Seasonal variation in activity budget and diet of the endangered Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) in the tourist valley of Ouzoud, central High Atlas, Morocco

Abstract

This article reports data on the seasonal activity budget and diet composition of the endangered Barbary macaque group inhabiting a tourist site in Morocco. Data were collected from March 2007 to February 2008. We used instantaneous scan sampling at 15-min intervals. The behaviours that we included in the activity budget were feeding, moving, foraging, resting and aggressive display. Food items were grouped into seven categories. Results showed that activity budgets and the feeding time spent on eating different food categories varied markedly among seasons. The percentage of daily time spent on foraging and moving was lower in spring, while the daily time spent on resting was higher in spring and summer. The time budget devoted to aggressive display was higher in spring than the other three seasons. There is an increase in the daily feeding time spent eating fruits in summer; seeds, acorns, roots and barks in winter and autumn; herbs in spring and summer; and a clear increase in consumption of human food in spring. Conservation effort of Barbary macaques should consider the seasonal variations in activity budgets and diet in human-modified environments.