Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates

Abstract Climate warming has profound effects on animal behavior, ecology, as well as on human activities. As the number of extreme weather events increases with climate warming, organisms are facing unprecedented environmental challenges. In temperate regions, winter food scarcity poses a critical...

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Main Authors: Ema Nagahara, Ayaka Tsuchihashi, Takumi Yoshida, Kosuke Hayashi, Genki Yamada, Takayuki Ogura, Mone Ito, Hirokazu Kurihara, Koji Tojo, Takuya Matsumoto, Masaki Takenaka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09308-0
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author Ema Nagahara
Ayaka Tsuchihashi
Takumi Yoshida
Kosuke Hayashi
Genki Yamada
Takayuki Ogura
Mone Ito
Hirokazu Kurihara
Koji Tojo
Takuya Matsumoto
Masaki Takenaka
author_facet Ema Nagahara
Ayaka Tsuchihashi
Takumi Yoshida
Kosuke Hayashi
Genki Yamada
Takayuki Ogura
Mone Ito
Hirokazu Kurihara
Koji Tojo
Takuya Matsumoto
Masaki Takenaka
author_sort Ema Nagahara
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Climate warming has profound effects on animal behavior, ecology, as well as on human activities. As the number of extreme weather events increases with climate warming, organisms are facing unprecedented environmental challenges. In temperate regions, winter food scarcity poses a critical survival challenge for many animals. This study investigated the unique foraging behavior of the Kamikochi population of Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata, which forage for aquatic insects during severe winters with scarce food availability. In February 2024, a thermal event with rising temperatures and rain triggered snowmelt and river flooding, which made it difficult for the macaques to access aquatic food. Comparisons of foraging behavior during periods with and without the thermal event showed that Kamikochi macaques reduced their foraging on aquatic insects inhabiting streams during the thermal event. These findings highlight the ecological impacts of heating events expected to become more frequent due to climate change. Japanese macaques in Kamikochi provide valuable insights into how wildlife behavior may change in response to these events.
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id doaj-art-adea8878f5524715982914a5d6b42dae
institution DOAJ
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-adea8878f5524715982914a5d6b42dae2025-08-20T03:04:25ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-09308-0Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primatesEma Nagahara0Ayaka Tsuchihashi1Takumi Yoshida2Kosuke Hayashi3Genki Yamada4Takayuki Ogura5Mone Ito6Hirokazu Kurihara7Koji Tojo8Takuya Matsumoto9Masaki Takenaka10Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu UniversityGraduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu UniversityGraduate School of Medicine, Science and Technology, Shinshu UniversityNHK Enterprises, Inc.G-Vision, Inc.Kozo ProductionKozo ProductionVision1 Inc.Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu UniversityDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu UniversityDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu UniversityAbstract Climate warming has profound effects on animal behavior, ecology, as well as on human activities. As the number of extreme weather events increases with climate warming, organisms are facing unprecedented environmental challenges. In temperate regions, winter food scarcity poses a critical survival challenge for many animals. This study investigated the unique foraging behavior of the Kamikochi population of Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata, which forage for aquatic insects during severe winters with scarce food availability. In February 2024, a thermal event with rising temperatures and rain triggered snowmelt and river flooding, which made it difficult for the macaques to access aquatic food. Comparisons of foraging behavior during periods with and without the thermal event showed that Kamikochi macaques reduced their foraging on aquatic insects inhabiting streams during the thermal event. These findings highlight the ecological impacts of heating events expected to become more frequent due to climate change. Japanese macaques in Kamikochi provide valuable insights into how wildlife behavior may change in response to these events.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09308-0DNA metabarcodingDietary plasticityGlobal warmingJapanese macaquesMountain ecologyPrimates
spellingShingle Ema Nagahara
Ayaka Tsuchihashi
Takumi Yoshida
Kosuke Hayashi
Genki Yamada
Takayuki Ogura
Mone Ito
Hirokazu Kurihara
Koji Tojo
Takuya Matsumoto
Masaki Takenaka
Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
Scientific Reports
DNA metabarcoding
Dietary plasticity
Global warming
Japanese macaques
Mountain ecology
Primates
title Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
title_full Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
title_fullStr Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
title_full_unstemmed Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
title_short Impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
title_sort impact of climate warming on the foraging behavior of northernmost distributed primates
topic DNA metabarcoding
Dietary plasticity
Global warming
Japanese macaques
Mountain ecology
Primates
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09308-0
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