Identifying spatial interaction zones between humans and long-tailed macaques in the Mount Merbabu landscape, Indonesia
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 243
File Views: 93
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Sulaksono N, Nayasilana IN, Hadiyan Y, Pradopo ST, Haryoso A, Wahyudi J, Adiningtyas DP, Putra RA. 2026. Identifying spatial interaction zones between humans and long-tailed macaques in the Mount Merbabu landscape, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 27 (4): d270414. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270414. Human-long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) interactions are an increasing conservation and management concern in Indonesia, particularly within forest-agriculture-settlement mosaics surrounding protected areas. This study aimed to identify spatial interaction zones between humans and long-tailed macaques using habitat suitability modeling in the Mount Merbabu landscape. Habitat suitability was modeled using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm based on occurrence records from direct field encounters and indirect evidence of macaque presence. Model complexity was optimized using the ENMeval framework based on the Akaike Information Criterion corrected for small sample sizes (AICc), cross-validated AUC, and omission rate. Eight environmental and anthropogenic predictors representing topography, vegetation, disturbance, and human proximity were included in the model. The final model showed stable predictive performance (cross-validated AUC: 0.7469±0.1023). Distance to burned areas emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by distance to settlements and land cover. Suitable habitat covered 4,131.71 ha (25.80%) of the interaction analysis area (16,010.88 ha) outside the national park and extended beyond forest interiors into surrounding agricultural and settlement landscapes. Moderate and high interaction zones (3,511.44 ha and 620.28 ha, respectively) formed localized clusters along forest-agriculture transition areas surrounding the national park. Sensitivity analysis showed that the spatial configuration of interaction zones remained consistent across alternative occurrence models. These mapped zones represent relative spatial interaction potential derived from macaque occurrence patterns and their overlap with human land use, rather than direct predictions of conflict incidence. The results demonstrate that MaxEnt-based spatial modeling provides a useful framework for identifying potential human-wildlife interaction zones and supporting spatially targeted mitigation in protected-area buffer landscapes.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Aissiyah AK, Faida LRW, Hermawan MTT. 2019. Pemanfaatan rumput dan kayu bakar untuk kebutuhan subsisten masyarakat di Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu. Jurnal Manusia Lingkungan 26: 20-27. https://doi.org/10.22146/jml.23635. [Indonesian]
Anand S, Radhakrishna S. 2017. Investigating trends in human-wildlife conflict: Is conflict escalation real or imagined? J Asia-Pac Biodiv 10: 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2017.02.003.
Ardiaristo A, Prasetyo LB, Syaufina L, Kosmaryandi N. 2024. Monitoring vegetation changes and disturbances in Gunung Merbabu National Park using LandTrendr algorithm and Landsat images. Ecol Eng Environ Technol 25: 298-307. https://doi.org/10.12912/27197050/188872.
Badan Informasi Geospasial. 2019. Peta Rupabumi Indonesia (RBI). Badan Informasi Geospasial, Cibinong, Indonesia. [Indonesian]
Chai SL, Zhang J, Nixon A, Nielsen S. 2016. Using risk assessment and habitat suitability models to prioritize invasive species for management in a changing climate. PLoS One 11 (10): e0165292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165292.
Depret M, Sueur C. 2025. Management of coexistence and conflicts between humans and macaques in Japan. Animals 15 (7): 888. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15070888.
Dewi K, Hardian AS, Cahyono SA. 2024. Assessing the economic value of water environmental services in Mount Merbabu National Park. Jurnal Sylva Lestari 12 (2): 338-352. https://doi.org/10.23960/jsl.v12i2.802.
Dickman AJ. 2010. Complexities of conflict: The importance of considering social factors in human-wildlife conflict. Anim Conserv 13: 458-466. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2010.00368.x.
Dormann CF, Elith J, Bacher S, Buchmann C, Carl G, Carré G, Marquéz JRG, Gruber B, Lafourcade B, Leitão PJ, Münkemüller T, McClean C, Osborne PE, Reineking B, Schröder B, Skidmore AK, Zurell D, Lautenbach S. 2013. Collinearity: A review of methods to deal with it and a simulation study evaluating their performance. Ecography 36: 27-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2012.07348.x.
