extreme levels of conflict. The relationship between rhesus macaques and humans is in constant change, with conflict being shaped by historic changes in social and cultural practices. The changing perceptions of nature and human-nature relationships is influenced by larger political-economic decisions. When looking at conflict between humans and rhesus macaques there lacks an integrative approach that draws upon multiple fields to provide a more holistic understanding of the emergence and evolution of this conflict. Conflicts can be as a result of  rapidly changing agricultural practices, increasing infrastructure to support urbanisation, and emerging economic activities (e.g., tourism, food processing etc.) requiring more clearing of land including forests, and rising numbers of rhesus macaques. The issue is multi-dimensional and has a direct connection to overall economic policy – more specifically the relationship among agricultural, forest, and land use policies. Deeply understanding factors relating to conflict is all the more critical in an uncertain and unpredictable future of climate change that is likely to increase the vulnerability of fragile mountain ecosystems and marginal communities. Conflict between Rhesus Macaques and humans is at all time high, with areas once forested habitat being converted to industrial agriculture. Specifically looking at Nepal, this process has increased urban infrastructure such as housing and roads that increasingly fragment forest ecosystems. The expansion of monocultures, increased forest fragmentation, degradation of natural habitats, and changing agricultural practices have led to a significant increase in the frequency of human-macaque conflict .Crop raiding is one of the biggest visible effects of Human-Rhesus conflict occurring where Rhesus Macaque feed on growing crops that directly effected harvest size, and crop health with corn, and rice. The estimated financial cost to individual farmer households of macaque corn and rice raiding is approximately US$ 14.9 or 4.2% of their yearly income .This has resulted in farmers and other members of the population viewing macaques inhabiting agricultural landscapes as serious crop pests .Nepal is a significant study area with almost 44% of Nepal's land area containing suitable habitat for rhesus macaques but only having 8% of such suitable area being protected national parks. As well the rating of Rhesus macaques as the top ten crop-raiding wildlife species in Nepal adds to such negative perception. Studying crop raiding behaviour is essential to developing effective strategies to manage human-macaque conflict while promoting both primate conservation and the economic well-being of the local community. It is stated that the human-macaque conflict is one of the most critical challenges faced by wildlife managers. Suggestions to mitigate conflict include "prioritizing forest restoration programs, strategic management plans designed to connect isolated forest fragments with high rhesus macaque population densities, creating government programs that compensate farmers for income lost due to crop-raiding, and educational outreach that informs local villagers of the importance of conservation and protecting biodiversity ". Mitigation strategies offers the most effective solutions to reduce conflict occurring between rhesus macaques and humans in Nepal. India is another country that is seeing the rise of human - macaque confit. Macaque-Human conflict particularly occurs in the twin hill-states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh with such conflict being a source of contentious debate in political scenarios, resentment and polarization amongst agriculturalists and wildlife conservationists. In India crop raiding by rhesus macaques has been identified as the main cause of conflict . In urban areas, rhesus macaques damage property and injure people in house raids in order to access food and provisions. Whereas in agricultural areas, they cause financial losses to farmers due to crop depredation. The estimated extent of crop damages in Himachal Pradesh ranges from 10–100% to 40–80% of all crop losses. The financial implications of such damage is estimated at approximately USD$ 200,000 in agriculture and USD$ 150,000 in horticulture. Quantification of crop and financial loses is challenging with a potential misrepresentation due to farmer perspectives where perception of perceived losses are potentially higher, than actual losses. This has led to harsh actions against rhesus macaque communities. Another factor in rhesus perception includes economic status, farmer economic stability, cultural attitudes towards the given species and the frequency and intensity of wildlife conflicts. All of the above have resulted in changed in conservation and management with legal rhesus macaque culling issued in 2010.

Human wildlife conflict is also occurring in China, specifically in the area of Longyang District, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province. Sources have established that the peak period of conflict occurred from August-October when wildlife overlapped with humans severely due to the high natural productivity stemming from the warm and humid climate. In this research factors associated with accessibility and availability of food and shelter have been regarded as key drivers of human - macaque wildlife with an overall increase between the years of 2012 and 2021.

One key factor of conflict that directly effects the human macaque relationship is visibility. Visibility of rhesus macaques in agroecosystem dominated areas largely impacts conflict between humans and rhesus macaques. The conspicuous presence of rhesus macaques in and around farms results in farmers believing that macaques cause heavy crop depredations which, in turn, have led to negative perceptions and actions against the species. Whereas visibility in urban areas can result in a positive relationship, areas include around temples, and tourist areas where their dietary needs are largely met by food provisioning.

Population Management Tools
Managing conflict between humans and rhesus macaque is a difficult challenge. As mentioned previously there are many factors that go into why conflict occurs. This nuanced relationship requires thoughtfulness in management practices. Behaviour and population management are the two main areas of management that humans will look into to try and minimize conflict, protect wildlife, and promote co-existence.

When looking at and altering behaviour, crop raiding is the potentially the most significant behaviour change that is crucial in reducing conflict rates. One example is the implementation of guards in agricultural setting to chase off intruding monkeys using dogs slingshot, and firecrackers. This method is no-lethal and can alter behavioural patterns of crop raiding monkeys. Another strategy that farmers can employ is to to plant alternative, buffer crops which are unattractive to monkeys in high-conflict zones such as along the edges of macaque habitat. In urban settings planting food trees within city periphery and country parks aim to discourage macaques from entering nearby residential areas for food.

Better establishing tourism and urban behaviour in areas that have population of rhesus macaques as means to facilitate better relationship. In areas of tourism human behaviour is necessary to prevent conflict. One method of this is to introduce public education programs as well as  restrict visitors to specific viewing platforms, with the goal to minimize physical proximity. An important aspect is enforcing no feed regulations that only allow provisioning to be performed by trained staff at scheduled times. Regulating visitor behaviours that provoke aggressive responses from macaques, including noise regulation greatly benefits conflict reduction. Replacing food conditioned behaviours established by visitors and further education will greatly aid in returning co-existence between rhesus macaques and humans.

A method of population management is translocation. Translocation of problem macaques in urban rhesus communities in India has been employed as a non-lethal solution to human–macaque conflicts. Translocation can be seen as a short term fix due to the fact that they have the potential to return, and other rhesus macaques populations may take their place. As well translocation can be inappropriate when there is a lack of suitable habitat to move animals because of anthropogenic habitat modification. Before translocation occurs there must be a cost benefit appraisal of relative costs should be done to quantify the resources it will take. An in depth understanding of issues prior to translocation is vital for positive effects to occur. Recognizing landscape health and productivity is the first step before making management decisions.

Another tool of population management is found in sterilisation and/or contraceptive programmes that represent an alternative management practice. Fertility control looks to be a feasible management tool for reducing human–macaque conflict because it avoids the extermination of the animals and avoids costs and problems associated with translocation. Although there is potential of sterilization and general fertility control to be positive there is limited research and understanding of the long term effects of sterilization programs and its effectivity.

Conservation Status
Rhesus macaques have the largest natural range of any non-human primate which contributes to the conservation status of "least concern". Despite the wealth of information on their ecology and behaviour, little attention has been paid to their demography or population status, which can pose a risk for future rhesus macaque population. Rhesus macaques increased population stress on other species, having extended their distributional limits by approximately 3,500 km2 in Southeastern India. The increased area of rhesus macaques has been caused by human intervention tactics whereby village translocation occurs from urban conflict ridden areas. This influx has led to the widespread establishment of the rhesus macaque, accompanied by the disappearance of the bonnet macaque in these areas.

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