Lemur Social Systems and Their Ecological Basis

Lemur Social Systems and Their Ecological Basis
Author: J. Ganzhorn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1489924124

The past decade has seen a steady increase in studies oflemur behavior and ecology. As a result, there is much novel information on newly studied populations, and even newly discovered species, that has not yet been published or summarized. In fact, lemurs have not been the focus of an international symposium since the Prosimian Biology Conference in London in 1972. Moreover, research on lemurs has reached a new quality by addressing general issues in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. Although lemurs provide important comparative information on these topics, this aspect of research on lemurs has not been reviewed and compared with similar studies in other primate radiations. Thus, as did many in the field, we felt that the time was ripe to review and synthesize our knowledge of lemur behavioral ecology. Following an initiative by Gerry Doyle, we organized a symposium at the XIVth Congress of the International Primatological Society in Strasbourg, France, where 15 contributions summarized much new information on lemur social systems and their ecological basis. This volume provides a collection of the papers presented at the Strasbourg symposium (plus two reports from recently completed field projects). Each chapter was peer-reviewed, typically by one "lemurologist" and one other biologist. The first three chapters present novel information from the first long-term field studies of three enigmatic species. Sterling describes the social organization of Daubentonia madagascariensis, showing that aye-aye ranging patterns deviate from those of all other nocturnal primates.

Ringtailed Lemur Biology

Ringtailed Lemur Biology
Author: Alison Jolly
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2006-11-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0387341269

This volume includes up-to-date field research on the longest-studied and best known of lemur species. It contains articles by scientists from America, Europe, Japan and Madagascar, who combine their knowledge to describe an animal which is unique among primates. The papers review past research and add new dimensions of research related to nutrition, health, hormonal biology, plant ecology, behavioral ecology, and demography of Lemur catta.

Role of Provisions and Season on Foraging and Female Dominance Behavior in Ring-tailed Lemurs (lemur Catta) on St. Catherine's Island

Role of Provisions and Season on Foraging and Female Dominance Behavior in Ring-tailed Lemurs (lemur Catta) on St. Catherine's Island
Author: Timothy Moore
Publisher:
Total Pages: 75
Release: 2012
Genre: Electronic dissertations
ISBN:

Author's abstract: Madagascar is undergoing habitat destruction and degradation that is threatening its unique species, including ring-tailed lemurs. Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) live in matriarchal groups composed of a dominant female, adult males, subadult males and females, and young. Due to their dominance, it has been suggested that female ringtailed lemurs have access to the highest quality resources and can monopolize food patches. Lemurs on St. Catherine's are free ranging and have unlimited access to natural food sources, but they are also provisioned with supplementary food to ensure a balanced diet. My study aimed to determine the impact of provisions on female dominance behavior and individual foraging behavior and whether or not this varied seasonally. During the summer of 2011, lemurs were presented with doubled amount of provisions;differences in foraging behavior and female dominance were determined. To assess the effect of season on foraging behavior and provision use, data collected in the summer (July-August 2011) were compared with winter (January 2012). Gender had no effect on type of food consumed naturally, but females spent more time at provision sites overall and during the first half of a provisioned feeding bout. Doubling of provisions resulted in equal time spent at provision sites for males and females, but no difference in activity pattern occurred. No difference was been found in food type consumed between genders, but acorns seemed to be the favorite in both seasons. Lemurs were less active during the winter, and spent less time at provision sites. Overall, females are spending more time at provisioned food bowls than males suggesting females are consuming more. However, they are spending the same amount of time naturally foraging and foraging on the same types of natural food items. Overall, females seem to be eating more than males during the summer, indicating a possible increased need for sustenance by females possibly due to lactation. Season had an apparent effect on interest in provisions, on number of species consumed, and on activity type. My results provide valuable information to be used in future ring-tailed lemur translocations.

Lemur Biology

Lemur Biology
Author: Ian Tattersall
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1468421212

The volume of studies on prosimian primates has, until recently, tended to lag well behind that of studies on the higher primates. This is so despite the fact that the considerable intrinsic interest of the living prosimians and the signifi cance of their stuQ,y for our understanding of the earlier stages of primate evolution have long been acknowledged by zoologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists alike. Among the prosimians, the Malagasy lemurs are of profound interest not only because they include the only extant diurnal forms, but also because it is only on Madagascar that the absence of competition with higher primates has allowed a surviving prosimian fauna to radiate, es sentially unrestricted, into a broad spectrum of ecological zones. In contrast, the few extant prosimians of Africa and Asia occupy a relatively narrow range of "refuge" niches; although of considerable interest in themselves, they do not show the richness and variety of adaptation which make the Malagasy prosimian fauna such a fascinating object of study. Over the past few years, however, there has been a considerable resur gence of interest in the prosimians in general, and in the lemurs in particular. The range of studies resulting from this rekindling of interest is wide, compre hending the systematics, evolution, anatomy, behavior, and ecology of these forms. This volume constitutes a progress report on our knowledge of the le murs.