Elith J, Phillips SJ, Hastie T, Dudík M, Chee YE, Yates CJ. 2011. A statistical explanation of MaxEnt for ecologists. Divers Distrib 17: 43-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2010.00725.x.
Entezami M, Mustaqqim F, Morris E, Swee E, Lim H, Prada M, Paramasivam SJ. 2024. Effect of human activity and presence on the behavior of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in an urban tourism site in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Animals 14 (8): 1173. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14081173.
EROS Center. 2020. Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) Collection 2 Level-2 Science Products. USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Sioux Falls, USA.
European Space Agency. 2021. Sentinel-2 Level-2A Surface Reflectance Data Product. European Space Agency (ESA), France. https://scihub.copernicus.eu/.
Esthi RB, Irawan NC, Setiawan I. 2022. The nexus between ecological competence, forest area management, and sustainable agroecosystem performance for communities around Mount Merbabu National Park (MMbNP). IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 1108 (1): 012019. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1108/1/012019.
Fadhillah DN. 2020. Identifikasi aves di kawasan Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu sebagai bahan pembuatan multimedia interaktif biologi SMA. J Biol Learn 2 (1): 50-57. https://doi.org/10.32585/.v2i1.832. [Indonesian]
Farr TG, Rosen PA, Caro E, Crippen R, Duren R, Hensley S, Kobrick M, Paller M, Rodriguez E, Roth L, Seal D, Shaffer S, Shimada J, Umland J, Werner M, Oskin M, Burbank D, Alsdorf D. 2007. The shuttle radar topography mission. Rev Geophys 45: RG2004. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005RG000183.
Fauzi R, Wuryanto T, Endarto, Suarmadi F, Tomono B. 2020. Distribution of long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in Kelimutu National Park. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 591: 012041. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/591/1/012041.
Fitria W, Bambang AN, Hidayat JW. 2020. Human and long-tailed macaque conflict in Central Java, Indonesia. E3S Web Conf 202: 06011. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020206011.
Fratesi A, Di E, Briefer EF, Nielsen DRK. 2026. “Monkey influencers”: Conservation culturomics of human-macaque (Macaca fascicularis) interactions. Glob Ecol Conserv 65: e04016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e04016.
Hill CM. 2000. Conflict of interest between people and baboons: Crop raiding in Uganda. Intl J Primatol 21: 299-315. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005481605637.
Hill CM, Wallace GE. 2012. Crop protection and conflict mitigation: Reducing the costs of living alongside non-human primates. Biodivers Conserv 21: 2569-2587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0318-y.
Hill CM. 2018. Crop foraging, crop losses, and crop raiding. Annu Rev Anthropol 47: 377-394. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-102317-050022.
Ji Y, Wei X, Liu F, Li D, Li J. 2022. Spatial-temporal patterns of human-wildlife conflicts under coupled impact of natural and anthropogenic factors in Mt. Gaoligong, western Yunnan, China. Glob Ecol Conserv 40: e02329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02329.
Johnson CL, Hilser H, Linkie M, Rahasia R, Rovero F, Pusparini W, Hunowu I, Patandung A, Andayani N, Tasirin J, Nistyantara LA, Bowkett AE. 2020. Using occupancy-based camera-trap surveys to assess the critically endangered primate Macaca nigra across its range in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Oryx 54 (6): 784-793. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605319000851.
Kass JM, Muscarella R, Galante PJ, Bohl CL, Pinilla-Buitrago GE, Soley-Guardia M, Anderson RP. 2021. ENMeval 2.0: Redesigned for customizable and reproducible modeling of species’ niches and distributions. Methods Ecol Evol 12: 1602-1608. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13628.
Koirala S, Baral S, Garber PA, Basnet H, Bahadur H, Gurung S, Rai D, Gaire R, Sharma B, Pun T, Li M. 2022. Identifying the environmental and anthropogenic causes, distribution, and intensity of human rhesus macaque conflict in Nepal. J Environ Manag 316: 115276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115276.
Larson KL, Rosales Chavez JB, Brown JA, Morales-Guerrero J, Avilez D. 2023. Human-wildlife interactions and coexistence in an urban desert environment. Sustainability 15 (4): 3307. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043307.
