Size and canopy characteristics of community reserves determine primate occupancy in the state of Meghalaya, India, and implications for its conservation

Globally, the effective protected area network is one of the last resorts for conserving biodiversity. The nature of protected areas depends on the land ownership of the respective countries including India. The landholding in the northeastern states of India remains with native people, thus, 'Community Reserve' (CR) was introduced in 2003. Considering the high number of CR in Meghalaya that are home to many threatened primates, understanding their role in conserving the primates was crucial. We conducted day and night trail surveys in 32 CR of Meghalaya, and a questionnaire survey of local people for their perception of primates. We sampled basal area, tree density, canopy cover, canopy height, bamboo density, and human activity in each CR to test their influence on the occupancy of primates. We recorded the Western hoolock gibbon Hoolock hoolock, capped langur Trachypithecus pileatus, Northern pig-tailed macaque Macaca leonina, Assamese macaque Macaca assamensis, Rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, and Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis. The primate richness and abundance were higher in the CR of Garo Hills than in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. The gibbons had the highest patch occupancy, which was followed by capped langur, Assamese macaque, and pig-tailed macaque. Large-sized CR determined the occupancy of gibbons and Assamese macaques. Canopy cover positively influenced the occupancy of three primates except the Assamese macaque, whereas the canopy height had a positive association with three species of primates. The basal area, and tree density, negatively affected the occurrence of Assamese macaque, northern pig-tailed macaque, and capped langur. Macaques were the most hunted primates. The differential occurrence and abundance in different hill systems may be due to hunting and habitat size rather than habitat quality. Habitat restoration would improve the habitat quality with the involvement of communities to assist in retaining and avoiding the local extinction of primates.