Дианский тарсьер: Экология и поведение примата Сулавеси

Species of primate

Dian's tarsier (Tarsius dentatus), also known as the Diana tarsier, is a nocturnal primate endemic to central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its head body length is and it has a tail of Dian's tarsier lives in rainforests.

Dian's tarsier was named in 1991 in honor of the Roman goddess of hunting Diana and the late Dian Fossey.

The weight of adult Dian's tarsier ranges from 100 to 150 grams. This species is characterized by a greyish buff color to their wooly fur, a black spot is present on each side of the nose and white colored fur appears on the middle lower lip and on both sides of the upper lip. It can also be found in habitat modified (disturbed) by humans such as secondary forests with logging, agroforestry or intensive agriculture.

Females of this species typically give birth to one child per year. Reproduction does not appear to vary by season. Dian's tarsiers use infant parking.

This species is most active after dusk and before dawn. After dusk, Dian's tarsiers leave the sleeping sites they use during the day, traverse completely their home range, and go hunt for food in their home range at night where they will be more stationary during hunting and eating. Before dawn, duet vocalisation signals to other members of the group to return to the sleeping site. Dian's tarsiers can travel more than 100 meters to reach their sleeping site in under 15 minutes before dawn. was the highest population density found in 2000 2001.

Population density is the highest by far in undisturbed habitat at 57.1 groups/km2. All levels of disturbed habitat where Dian's tarsiers are found show similar population densities (32.9 groups/km2 38.0 groups/km2), with heavily disturbed habitats showing the lowest.

Home ranges of females in low and moderate levels of human disturbed habitat are smaller than in undisturbed habitat. Home ranges in habitats heavily disturbed by humans are larger than in all other habitats. Researchers hypothesize that this is due to the increased number of insects in slightly disturbed habitat. This slightly disturbed habitat has more canopy openings which may attract more insects. The largest home ranges are in the most disturbed habitats, these also have the least insects, likely due to the use of pesticides in plantations.

Nightly paths lengths are similar in males and females in undisturbed habitat. Female path length increases with increased human disturbance of the habitat. Since nightly path length is related to energy expenditure, Dian's tarsiers expend more energy in more disturbed habitats. Females typically cover more of their home range in one night in low and moderate levels of disturbance in their habitats.

Maintaining forest habitat by stopping illegal logging, practicing agroforestry, protecting sleeping sites and preserving forest undergrowth would allow Dian's tarsier to live in a habitat with low levels of degradation. Better public knowledge that Dian's tarsier does not eat cash crops and instead eats insects, as well as reducing the use of chemical pesticides, would also help.