White‐headed langurs in China 181
FIG. 2 Numbers of white-headed langur groups in the Chongzuo White-Headed Langur National Nature Reserve (Fig. 1)in 2010/2011 and 2020/2021.
population survival (Li, 2000; Huang et al., 2002). Thus, a priority must be to reforest and restore the natural limestone habitat of white-headed langurs. In this regard, in 2021, the local Chongzuo government officially enacted the Habitat Conservation Regulation of White-Headed Langur in Chongzuo, which bans by law habitat destruction and natural habitat conversion within the current white-headed langur range. Forest fragmentation is another main threat to the sur-
vival of white-headed langurs in China (Huang et al., 2008;Wang et al., 2017). In the Reserve, white-headed lan- gur subpopulations are distributed across six forest frag- ments that are isolated from each other by agricultural landscapes and roads. The smallest fragment is only 1.5 km2 and the largest is 28 km2. Gene exchange amongst these six subpopulations is not possible and this will prob- ably result in a marked reduction in subpopulation genetic diversity and an increase in inbreeding, and affect the gen- etic structure of the population negatively. Low genetic diversity and significant population divergence amongst subpopulations of white-headed langurs have been report- ed previously (Wang et al., 2017), suggesting that the white-headed langur populations in Qiuchongshan and Nongguan should be considered as two distinct manage- ment units. Habitat corridors for migration need to be built between fragmented forest patches and isolated sub- populations to promote gene flow. We observed .77% of the white-headed langur groups
in the Qiuchongshan and Nongguan forest fragments (Fig. 1), with high population density index values for these regions (32.9 individuals/km2 in Qiuchongshan, 17.9 individuals/km2 in Nongguan). The population density index values of white-headed langurs in these areas are higher than those of other Trachypithecus species (e.g. Trachypithecus francoisi, 0.9 individuals/km2,Lietal., 2007; Trachypithecus geei, 0.88 individuals/km2, Thinley et al., 2019). The combination of rapid population growth and
habitat loss and isolation is the main reason for the high population density of white-headed langurs in the Reserve. The flat lands within and at the boundaries of the Reserve belong to local villages (Huang et al., 2002), and we recommend the government purchases these lands to ex- pand suitable langur habitat through the restoration of na- tive forest and construction of biological corridors between forest patches. This would help relieve the ecological pres- sure caused by high population densities. To compensate villagers for any economic losses resulting from such land purchase, the local government could develop langur-oriented ecotourism, sharing revenue with villagers in return for conservation easements on these lands, and community conservation action such as assisting natural regeneration and/or community patrolling. In conclusion, expanding the area of the Chongzuo
White-Headed Langur National Nature Reserve, construct- ing biological corridors and implementing a dedicated programme of forest restoration are the most effective actions that could be taken to protect and increase the pop- ulation size of the Critically Endangered white-headed langur. Additionally, providing income, employment and conservation-orientated education to local inhabitants and communities could also play an important role in protecting the species.
Acknowledgements We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32170492, 32270504), Guangxi Natural Science Foundation (2019GXNSFDA245021), and Funds for Forestry Reform and Development and Rare and Endangered Wildlife Protection of Chinese Central Finance.
Author contributions Study design and fieldwork: all authors; data analysis and writing: HXT, PAG, QHZ, CMH; revision: all authors.
Conflicts of interest None.
Ethical standards This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards.
References BLEISCH,B.&LONG,Y.C.(2020) Trachypithecus
leucocephalus.In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020.
dx.doi.org/10.2305/ IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T39872A17988378.en.
HUANG, C.M., LI, Y.B., ZHOU, Q.H., FENG, Y.X., CHENG, Z., YU,H.& WU, Z.J. (2008) Karst habitat fragmentation and the conservation of the white-headed langur (Trachypithecus leucocephalus)in China. Primate Conservation, 23, 133–139.
HUANG, C.M.,WEI, F.W., LI, M., QUAN, G.Q. & LI, H.H. (2002) Current status and conservation of white-headed langur (Trachypithecus leucocephalus) in China. Biological Conservation, 104, 221–225.
LI, Y.B., HUANG, C.M., DING, P., TANG,Z.&WOOD,C.(2007) Dramatic decline of François’ langur Trachypithecus francoisi in Guangxi Province, China. Oryx, 41, 38–43.
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Oryx, 2024, 58(2), 179–182 © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605323000029
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