Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Vol. 26 No. 8 (2025)

Environmental drivers of ranging behavior in the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch)

ALINA SIMOKAR (School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung. Jl. Ganesa 10, Bandung 40132, West Java, Indonesia)
ELHAM SUMARGA (School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung. Jl. Ganesa 10, Bandung 40132, West Java, Indonesia)
RAHAYU OKTAVIANI (Yayasan Konservasi Ekosistem Alam Nusantara (KIARA). Pakuan Regency Cluster Tajuragung E7/11, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia)
YOGI PRASETIO (Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, Ministry of Forestry. Jl. Raya Cipanas, Sukabumi 43368, West Java, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Sep 2025

Abstract

Abstract. Simokar A, Sumarga E, Oktaviani R, Prasetio Y. 2025. Environmental drivers of ranging behavior in the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch). Biodiversitas 26: 3903-3915. Environmental factors and food availability shape the foraging strategies and ranging behavior of primates. The Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), endemic to Java Island, Indonesia, inhabits the remaining forest patches such as Gunung Halimun Salak National Park (GHSNP). This study investigated the effects of environmental variables and food availability on Javan gibbon ranging in GHSNP, using behavioral and ecological data collected from January to December 2022. We observed three habituated gibbon groups through scan sampling and collected monthly plant phenology and daily temperature and rainfall data. The data were analyzed to: (i) calculate the activity budget; (ii) map and quantify ranging patterns, using QGIS; (iii) determine the Food Abundance Index (FAI); (vi) calculate mean monthly temperature and rainfall; (v) analyze the effects of environmental conditions and food availability on ranging behaviour/pattern using linear mixed models in RStudio. Results showed that Javan gibbon activities were dominated by resting, followed by feeding, locomotion, and social interaction. The mean home range size and daily path length were 38.68±7.17 ha and 3.25±0.30 km, respectively. Important food sources included Ficus spp., Cordia bantamensis, Sandoricum koetjape, and Knema cinerea with the highest FAI values for fruits, young leaves, and flowers occurred in September, July, and March, respectively. The average minimum temperature, maximum temperature, and monthly rainfall were 17.77±0.34?, 26.59±0.76?, and 418.23±179.68 mm, respectively. Ranging patterns were significantly affected by rainfall, temperature, and food availability (p-value<0.05), with observed differences among groups due to food resources distribution, foraging strategies, and environmental responses.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

biodiv

Publisher

Subject

Agriculture, Biological Sciences & Forestry Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology

Description

The Biodiversitas Journal was first published in 2000 by the Department of Biology, FMNS, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia, then in 2006 it was co-published by the Society for Indonesian Biodiversity and that department; since 2017 it was also hosted by Smujo. From 2003-2012 it was ...