Lee SH, Lee MH, Kang TH, Cho HR, Yun HS, Lee SJ. 2025. Comparative analysis of dNBR, dNDVI, SVM kernels, and ISODATA for wildfire-burned area mapping using Sentinel-2 imagery. Remote Sens 17 (13): 2196. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17132196.
Li X, Wang Z, Wang S, Qian Z. 2024. MaxEnt and Marxan modeling to predict the potential habitat and priority planting areas of Coffea arabica in Yunnan, China under climate change scenario. Front Plant Sci 15: 1471653. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1471653.
Matseketsa G, Muboko N, Gandiwa E, Kombora DM. 2019. An assessment of human-wildlife conflicts in local communities bordering the western part of Save Valley. Glob Ecol Conserv 20: e00737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00737.
Mekonen S. 2020. Coexistence between human and wildlife: The nature, causes and mitigations of human-wildlife conflict around Bale Mountains National Park, Southeast Ethiopia. BMC Ecol 20: 51. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-020-00319-1.
Meneses OM, Ribeiro NS, Shirvani Z. 2025. Resilience of the Miombo woodland to different fire frequencies in the LevasFlor Forest Concession, central Mozambique. Forests 16 (1): 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010010.
Mishra PS, Kumara HN, Thiyagesan K, Singh M, Velankar AD, Pal A. 2020. Chaos in coexistence: Perceptions of farmers towards long-tailed macaques related to crop loss on Great Nicobar Island. Primate Conserv 34: 175-183.
Muscarella R, Galante PJ, Soley-Guardia M, Boria RA, Kass JM, Anderson RP. 2014. ENMeval: An R package for conducting spatially independent evaluations and estimating optimal model complexity for MaxEnt ecological niche models. Methods Ecol Evol 5: 1198-1205. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12261.
Neves MB, Chiarani E, Ferreira MP, Fontana CS. 2020. The role of fire disturbance on habitat structure and bird communities in South Brazilian Highland grasslands. Sci Rep 10: 19708. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-76758-z.
Nimmo DG, Avitabile S, Banks SC, Bliege-Bird R, Callister K, Clarke MF, Dickman CR, Doherty TS, Driscoll DA, Greenville AC, Haslem A, Kelly LT, Kenny SA, Lahoz-Monfort JJ, Lee C, Leonard S, Moore H, Newsome TM, Parr CL, Ritchie EG, Schneider K, Turner JM, Watson S, Westbrooke M, Wouters M, White M, Bennett AF. 2018. Animal movements in fire-prone landscapes. Biol Rev 94: 981-998. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12486.
Nyhus PJ. 2016. Human-wildlife conflict and coexistence. Annu Rev Environ Resour 41: 143-171. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085634.
Osman A, Mariwah S, Yawson DO, Atampugre G. 2022. Changing land cover and small mammal habitats: Implications for landscape ecological integrity. Environ Chall 7: 100514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2022.100514.
Pérez-Cutillas P, Pérez-Navarro A, Conesa-García C, Zema DA, Amado-Álvarez JP. 2023. What is going on within Google Earth Engine? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Remote Sens Appl Soc Environ 29: 100907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2022.100907.
Phillips SJ, Anderson RP, Schapire RE. 2006. Maximum entropy modeling of species geographic distributions. Ecol Model 190: 231-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2005.03.026.
Phillips SJ, Dudík M. 2008. Modeling of species distributions with MaxEnt: New extensions and a comprehensive evaluation. Ecography 31: 161-175. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0906-7590.2008.5203.x.
Phillips SJ, Dudík M, Elith J, Graham CH, Lehmann A, Leathwick J, Ferrier S. 2009. Sample selection bias and presence-only distribution models: implications for background and pseudo-absence data. Ecol Appl 19: 181-197. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-2153.1.
Pramana GTS, Prasetyo LB, Iskandar E. 2022. The habitat suitability modelling of dare monkey (Macaca maura) in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park, South Sulawesi. J Nat Resour Environ Manag 13 (1): 57-67. https://doi.org/10.29244/jpsl.13.1.57-67.
Priston NEC, McLennan MR. 2013. Managing humans, managing macaques: Human-macaque conflict in Asia and Africa. In: Radhakrishna S, Huffman MA, Sinha A (eds). The Macaque Connection: Cooperation and Conflict between Humans and Macaques. Springer, New York,
Rifaie F, Sulistyadi E, Sulistya Y, Inayah N. 2024. Spatial patterns of human long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) conflicts in Java Island: A comparison of two secondary data sources. J Asia-Pac Biodiv 17 (4): 653-662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2024.05.008.
Rossetti I, Calderisi G, Cogoni D. 2024. Post-fire vegetation (non-) recovery across the edges of a wildfire: An unexplored theme. Fire 7 (7): 250. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7070250.
Safanelli L, Poppiel RR, Ruiz CF, Bonfatti BR, Alcantara F, Mello DO, Rizzo R. 2020. Terrain analysis in Google Earth Engine: A method adapted for high-performance global-scale analysis. ISPRS Intl J Geo-Inf 9 (6): 400. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9060400.
Santosa Y, Kwatrina RT. 2020. Effect of forest fire on mammals: Comparisons of species diversity across different time periods and areas. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 528: 012023. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/528/1/012023.
Sari DR, Hadi M, Rahadian R. 2018. Kelimpahan dan keanekaragaman kupu-kupu di kawasan Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu, Jawa Tengah. Bioma 18 (2): 173-179. https://doi.org/10.14710/bioma.18.2.173-179. [Indonesian]
Sawitri R, Mukhtar AS, Iskandar S. 2010. Status konservasi mamalia dan burung di Taman Nasional Merbabu (Mammals and aves conservation status in Merbabu National Park). Jurnal Penelitian Hutan dan Konservasi Alam 7 (3): 227-239. [Indonesian]
Schroeder W, Oliva P, Giglio L, Csiszar IA. 2014. The new VIIRS 375 m active fire detection data product: Algorithm description and initial assessment. Remote Sens Environ 143: 85-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.12.008.
Sharma P, Chettri N, Uddin K, Wangchuk K. 2020. Mapping human-wildlife conflict hotspots in a transboundary landscape, Eastern Himalaya. Glob Ecol Conserv 24: e01284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01284.
Soulsbury A, White PCL. 2015. Human-wildlife interactions in urban areas: A review of conflicts, benefits and opportunities. Wildl Res 42: 541-553. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR14229.
Syah MJ. 2020. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and humans interactions in Grojogan Sewu Natural Park, Karanganyar Regency, Central Java Province. Al-Hayat J Biol Appl Biol 3 (1): 31-36. https://doi.org/10.21580/ah.v3i1.6069.
Syahran FN, Rahman DA, Santosa Y. 2025. Habitat-based spatial prediction of human-elephant conflict risk in Sumatra. Biodiversitas 26 (9): 4465-4478. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d260919.
Tang J, Chen Z, Yin X, Teng J, Gao W, Liu Y, Li X. 2025. Species richness prediction and priority conservation planning for rare Michelia species in China. Sci Rep 15: 11025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11025-7.
Tsuji Y, Ilham K. 2021. Studies on primate crop feeding in Asian regions: A review. Mamm Stud 46 (2): 97-113. https://doi.org/10.3106/ms2020-0043.
Ueda Y, Kiyono M, Nagano T, Mochizuki S, Murakami T. 2018. Damage control strategies affecting crop-raiding Japanese macaque behaviors in a farming community. Hum Ecol 46 (2): 259-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-018-9972-3.
Wu Q, Dai Y, Sun Q. 2024. Human-wildlife conflict patterns and hotspot prediction in the southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, China. Front Ecol Evol 12: 1435811. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1435811.
Yeo J, Neo H. 2010. Monkey business: Human-animal conflicts in urban Singapore. Soc Cult Geogr 11: 681-699. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2010.508565.
Zvidzai M, Mawere KK, Rodney JN, Ndaimani H, Zanamwe C, Zengeya FM. 2023. Application of maximum entropy (MaxEnt) to understand the spatial dimension of human-wildlife conflict risk in areas adjacent to Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. Ecol Soc 28: 18. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-14420-280318.